Samuel Kramer will be stripped of his chairmanship of the East Hampton Town Planning Board, after having served in that role since January 2019. The decision, which requires a vote of the entire town board, won’t become official until a resolution to that effect is passed at the reorganizational meeting on Jan. 2. No other regulatory board chairmanships are expected to be changed at the meeting.
“I have no idea. I don’t know the reason at all,” Mr. Kramer said in a phone call on Dec. 16. “I only know that I have been advised that I’m not serving next year as chair.” He added in a text, “I am grateful to have been given the privilege and honor to serve.” He said he was not sure if he would remain on the board or not. Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez informed Mr. Kramer of her decision during a Dec. 6 phone call.
Mr. Kramer’s seven-year term is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025.
The town supervisor declined to comment, writing in an email only that, “The town board does not discuss personnel or any land use or regulatory board appointments.”
“I value the participation of all the regulatory board members and the dedication they show to the township and residents,” said Councilman David Lys, who also would not comment on why the decision to replace Mr. Kramer was made. He said that while a new chairman has been chosen, he would not divulge the name until the reorganizational meeting.
There are six other members of the board. They include Ed Krug, whose term expires on Dec. 31; Michael Hansen, whose term is up on Dec. 31, 2028; Louis Cortese (Dec. 31, 2019), and Bruce Siska (Dec. 31, 2030). Jennifer Fowkes was appointed to fill out the term vacated by Ian Calder-Piedmonte when he was appointed to the town board in January. That term is up next December. Sharon McCobb, who was the vice chairwoman, has moved out of town and is no longer on the board. Her term would have been up at the end of 2027. Ava Warren was appointed to fill out Ms. McCobb’s term. Mr. Krug was made the board’s vice chairman.
Last winter, the planning board hired a lawyer to advise it on whether or not it should oversee the New York State Environmental Quality Review of the town’s proposed 22,000-square-foot, $28-plus-million senior citizen’s center on Abraham’s Path in Amagansett. This was in opposition to the desires of the town board, which ultimately gained control (or lead agency status) of the review. More recently, in a split vote, citing what’s known as the Monroe balancing of public interests analysis, the board voted to exempt the project from local zoning and land-use regulations.
Mr. Kramer has served the town for decades in various roles. After purchasing a house in Wainscott in 1994, he began routinely attending meetings of the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee, later serving as its chairman for eight years. He also served as the East Hampton Town representative to the Suffolk County Planning Commission, as treasurer to the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee, and as vice chairman of the town’s zoning board of appeals.
The largest planning board application before the town is at the gateway to the town, in Wainscott, where the Wainscott Commercial Center hopes to get approval for 50 commercial lots on a 70.4-acre parcel a few hundred feet from the mouth of Georgica Pond. Mr. Kramer’s intricate knowledge of the history of that application and his status as a Wainscott resident would no doubt be important as that project continues to be reviewed by the planning board.
Mr. Kramer chaired his last meeting on Dec. 18. “We work very closely with the chair to develop the meeting agendas and make sure that application reviews are in keeping with the planning board standards,” said Tina Vavilis-LaGarenne, the town’s acting planning director. “I enjoyed working with Sam. I’ve worked with him for close to three years and it’s been a pleasure.”
“I am disappointed not to have Sam returning as chair,” said Mr. Cortese, a planning board member, who was appointed with Mr. Kramer in 2019. “I think he did a superb job in that position.”
