Southampton Town adopts zoning-law changes

Much to the applause of civic and environmental groups, the Town of Southampton has adopted changes to its zoning laws pertaining to large planned communities.

The revisions, implemented after seven public hearings and spirited debate, will set a timeline for developers and town planners, and bring projects to the public's attention earlier. The changes were approved unanimously at Tuesday's meeting.

The Planned Development District code usually applies to large-scale projects that don't fall under conventional zoning laws, or that need "spot zoning," allowing changes to smaller portions of a zoned area for other than its purported use.

The main purpose of the changes is to keep stakeholders, such as residents, apprised of any such application before the process gets too far along, and give them a forum -- a public hearing -- before developers invest too heavily in the project.

Among the changes are the pre-submission public hearing, which used to be a work session, more public notice to residents via mail or notices posted on properties. The town board will also vote on the preliminary plans before they can move forward.

The public hearings give developers, town planners, the town board and residents a chance to talk about a project in an open manner; topics could include the density and scale of a proposed project.

At the meeting, local civic groups commended the legislation and the process that led to the changes. Among them was the environmentally focused Group for the East End, which represented about a dozen civic and environmental organizations.

"Clearly, the outcome of this endeavor was significantly improved because of the substantial investment of time, energy and intellect that was applied to every step of the process, and we know how much time was invested on our behalf," read a statement on behalf of the groups.

"That was my hope," said Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst. "That it would serve as a model, and the end result would be that everyone felt they had a seat at the table, even if they don't agree with all of it."