a Letter to the Editor of the East Hampton Star
Dear David,
As a life long Wainscott resident I am fascinated by the group titled Save Beach Lane. I am fascinated because Beach Lane does not need saving.
I ask myself, who are they saving it for and what are they saving it from as I walk or bike on Beach Lane, which I do frequently, and marvel at the enormous houses, larger than most in bucolic Wainscott. Ah, then it comes to me, they intend to “save it” from the wind-power utility cable that would be laid underground and out of sight — a cable that would transmit clean electricity for all of East Hampton Town.
Why are they against it? Many of the Beach Lane houses already have underground utility power cables, buried gas lines, and fuel tanks to heat their pools, underground water mains, outdoor electrical lighting lines running all throughout their properties. They also have buried in their properties large cement septic rings for their enormous water runoff, gray-water catchment, and, yes, even sewage. They certainly didn’t complain when Suffolk County buried eight-and-a-half miles of new water mains throughout Wainscott.
But back to “Saving Beach Lane.” Are they saving it from overbuilding and large house development? I think not. That horse left the barn over 40 years ago because East Hampton Town saw what was on the horizon and up-zoned Wainscott and implemented architectural and square-footage code restrictions on residential lots and undeveloped farmland, giving us our open vistas and preserved land that we enjoy today. We are in an agricultural overlay district with many more restrictions than basic residential zoning. Most recently, the town preserved the Babinski farmland on Beach Lane.
Beach Lane is Beach Lane. There is not more to be done there. It is what it is: lovely farmland graced by some of the largest, most expensive homes in Wainscott that have amazing views of beautiful farmland, Wainscott Pond, and, if lucky, ocean views. Lucky you! As you can see, Beach Lane was already saved by East Hampton Town.
What the Save Beach Lane group sought to do was not to have the cable from wind power buried down their street adjacent to their front yards, buried underground like all utilities and power lines they currently have running underground on their own properties. This “saving” was more a Not-In-My-Back-Yard (Nimby) issue or Not-In-My-Front-Yard issue. Nothing to do with saving anything or anyone.
So this elite group had no traction and has now morphed into Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott as their new name. Who and what exactly are they going to preserve that the town has not already handled?
They have proposed incorporating Wainscott to what end? Hardly a preservation or conservative measure by adding another layer of government that is unnecessary and unwanted; adding another level of taxation by creating a new municipality instead of remaining a simple hamlet. I see no preservation in this effort. What are they preserving other than their own — Save Beach Lane and Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott — interests?
What I see is a lot of money being spent on ads using catchy phrases meant to dupe taxpayers and residents into thinking this is a worthy effort. They have also hired a New York City law firm, an international P.R. firm, an engineering firm, and a municipal incorporation adviser. So ask yourselves who is spending all this money and to what end? Why do they need saving and from what?
I remain mystified by people who say, “We love it so much here! We love everything about it, so we bought a house.” And then they shape shift into the people who say, “Now that we are here, we need to change everything about it!” Perhaps it is the wrong fit to begin with if you feel it needs changing!
As I leave Beach Lane on my bike, I think, too, about how extremely expensive it is to run a super large house and property like the ones I see. It’s a shame they are usually empty most of the year. Nevertheless, full or empty, the electric meters are whirring away, full tilt, 24/7/365 and the underground power lines remain buzzing!
As for this group’s potential concept of a volunteer government it will never succeed. Wainscott has a hard time getting three people to run for school trustee. So the requirement for board members to sit on a planning board and a zoning board and the time to meet and service all applications, facilitate and process proposals is a pipe dream. The contentious issues of planning or zoning are better left to the established town boards with the legal firepower and institutional knowledge to professionally handle such important issues. Taking turns staffing a government is akin to asking unicorns to recite the Constitution. There will be no success. This is all such an expensive disaster waiting to happen. If they honestly feel like Wainscott is not properly represented within East Hampton Town, I suggest they start by volunteering to sit on any number of the boards available. Perhaps they can learn how municipalities actually function and the time and hard work involved by dedicated neighbors who serve on these boards.
Residents of Wainscott beware: The current iteration of this group is a solution in search of a problem we do not have, need, or want. We do not need saving or protecting. We have been just fine for over 370 years as a hamlet in the Town of East Hampton. Let’s stay that way.
Best,
DOREEN A. NIGGLES
P.S.: As villages across New York State recently are choosing to opt out of their incorporation at higher tax rates and rejoining the former municipalities they once were a part of, this group’s folly in these economic times is extremely dangerous and frivolous and we will have to pay for their experiment at vast expense in perpetuity. There is no going back, and once it is gone it will be gone forever.