Ross School Plan In
The Ross School has been offering a progressive curriculum to students since 1991 in its classrooms at East Hampton's Goodfriend Park. But the soon-to-grow school still lacks formal site-plan approval from the town.
The school has finally submitted plans to the East Hampton Town Planning Board to correct that. Meanwhile work is progressing on another Goodfriend Park building that will become the Ross School's new high-school facility.
The existing classrooms share a building with several other businesses. The building has a certificate of occupancy that allows "light industrial" uses and offices. A school, however requires a special permit with additional requirements from the town.
Crosswalk Urged
A site-plan and special-permit application, submitted last month for the existing school, adds a formal parking area the school has been without.
To provide the parking, the 7,200-square-foot school, which falls short of required parking, has purchased a vacant lot across Goodfriend Drive, on which it proposes to build a 39-space parking lot. The proposed parking lot would serve the high school and middle school.
Planning Board members had no objections to the plan, but urged the school to build a formal sidewalk and a crosswalk for students' safety.
As more development occurs in Goodfriend Park, the other, more recently approved industrial park on Route 114, Turnpike Commercial Center, is also beginning to see activity.
The Planning Board last week reviewed the second application to build in the eight-lot industrial park - a plan by Bernard Kiembock, the subdivision's owner, to construct a warehouse to serve his hardware store in East Hampton Village.
The 7,200-square-foot building would be 23 feet high, according to the building plans. An office and restrooms are also proposed.
Moratorium Nearby
Planners had no objection to the concept, but noted the Town Board was considering a moratorium on new applications for development on a roughly 600-acre block of woodlands between the railroad tracks in Wainscott and Route 114. The Town Board is considering upzoning much of the commercially zoned land within the block to residential property to protect groundwater resources below.
"To me, this is a pretty benign use," said Gary Swanander a board member. Other board members, including the chairwoman, Pat Mansir, had something to say about the upzoning plan itself.
"A use like this is less detrimental than a house, pool, septic system, and tennis court," she said.
The board asked for more details, including what types of materials will be stored.