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Planning board clears landscaping, begins lead‑agency referral for Springs Fire Department wireless facility
Summary
After the applicant added staggered evergreen screening and revised EAF Part 1, the board found the landscaping acceptable and voted to begin lead‑agency referrals; neighbors’ counsel urged the board to require a DEIS based on earlier scoping determinations.
The East Hampton Planning Board reviewed updated landscaping and an amended EAF Part 1 for a proposed personal wireless facility at the Springs Fire Department site and voted to initiate the lead‑agency referral process on Aug. 27, 2025.
Planning staff described how applicants augmented an earlier single row of 6‑foot arborvitae with an additional staggered row and supplementary plantings near the equipment pad; photo simulations were submitted showing the revised screening. The Architectural Review Board provided written comments supportive of the tower coloration and updated landscaping.
Planning staff said the amended EAF Part 1 is now complete for the purpose of referring involved agencies; the board approved beginning the 30‑day lead‑agency referral window so agencies can respond. Staff emphasized that the board is not yet making a SEQRA determination pending involved‑agency comments.
Neighbors’ counsel urged the board to adhere to a prior determination to require a DEIS, saying the board’s 2020 secret determination identified potential for significant adverse impacts (a scoping outline was prepared in 2021). Richard Whale, representing nearby homeowners, told the board the earlier scoping and the town’s prior process justified a DEIS request: “The board made a secret determination in July 2020 to require a DEIS … You should adhere to your prior decision and should require a DEIS,” he said. Planning staff and board members noted the application had been revised and withdrawn/re‑submitted and that the current step is to begin lead‑agency circulation so involved agencies can weigh in.
The board found the updated screening acceptable and voted to begin establishing lead‑agency status. If no involved agency objects during the referral period, the planning department will prepare an EAF Part 2/3 for the board to consider at a future meeting, where the board may then decide whether a negative declaration or an EIS is warranted.
