Attempting to put the kibosh on any more talks of turning a 38-acre oceanfront tract on Napeague owned by the town of East Hampton into a public beach, the East End Dunes Residents Association has requested it be turned a nature preserve. This week's East Hampton Star is reporting that the group has submitted a formal application for the designation. If the Town Planning or Natural Resources Departments determines that the swath of land meets the requirements, a public hearing is to be held with 45 days and the board can then decide to dedicate "part, all, or none of the town-owned property discussed" as a nature preserve. If the town does decide to move forward with the creation of a preserve, the homeowner association has promised to donate $25K towards "a management plan...and to help pay the costs of stewardship."
The doesn't sit well with Town Councilwoman Theresa Quigley: "I personally have a problem with neighbors contributing money for an adjoining preserve to ensure that nobody else gets on it, because it smacks of exclusivity, it smacks of taking ownership of it in your heart."
· Homeowners Ask for Preserve On Napeague [East Hampton Star]
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