A letter from B.A.N. was sent last month to the Town Board of Southampton, in regards to our community request to keep the Gateway property GREEN! The Group for the East End along with other environmental organizations on the East End of Long island are working with B.A.N. Please read letter below: Page 1 of 1July 7, 2016 Supervisor Jay Schneiderman and Members of the Town Board Southampton Town Hall 116 Hampton Road Southampton New York 11938 Dear Supervisor Schneiderman and Members of the Town Board, We write to you as concerned citizens of Bridgehampton, to request that the Town Board begin planning steps for the acquisition and preservation of the former “Gateway” Planned Development District properties and other key highway properties in Bridgehampton that lie along Montauk Highway and outside of the hamlet center (which is where any future and modest scale commercial development should be focused). Preserving this property through the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund would reduce further unsightly development along the region’s main travel corridor, reduce the continued escalation of traffic onto a highly strained traffic arterial, and stop the sprawl of Bridgehampton which is rapidly spreading its way into Watermill. For at least the last 30 years, it has been well understood by the Town and the public that any future development of the subject and nearby properties would be highly problematic because of the inherent and ever-increasing conflicts between development-related traffic, and the use of a two-lane commercial corridor as the Town’s primary East/West traffic arterial. This basic problem is the reason why every development application proposed for this area has been highly problematic, and every year traffic conditions only degenerate further. These conditions, coupled with the region’s rising number and duration of harmful and development- driven algal blooms (including outbreaks in the nearby waters of Kellis Pond), make it clear that the Gateway properties call out for preservation. After decades of experiencing a vicious and repetitive cycle of ill-advised proposals, we believe that trying to find a suitable development for these properties is ultimately unworkable and that its time to follow a much more progressive and productive course of action. We believe strongly that the Town should pursue a conservation outcome that will, unlike any other proposal to date, truly preserve the remaining integrity of Bridgehampton’s gateway character, prevent any further traffic impacts on the most congested traffic corridor on all of Eastern Long Island, and eliminate further wastewater and runoff inputs to the Kellis Pond watershed. Accordingly, we respectfully request that the town board authorize survey and appraisals of these properties so that a negotiated fair market purchase of the Gateway and other key properties can expeditiously begin. This resolution is fair to all concerned. We look forward to your active engagement in pursuing this outcome. Sincerely, Bridgehampton Action Now