Town Urged to Buy Farmland

The Sept. 17 East Hampton Town Planning Board public hearing on the proposed subdivision of almost 40 acres containing prime farmland in Wainscott began with neighbors pitted against neighbors but, after two hours, they seemed to coalesce, agreeing that the town should save as much of the farmland as possible.

The parcel is part of a corridor of farmland and open fields that once ran from just south of Montauk Highway to the ocean. The proposed subdivision is to result in seven buildable lots, as well as almost 28 acres of land set aside for agricultural use, as required by the town code.

Development of the site has been contentious for years, in part because the board hoped to preserve the view across its farmland. With an address of 55 Wainscott Hollow Road, which is also the name of the limited liability corporation subdividing the property, it is being developed by Jeffrey Colle of Estates by Colle. According to Robert Weigel, who lives nearby on Town Line Road in Wainscott, Michael S. Dell, the founder and chairman of Dell Inc., the giant computer firm, is the owner of the L.L.C.

Toward the end of the hearing, the applicant’s attorney, Mary Jane Asato of Bourke, Flanagan, and Asato, a South?ampton firm, said the applicant was eager to sell some or all of the property to the town. She said she had pursued that route, and felt a total lack of interest in using the community preservation fund to pursue a purchase. “Unless the town steps forth and uses the C.P.F. fund to purchase some or all of these lots, which we hardily support,” she said, the final plan is “a good settlement. We can’t please everybody.”

 Job Potter, a member of the planning board, confirmed Ms. Asato’s statement, saying the board had “written to the town board to take some kind of action. They need to hear from you,” he told the audience. Asked about a C.P.F. purchase on Monday, however, Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said it was unlikely given the price, which he anticipated would be upwards of $6 million for each of the seven lots planned.

The subdivision had been the subject of a lawsuit in 2009, with a ruling in 2011 by a State Supreme Court Justice that the planning board had been “arbitrary and capricious” in turning down an earlier layout. He sent it back to the board for reconsideration. The plans then went through several iterations, with board members, the town Planning Department, and Ms. Asato alternately negotiating and sparring.

Final plans, the subject of the hearing, now call for seven buildable lots at each corner of the property, along with a third lot on Wainscott Hollow Road and two more running along the northern border, perpendicular to the two roads.

The placement of one of the houses, at the southern corner of the parcel at Sayre’s Path, drew the ire of three neighbors, who made a joint presentation at the hearing, with Michael Frank speaking first.

Their fear was the ultimate size of the house to be built there, which, they said, would dwarf their houses. Mr. Frank also criticized a proposed 20-foot-wide scenic easement at Sayre’s Path as woefully inadequate, a sentiment echoed by a second speaker, Alex Ching, who called the easement ridiculous. “Our air and light will be curtailed,” she said.

The Sayre’s Path neighbors proposed moving the lot adjacent to those being created along the northern border of the property. This had been discussed in the past by the board and the Planning Department, which rejected it as cutting off the north-south vista.

For their part, Wainscott Hollow Road residents objected to all but one of the lots having access from their road, with three located either on the road or  close to it.

“You have taken away two-thirds of the open vista with this plan,” Mr. Weigel said. “They have done a good job pitting neighbor against neighbor.”

The question of guaranteeing that the farm be used as farmland was pursued at the hearing by Melanie Cirillo of the Peconic Land Trust. She urged the town board to follow Southampton Town in purchasing the development rights to the open space and in then leasing the land at a discount to farmers who would work the land.

Peter Dankowski, a Wainscott farmer, also spoke, as did his daughter. “I farmed this farm,” he said. He told the board there were approximately 33 acres of good farm soil there. “Keep it open,” he said.

“I urge you to preserve this,” Betty Dankowski said. “I have seen Wainscott change in my 27 years. It is important for my generation, who want to stay in Wainscott.” The audience broke into applause.