Southampton Supervisor Seeks To Repeal Controversial Zoning Legislation

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman has set out to repeal a controversial bill regarding planned development districts.

Just one day after a special meeting scheduling a public hearing on a three month extension of the current PDD moratorium, Schneiderman announced that he has filed a bill repealing the PDD law; the additional three months are necessary to consider the repeal, he explained.

According to the supervisor, the PDD law was enacted in 1995 in order to create additional flexibility in planning and development.

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 what's presently achievable under conventional land use and zoning regulations, proponents of the law say; PDD zoning provides the ability to modify uses and densities normally allowed by underlying zoning with a public benefit component, they have noted.

During his state of the town address, Schneiderman said he was in support of a plan to replace the planned development district legislation; a one year moratorium on PDDs is currently in place.

“The new law will provide predictability and be more compatible with the community’s long term vision," he said.

Schneiderman said he and the Democratic town board members have long been critical of the law, with concerns about the lack of predictability and certain provisions that allow developers to offer unrelated community benefits to offset gains in value by the additional development garnered through the PDD approval. These so called “community benefits” are seen by some as an inappropriate form of enticement designed to influence the town board’s decision, he said.

In addition, the supervisor pointed out, numerous large-scale development projects have been approved through the PDD process; as public sentiment grew against the zoning tool, a one-year moratorium on new applications was put in place.

The moratorium is set to expire on June 1.

Following the enactment of the moratorium, the controversial PDD application for the Gateway project in Bridgehampton, combining commercial and residential zoning, was withdrawn.

The resort golf course development in East Quogue known as “The Hills” is the last remaining PDD still actively being processed, he said.

Over the past year, the supervisor has been a member of a working group assembled to amend the PDD law to address community concerns.

“The law is unfixable and needs to be repealed,” Schneiderman said. “The PDD law is a wild card. It creates the potential that any parcel of land can be developed in any way a developer envisions. Our community deserves predictability in planning its future.”

Other members of the working group include planning board member Robin Long, Southampton Town Attorney James Burke, Assistant Town Attorney Carl Benincasa, Town Planning and Development Administrator Kyle Collins; Assistant Planning Director Janice Scherer and Southampton Town Councilman John Bouvier.

"Zoning is not for sale,” said Bouvier. “It is time to pull the plug on PDDs.”

“PDDs have morphed from what had been a good idea into something that doesn’t seem to be in the best interest of our community,” Southampton Town Councilwoman Julie Lofstad said. “What the community needs should be determined by the people, not by developers.”

A public hearing on the PDD repeal law will be scheduled for Tuesday, June 13 at 1 p.m. at Southampton Town Hall.

The bill is co-sponsored by Bouvier and Lofstad.