Mansion manicures: East Hampton limits home sizes on lots in fight to preserve community's 'heart and soul'

A humble bungalow bulldozed for a dream beach house. Quaint cottages cleared away for luxury living. It’s an all too familiar scene that plays out in the Town of East Hampton, but officials are hoping to discourage the trend of oversized houses with a new regulation set to take effect in July.

The code change sets a new formula for calculating a home's maximum square footage, reducing what can be built by a range of 13% to 27%, according to estimates provided by the town.

Deputy Supervisor Cate Rogers said she spearheaded the policy change in response to building trends across East Hampton Town.

“We had people buying quite a few properties up in town and knocking down the older houses, the traditional houses on the smaller lots,” Rogers said in an interview.

Larger, multimillion dollar homes were rebuilt on those lots, causing year-round residents who grew up in East Hampton to be priced out of the neighborhood, she said. “For me, that’s the loss of the heart and soul of our community and a big change in our community character,” Rogers said.

The new formula is the latest in a series of zoning changes intended to deter overdevelopment in the easternmost Hamptons town. Proponents of the bill say the measure still allows for spacious — though not supersized — homes to be built that retain a rural charm. Smaller homes use less energy and are better for the environment, backers of the bill point out. But opponents say the legislation isn't targeted enough. The restrictions could limit owners of modest-sized homes, including less affluent town residents, from expanding.

The new law allows the square footage of a house to be 7% of the lot area, plus 1,500 square feet. The current town code allows houses to be built as big as 10% of the lot size plus 1,600 square feet.

A divided town board approved the measure in a 3-1-1 vote on March 20, with Rogers, Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and Councilman David Lys supporting the change. Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte voted against the proposal and Councilman Tom Flight abstained.

Applications with valid permits or approvals before July 1 are exempt from the new rules, according to the bill.

Under the existing code, 3,600-square-foot homes are permitted on half-acre lots. The new code would allow for a 2,900-square-foot home on the same size lot, representing a 19% reduction.

On one-acre lots, 4,300-square-foot homes are to be permitted, a 23% reduction from the current limit of 5,600 square feet.

Unintended consequences

Late last year, the town board approved other changes to close what Rogers described as other "loopholes." The board halved the maximum house size from 20,000 to 10,000 square feet on the town’s largest residential lots. The board also voted to restrict basements from extending beyond the footprint of a home's first floor.

“People were going property line to property line underground with sports courts, more than one story underground,” Rogers said.

Last year, the town considered including the square footage of finished basements and attached garages to a home's maximum size, Newsday previously reported. Finished basements and attached garages up to 600 square feet don't count in the maximum house size calculation.

Though he supports the concept of smaller houses, Calder-Piedmonte said the bill could have unintended consequences for residents in smaller homes hoping to renovate and expand.

“I worry that we’re going to hurt working families and working people, and nobody intends to do that,” he said before casting his vote.

Some residents, particularly those in few and far between starter homes, said extra space is needed to accommodate hybrid work setups and growing families.

“We have tiny little lots that have tiny little homes and we need to be able to make them livable,” Liz Miller of Springs said at a March 6 hearing on the issue. The code “inhibits” what young families can do to add living space and bedrooms. “This makes it nearly impossible,” she said.

A town analysis of residential lots in East Hampton show the majority, 70%, are less than an acre; 37% are less than a half acre.

Environmental benefits

The environmental nonprofit Group for the East End supported the new rules, which they said curbs water and energy use and reduces the strain on infrastructure.

For nearly two years, a zoning committee has been drafting recommendations to address house size using the town’s 2005 comprehensive plan as a guide. Developing house size restrictions was a key part of that plan, which said “construction of very large monster homes has begun to threaten the character of the community.”

Most residents who spoke up at hearings on the proposal supported the new limitations.

Cristina Buckley said small lots in her Springs neighborhood are the “last bastion” to be developed by moneyed interests.

“If in a few years, my modest house is surrounded by McMansions and imposing hedges and electric gates … I may choose to leave also, and it will be because the soul of my community is gone,” Buckley said at the hearing. “And once it's gone, it’s never coming back.”