Southampton demands EIS for contentious condo project

The developer behind a contentious 120-unit condominium project in Southampton will need to conduct an environmental impact study to move the project forward, according to the Southampton Press.

Such analyses typically take several months, cost six figures and are paid for by the developer, which in this case is Engel Berman. The Southampton Town Planning Board ordered the study, citing the project’s “moderate to large” impacts on land, transportation, energy, noise and community character.

Neighbors have opposed the project since it was proposed in mid-2019.

Engel Berman maintains that the project meets the town’s zoning code, which allows a nonconforming use to replace another nonconforming use if the new development is more beneficial to the community than what it replaced. The 20-acre site is a defunct town dump. [Southampton Press] — Dennis Lynch