Second Hearing for Controversial 'Hills' Golf Resort Project Held This Week

EAST QUOGUE, NY — A second public hearing on the "Hills at Southampton" golf resort project will be held at East Quogue Elementary School Monday.

The hearing will be held at East Quogue Elementary School Monday at 6 p.m.

Richard Amper, executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, urged residents to turn out and raise their concerns and thoughts.

"This is our best chance to tell the Southampton town board that we do not support this planned development district because of its environmental and economic impacts, traffic and compromised quality-of-life. Please attend and support our campaign against this extremely detrimental development," he said.

Environmentalists, elected officials and residents also attended a first hearing in November on the controversial project proposed for East Quogue that some say could have significant impacts on the community and East End environment.

Others in support of the project, however, say it will be a boon to the local economy.

In recent months, environmentalists, including Alec Baldwin, have rallied to "Kill the Hills," and tried to put the brakes on the proposed development of an 18-hole, private golf course with 118 residences and a 155,760 square foot clubhouse/catering facility on a 594-acres site in the Pine Barrens of Southampton.

The Southampton Town board, according to a resolution, received a revised draft environmental impact statement in April, associated with the applicant's formal request for a change of zone from CR200 to mixed use planned development district.

The applicant seeks to change four separate land holdings totaling 591 acres located in East Quogue.
The Hills property, the resolution states, consists of 340.91 acres south of and 86.92 acres north of Sunrise Highway, for a total of 427.83 acres; with contiguous property to the west known as the Kracke property, 61.26 acres, and the noncontiguous Parlato property to the east, 101.91 acres, for a total of 591 acres.

In July, Southampton Town even offered to preserve "The Hills" parcel in East Quogue; that plan was not embraced.

For years, the community has stood divided on the project, which aims to bring an 18-hole golf course and 118 luxury homes to an expanse of vacant acreage on Spinney Road off Lewis Road.

Those in support say it will boster the East End economy, while other argue the project is detrimental to the environment.

The property is located within a groundwater recharge area and has been the focus of development plans for many years.

The parcel is owned by Arizona based-Discovery Land Corporation.

Efforts to preserve the parcel came to a halt in May, 2013 when a past property owner was unwilling to accept the offer, which was below the price they had paid to acquire the land.

The golf course development was proposed through a Planned Development District, or PDD, which requires four votes for approval.

Meanwhile, the “as of right” development could allow up to 118 homes, excluding the golf course.

The town voted to pass a moratorium in May on reviewing new PDD applications.

Planned development districts are created in municipalities with the goal of facilitating increased flexibility to achieve more desirable development through use of creative and imaginative design of residential, mixed use, commercial, and industrial areas than is presently achievable under conventional land use and zoning regulations.

Although “The Hills” pre-dates the PDD moratorium, controversy over the development played a role in the town’s decision to enact the moratorium on new proposals, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said.

Caption: Alec Baldwin at a July rally to "Kill the Hills." Photo by Lisa Finn.