Revised Water Mill Shoppes Plan Makes Progress

Water Mill Shoppes, the controversial 30,000-square-foot shopping complex proposed next to Water Mill's existing commercial core, could be approved within the next two months.

The Southampton Town Planning Board completed its final public hearing on the plan last Thursday, concluding more than four years of site-plan review and leaving the board with 62 days to act on the application. Those who spoke had mostly praise for the final plan.

Harvey Auerbach, the developer, is proposing a complex of six retail buildings arrayed around a central commons. The 3.6-acre site is directly east of the existing Main Street core of Water Mill, across Station Road.

Major Changes

The plan underwent major changes during the lengthy environmental review process.

Most notably, the layout concept changed from simply extending the "streetscape" of Main Street along the road, to a central commons.

Also, the size of the buildings shrank, from 7,000 to 9,000 square feet each to between 3,500 and 5,000 square feet each.

Steve Biasetti, an environmental analyst with The Group for the South Fork, called the final site plan a "vast improvement" over the original. The layout would make for an "attractive village center," he said.

Traffic Impact

Aesthetics aside, however, Mr. Biasetti had concerns over the overall scope of the development.

Though the site plan had changed from three large buildings to six smaller ones, the overall floor space had not been reduced, he noted. The development could have a major traffic impact in what is already a "traffic hot spot," he warned.

A traffic light at the intersection with Station Road may be required by the State Department of Transportation.

Marlen Hertzga, a Water Mill resident, commended Mr. Auerbach for modifying the plan. "I do like this one. It's more in character with the community," she said. "This is the best plan he's put forward."

Lighting Concerns

Mrs. Hertzga and others who spoke voiced concerns, however, over the proposed lighting plan and how garbage would be handled.

Gloria Rabinowitz, who chairs the Water Mill Citizens Advisory Committee, said the amount of lighting proposed was "excessive" and "out of line with the neighboring residential area." She noted that several nearby businesses have used fewer poles and lower wattages to light their properties: the Southampton Cinema, P.C. Richard, and Southampton Hospital, for example.

Erica Van Acker, the co-owner of the Station Bistro, just behind the site, also brought up lighting, but said she was more concerned about Station Road. She asked that the road not be blocked when construction began.

Those concerns aside, she agreed that "indeed, this plan has come a long distance."

Decision By Mid-April

One speaker last Thursday wasn't so resigned. "I'm a little bewildered," said Lester Rosenfeld, who warned an approval would go against the feeling of the majority of the hamlet's residents. "I'm sure you have a sense of what the people of Water Mill feel, as a hamlet," he told board members.

He even suggested there was "a groundswell" of residents that would boycott the new stores. "There are empty stores right now . . . The last thing in the world we need is another project not too far away that will fall down because of a lack of business."

Dennis Finnerty, the Planning Board's vice chairman, reminded Mr. Rosenfeld the board could not arbitrarily deny any application. "Many people have the perception we have the power to send an applicant packing," he said.

With the public hearing closed, and an environmental impact statement completed and accepted, the board must now render a decision by April 16.