Letters

I feel compelled to comment on the Letter to the Editor “A Guide, Not Code” [July 11]. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.

The town’s Comprehensive Plan is not an innocuous “guide.” Comprehensive plans are codified in the New York State Consolidated Laws. They are the very foundation to land use and zoning.

“New York’s zoning enabling statutes (the state statutes which give cities, towns and villages the power to enact local zoning laws) require that zoning laws be adopted in accordance with a comprehensive plan” (New York State, Department of State, Zoning and the Comprehensive Plan, reprinted 2023).

Pursuant to New York State Consolidated Laws, Section 272-A: “Among the most important powers and duties granted by the legislature to a town government is the authority and responsibility to undertake town comprehensive planning and to regulate land use for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizens.”

Under New York State Consolidated Laws, Town Law Section 263: Zoning “regulations shall be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan and designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other dangers; to promote health and general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population …”

Anyone suggesting that the Town Board prepare an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the benefit of one property owner is encouraging the Town Board to engage in illegal spot zoning and subjects the town and its taxpayers to litigation.

The revised pattern book being proposed as an amendment to the town’s Comprehensive Plan contained specific provisions buried in the fine print for 50-foot buildings, multifamily housing and greater than 2½-story buildings, which could provide the grounds for a property owner to propose similar high-density development reminiscent of the annulled Hampton Bays downtown overlay district zoning.

Zoning is not the only tool in town government’s toolbox to revitalize the downtown and encourage investment. The town government has failed Hampton Bays with its ineffective attempts to revitalize the downtown and has tried to deflect their failure onto residents who read the fine print of their documents.

Many of us are relying on Supervisor Maria Moore to reverse that trend and bring the practical approach to revitalizing the downtown of Hampton Bays, as was done in Westhampton Beach under her administration.

Gayle Lombardi

Hampton Bays