Skip to main content

Plea for a Building Break

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 15:29

Citing the proliferation in recent years of "extremely large houses" looming over and destroying the privacy of their neighbors, the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee asked the East Hampton Town Board at its meeting on Tuesday to strengthen the town code, particularly as to setbacks and the pyramid law, and to impose a moratorium on building permits and on "the many subdivisions that are occurring in all East Hampton hamlets and especially in Amagansett."

In a letter to the board, the committee argued that gross floor area and coverage requirements are "much more liberal" here than in surrounding towns, and recommended that the town "stop house sizes at 4,000 square feet." A moratorium, it said, would "prevent property owners from making a mad dash for building permits under the current rules."

The committee asked also that more specific standards be set as "guidelines" for the planning, zoning, and architectural review boards, and suggested that the board create an overlay district in the hamlet's lanes and in BeachHampton. Those areas "are being developed as never before," it said.

Villages

Amistad Week Comes Ashore

Amistad Week, commemorating the slave ship that was seized off Montauk in 1839 and featuring a series of events in the hamlet dedicated to history, art, and community, begins next week.

Aug 21, 2025

Remembering Gosman’s Dock

A new book — “Memories of Gosman’s Dock, by the Help” — is a love letter to the local institution Gosman’s used to be, before it changed ownership last fall.

Aug 21, 2025

Item of the Week: When the Hampton Classic Was in East Hampton

Did you know East Hampton once hosted the Hampton Classic Horse Show? This Dan Rattiner map shows the layout at Dune Alpin Farm in 1979.

Aug 21, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.