Issue #3- April 13, 2007

RAISING MONEY? NEW LAWS FAVOR LOCAL CHARITIES

By David Stoll

Several weeks ago, The Town of Southampton considered new rules to streamline, and in some respects, tighten the process for obtaining special use permits, which are needed before a charity or other event organizer can hold an outdoor benefit. While the Board continues tinkering with the rules, they are also exercising their existing powers more robustly. Under current rules, whether a charity is a beneficiary of the event is one of the criteria that the Town considers in deciding whether or not to issue a permit. The Town has now indicated that it will look more favorably on events that benefit local charities when granting permits. As a result, the annual Super Saturday shopping event, which raises money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, may not be allowed to take place in Water Mill this summer, unless the Fund donates some of the proceeds to a local charity.

The event – which raised more than $1,900,000, after expenses, for the Fund last year (more than 70% of its annual funding) – is scheduled to take place on July 28 this year. One of the most popular benefits of the summer, the event attracted more than 1,500 people last year. Top fashion designers donate clothes, which people buy in a yard-sale-like frenzy throughout the day. Although the site where the event has taken place in the past is privately owned, the Town of Southampton owns the development rights. Coupled with the large number of attendees, the Town’s involvement in preserving the land is raising red flags at the Town Board, particularly this year, at a time when land use is such a prominent topic on local people’s minds.

At a recent work session, the Board suggested that, if such stress is going to be put on Town resources (such as police) and land, not to mention an increase in daytime traffic, local charities should benefit. Councilwoman Nancy Graboski, who has been spearheading the effort to control special permit applications more strictly, expressed particular concern about using preserved agricultural land for special events, worrying about an “evolution” away from the very uses for which the land was preserved.

Despite the rhetoric about land use, the Board has not denied the application, and has instead suggested that the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund simply donate some of the money it raises to local charities, such as Southampton Hospital. Town Supervisor Skip Heaney expressed concern that out-of-town charities come here to “mine for dollars.” A “sizable contribution” by organizers like the Fund would allow local charities to enjoy the fruits of summer benefits, without having to worry about a diminished ability to raise money as benefit fatigue sets in.

A spokesperson for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, which has not made such a donation in the past, suggested that the Fund is open to the concept. If the Fund and the Town cannot reach an agreement, the event would have to take place somewhere else, perhaps even outside of the Southampton Township, or at least on land that is not part of the Town’s preserved land. Perhaps to make a donation easier, the owner of the land has expressed a willingness to waive the fee that the Fund has paid in the past. Those who enjoy the ritual of attending the same benefit each year in the same location hope that a compromise can be reached.

Meanwhile, land use – and particularly that of preserved land – is the focus of attention in East Hampton as well. The East Hampton Town Board is considering revisions to its Open Space Preservation law. Already regarded as strict, the rules may be amended so that anyone subdividing privately-owned property would have to set aside at least fifty percent of the land for preservation and, in some cases (such as waterfront parcels and prime agricultural land), as much as seventy percent. Currently, when subdividing property of less than 25 acres, twenty-five percent must be preserved, while thirty-five percent of most larger parcels must be preserved.

Perhaps in an effort to stave off what could be fierce opposition from developers and other landowners, the new rules would increase the amount of clearing permitted within a subdivision. Although a large tract of land would accommodate fewer houses under the stricter subdivision rules, those houses and their accessory structures may be larger than previously allowed. The Town will hold a hearing on the proposed rules on April 13 at 10:30 a.m.