Westhampton Beach could get 45 new condo units — seven of them affordable — but only if the village board sides with the developer over residents opposing the project.
WH Equity Group proposed the homes for eight acres north of Montauk Highway between Depot Road and Old Riverhead Road, 27East reported. The local planning board granted preliminary approval, but the village trustees could reduce the number of units or otherwise amend the plan.
The concerns from residents are familiar refrains in the Hamptons: traffic and density. The State Environmental Quality Review Act process resulted in one planned entrance being removed, but not enough to assuage the concerns of locals.
Density worries inspired some to speak at a recent village board meeting. One resident said the community was “already filled to the brim,” detailing quality of life issues and local services burdens in the area. Another resident called the proposal “overwhelming.”
The objections called to mind Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lament this week that New York leads the nation in “blocking housing.”
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A board member also expressed concern about a two-unit building proposed to stand alone on the site. The applicant’s team replied that eliminating it would also lead to the removal of two affordable units.
Jim Hulme, the developer’s attorney, defended the proposal, calling multifamily development the appropriate choice for the site and claiming the proposal meshed with the village’s zoning plan.
The public hearing period is scheduled to continue into next month.
WH Equity Group is not the only developer vying to build in Westhampton Beach. This year, the Beechwood Organization unveiled plans to build 26 single-family homes in the Hamptons village.
A majority would be part of a single development close to the LIRR station. Prices for homes at the 22-home Country Pointe Estates would range from $2.7 million to $3.6 million, above Westhampton’s median sales price from 2021.
— Holden Walter-Warner