Newsletter Spotlights South Fork Land Use Laws

The mention of land use and zoning may cause the eyes of some people to glaze over out of disinterest, but for property owners, real estate agents and land use attorneys on the South Fork, land use and zoning are burning issues.

Changes in how land can be subdivided and developed and how houses can be expanded or altered can influence property value by hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. With monetary value and property rights at stake, interest in town and village code changes, regulatory board decisions and emerging court precedent is high in certain circles. That’s why Bridgehampton law firm Adam Miller Group has launched a new monthly e-newsletter aptly titled Land Use & Zoning.

“There’s a need for information,” said Denise Schoen, a partner in the Adam Miller Group and the newsletter’s author. “The information’s just not out there or is difficult to get.”

The February edition of Schoen’s tightly written newsletter summarized recent changes to East Hampton Town zoning code that affected acceptable railing height and roof decks on flat-roofed structures. The code change, effective March 1, also concerned gross floor area and pool houses.

Schoen joined Adam Miller Group in 2022. She has previously been an assistant East Hampton Town attorney representing both the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board, a land use, real estate, and zoning law practitioner at Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelly, Dubin and Quartararo, and a Sag Harbor Village attorney, among other work locally. She’s also been a member of the Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board of Appeals and the Sag Harbor Village Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review.

Schoen said that for people who don’t have the history of being involved in the municipal world for several years, there can be blind spots when purchasing property or making plans to build a home. But she can go back 30 years, she said, because that is the experience she brings to the table.

She is also familiar with what the courts are saying about Article 78 cases — a type of lawsuit that can be brought when an applicant wants to overturn the decision of a planning board, zoning board or architectural review board. Decisions in these cases guide how these regulatory boards are supposed to act, Schoen pointed out.

Right now, boards are hung up on the precedent they have set and whether they matter, she said.

Applicants’ attorneys and village attorneys often give their takes on the roles on regulatory boards. But a State Supreme Court justice hands down opinions with fine points on them, for certainty.

“It’s nice to have the judges say it,” Schoen said.

She said it’s been educational reading court cases to prepare the newsletter, enabling her to gain an understanding of the issues and explain them, minus the legalese, to an audience that is not all lawyers.

Her goal is to make the newsletter helpful so clients can make educated decisions when they buy property.

Some people buy something then find out it is overcleared or includes wetland, and they can’t do what they thought they could do, she pointed out. A more educated populace will yield a better result, she said, adding, “People should have a basic understanding of their rights with regard to property rights.”

Right now she is closely watching East Hampton Town’s consideration of reductions to the town’s formula for determining the maximum house size based on the size of a lot.

“This is a major, major change in how we calculate gross floor area,” she said.

She noted she will keep the newsletter educational and factual, rather than her personal opinion on land use and zoning issues.

Sign up for the newsletter at adammillergroup.com/about-us-firm/newsletter.