Planning Board Divided on Wainscott Subdivision
Although the East Hampton Town Planning Board at a meeting Wednesday night may have scheduled a second public hearing on the controversial subdivision of roughly 40 acres of former farmland in Wainscott, the East Hampton Town Board may play a definitive role in the final outcome.
The subdivision, on Wainscott Hollow Road, will divide the property into seven house lots, with about 70 percent of the acreage set aside as an agricultural reserve area. A new public hearing, if scheduled, would be on Jan. 7. But the town board, which is to hold its annual organizational meeting on Jan. 6, is expected to appoint two new members to the planning board at that time, which may tip the balance.
The property is being developed by Jeffrey Colle, whose plans (there have been five in all) date back to January 2013. Mr. Colle handed in a revised plan last Thursday, after listening to the planning board debate the plans the previous night. The new plan addresses an issue of concern to several neighbors as well as board members, which is that one of the lots was separate and on Sayre’s Path.
At its organizational meeting, the town board is expected to fill the planning board position that opened when Pat Schutte resigned after moving out of town. Mr. Schutte had declared his support for Mr. Colle’s plans. In addition, Nancy Keeshan’s term on the board ends Dec. 31.
Ms. Keeshan was appointed by a Republican-controlled town board in 2010. The current board, which has a Democratic majority, is not expected to reappoint her. She had opposed Mr. Colle’s previous plans, but indicated at a Dec. 10 meeting that she could support a revised proposal.
Two Wainscott neighbors, who are on the planning board, have been bitterly divided over the issue. Diana Weir has called it “bad planning,” opposing the placement of five houses across what is now an open vista. Bob Schaeffer, on the other hand, has advocated for Mr. Colle’s plans, frequently chiding fellow members for delaying action and saying, “Let’s get on with it.”
Another member’s approach has been close to Ms. Weir’s. Job Potter has said the new lots should be closer to previously developed land to preserve more open space. Reed Jones, the board’s chairman, however, has, after a good amount of debate, thrown his support to Mr. Colle.
Sixteen people spoke at the first public hearing, on Sept. 17, with 32 others sending in letters. The process has not only divided planning board members, but pitted neighbor against neighbor, depending upon whether they live closer to or on Sayre’s Path or Wainscott Hollow Road.
From the beginning, Mary Jane Asato, Mr. Colle’s lawyer, has insisted that at least six of the seven new lots have to be accessed from Wainscott Hollow Road. She told the board that an address on Wainscott Hollow makes the lots more valuable than an address on Sayre’s Path, according to the real estate experts she consulted.
The plan Mr. Colle submitted last week is markedly similar to the original 2013 plan, which did not have a house on Sayre’s Path. That proposed house lot has been moved away from Sayre’s Path. There are several key differences, however.
The new plan eliminates a 50-foot-wide, 1,200-foot-long road off Wainscott Hollow Road, replacing it with a much narrower driveway. The revision also freed up over an acre of land, which allows the buildable lots to be larger.
For example, one lot in the original plan was 66,876 square feet; it is now 97,589 square feet. Another has grown from 67,058 square feet to 88,594 square feet. Finally, the new plan moves one of the five proposed contiguous lots along the private driveway closer to Wainscott Hollow Road.