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East Hampton board approves removal of four properties from airport layout plan amid disputes over appraisals
Summary
After public comment criticizing appraisal assumptions and litigation strategy, the East Hampton Town Board voted to remove four parcels from the airport layout plan. Speakers pressed for greater transparency about appraisals, remediation-cost assumptions and the exclusion of adjacent properties from the removals.
The East Hampton Town Board voted June 4 to authorize the removal of four properties from the town airport’s layout plan, approving resolution 2026-983 after a public hearing that drew pointed questions about appraisals and counsel’s litigation strategy.
At the hearing, a resident identified in the record as David challenged the appraisals that underlie the proposed removals, saying outside counsel instructed appraisers to assume a $5 million remediation cost that produced an effectively zero fair-market value for one parcel. "So how did two reputable appraisers and a highly qualified review appraiser all come to the conclusion that 131 Wainscott Northwest Road has a fair market value of $0?" he asked, adding that the extraordinary assumption "was estimated to be at least $5,000,000" and could not be independently verified by the appraiser.
David said the town appeared to be treating appraisals as part of a litigation tactic and criticized the timing of document availability, noting he had just received appraisal records the night before the meeting. He also questioned why adjacent, conjoined properties (75 and 77 Industrial Road) had been treated differently in the proposed action and urged the board to discuss counsel’s approach in public.
A remote caller, Alon Rosenthal, told the board he supported removing some industrial-road properties from the airport layout plan and urged the town to use 91 and 93 Industrial Road for affordable housing, while also asking for clearer timelines and preservation review for properties on or near aquifer-protected land.
Following the public hearing, the board approved resolution 2026-983, which authorizes removal of 131 Wainscott Northwest Road, 75 Industrial Road, 91 Industrial Road and 93 Industrial Road from the airport layout plan. The motion passed by voice vote during the meeting’s resolutions section.
The removal was announced alongside multiple other routine approvals on the agenda. The record of public comment shows at least two residents sought greater transparency about supporting documents, asked for explicit statements in program descriptions when remediation or additional approvals are required, and pressed the board to explain whether counsel’s assumptions had been independently validated.
The board did not amend the appraisal assumptions on the floor; the resolution moved forward with the documentation as provided. The transcript indicates the vote was affirmative; the board closed the meeting after completing the agenda.
Next steps listed in the meeting packet include implementation of the resolution as written; any subsequent litigation or FAA review would take place outside the town board meeting.
