Chamber Throws Support to Hills Project

A project to bring a championship 18-hole golf course and 82 homes to 400 acres on Lewis Road East Quogue is simply a "no brainer" — that is the message Donna Lanzetta, president of the East Quogue Chamber of Commerce is working to get out to the community.

Lanzetta said the chamber is fully supportive of the project that is proposed by Discovery Land Company and DLV Quogue, formerly East Quogue Group LLC, and has been looking for approval since 2009.

"We are going to shoot ourselves in the foot if this project is not approved," said Lanzetta.

Lanzetta said the project, which is seeking approval for a planned development district from the Southampton Town Board, will not only bring in $4.5 million in taxes, but she said it will not have a huge impact on the school district. 

"This company builds high-end homes. The people living there will not use these houses as their primary residence," said Lanzetta. "Statistics show that only 3.7 percent of the people living in the homes built by this company use the houses as their primary residence."

Lansetta believes that once the project is built, only 6 new kids will enter the school district. 

"This is the best plan," said Lansetta.

But not all agree, including the Suffolk County Planning Commission,which rejected the proposal, which will be built on 300 acres of the 400 acre property, earlier this month, according to a report on 27east. 

Members of hushquietskies.org, a group of area residents is also opposing the project, stating in an e-mail blast that that the Hills property is the largest remaining open tract of land in Southampton and needs to be preserved. 

The organization write, acknowledging that previous efforts to preserve the property have failed, "We still hope that this parcel, which Dr. Chris Gobler has identified as so important to the protection of our drinking/surface water can be preserved."

East Quogue Civic Association members have also stated that they oppose the project. The same is true of CAC-West. 

A public hearing on the project, which opened in August will continue on Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. at Southampton Town Hall. 

To learn more about the project, click here. 

Patch wants to know: Do you support the Hills project or are you opposed to it? Let us know in the comment section below.