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Can Southampton save the Trees?: A New Land Clearing Ordinance
Summary: Southampton Town Council members, Thomas Neely and Michael Iacilli discuss a new proposal to control landclearing during property development in Southampton. After much consultation with community organizations, civic groups, environmental organizations, they are proposing a new Land Disturbance Ordinance that attempts to stipulate how many sq ft o properties of different sizes can be cleared without a permit and how much with a permit. They discuss the significance that Southampton Town lies over top of the single source aquifer for Long Island. Trees and native shrubs and plants play an important role in sequestering carbon, producing clean air and oxygen, controlling water movement, flooding, soil health, while supporting wildlife and pollinators. They announce the upcoming community hearing on April 28 and the prospect for the ordinance to pass.
AI Summary:
Episode Summary
What happens when neighborhoods wake up to chainsaws and clear-cut lots, with no clear answers about whether it’s legal? In this episode of ChangeHampton Presents, Francesca Rheannon speaks with Southampton Town Board members Michael Iasilli and Thomas Neely about a proposed Land Disturbance Ordinance designed to protect trees, wildlife habitat, water quality, and community character by closing long-standing loopholes in town code.
The proposed law would establish a permitting process for land clearing and excavation on properties of 20,000 square feet or larger, with a 2,000 square foot disturbance threshold before review is triggered. The goal is not to stop reasonable development, but to prevent unnecessary overclearing before it happens, rather than trying to repair environmental damage later through imperfect revegetation.
The conversation explores why tree cover and healthy soils matter for aquifer protection, flood prevention, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration, and how unchecked clearing contributes to habitat loss and overdevelopment. Iasilli and Neely also discuss the extensive public process that shaped the proposal, including revisions made in response to community feedback, and why they believe this ordinance could become a model for other East End towns.
Why This Matters Now
As development pressure intensifies across the East End, the question is whether communities can preserve ecological resilience before it is too late. This ordinance shifts the focus from mitigation after damage is done to prevention at the start, a potentially significant change in how local environmental protection works.
Key Topics
- Southampton’s proposed Land Disturbance Ordinance
- Overclearing and overdevelopment on the East End
- Protecting aquifer recharge and water quality
- Trees, carbon sequestration, and flood prevention
- Wildlife habitat and pollinator protection
- Revegetation versus preservation
- Community input and environmental governance
- Balancing property rights and ecological stewardship
Quotes from Neely & Iacilli:
“If we protect the aquifer as we’re doing, but ignore the land in between the aquifer and the water bodies, we risk polluting the very water that we’re trying to save as it moves through the ecosystem.”
“What we’re trying to do is get ahead of it at the beginning of the building process.”
“You don’t really get what was there for 50 years or 100 years that’s been torn away.”
“We need the pollinators. We need the insects. We need the animals to have places to live.”
“This creates that notification system… and allows the environmental division to take a look before you go ahead and just clear everything out.”
From Southampton Town:
The proposed Land Disturbance Ordinance is designed to curb overdevelopment by creating a Land Disturbance permitting process that gives the Town’s Land Management department the ability to limit overclearing before it happens.
Under the proposal, on properties of 20,000 square feet or larger, up to 2,000 square feet could be cleared or disturbed without additional review. Any clearing or disturbance beyond that 2,000 square foot threshold would require approval through Land Management.
This review process would allow the Town’s environmental division to assess plans before construction begins, helping prevent excessive clear-cutting and other environmental damage before alterations are made.
The ordinance also seeks to close loopholes in the Town Code, where current restrictions apply only within the Town’s APOD (Aquifer Protection Overlay District) areas, which cover less than half of the Town.
The next Town Board hearing on this legislation will be April 28 at 6 PM at Southampton Town Hall.
More on the legislation here: https://www.southamptontownny.gov/2373/Draft-Legislation
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By Francesca Rheannon, Gail Pellett, Stephan Van DamSummary: Southampton Town Council members, Thomas Neely and Michael Iacilli discuss a new proposal to control landclearing during property development in Southampton. After much consultation with community organizations, civic groups, environmental organizations, they are proposing a new Land Disturbance Ordinance that attempts to stipulate how many sq ft o properties of different sizes can be cleared without a permit and how much with a permit. They discuss the significance that Southampton Town lies over top of the single source aquifer for Long Island. Trees and native shrubs and plants play an important role in sequestering carbon, producing clean air and oxygen, controlling water movement, flooding, soil health, while supporting wildlife and pollinators. They announce the upcoming community hearing on April 28 and the prospect for the ordinance to pass.
AI Summary:
Episode Summary
What happens when neighborhoods wake up to chainsaws and clear-cut lots, with no clear answers about whether it’s legal? In this episode of ChangeHampton Presents, Francesca Rheannon speaks with Southampton Town Board members Michael Iasilli and Thomas Neely about a proposed Land Disturbance Ordinance designed to protect trees, wildlife habitat, water quality, and community character by closing long-standing loopholes in town code.
The proposed law would establish a permitting process for land clearing and excavation on properties of 20,000 square feet or larger, with a 2,000 square foot disturbance threshold before review is triggered. The goal is not to stop reasonable development, but to prevent unnecessary overclearing before it happens, rather than trying to repair environmental damage later through imperfect revegetation.
The conversation explores why tree cover and healthy soils matter for aquifer protection, flood prevention, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration, and how unchecked clearing contributes to habitat loss and overdevelopment. Iasilli and Neely also discuss the extensive public process that shaped the proposal, including revisions made in response to community feedback, and why they believe this ordinance could become a model for other East End towns.
Why This Matters Now
As development pressure intensifies across the East End, the question is whether communities can preserve ecological resilience before it is too late. This ordinance shifts the focus from mitigation after damage is done to prevention at the start, a potentially significant change in how local environmental protection works.
Key Topics
- Southampton’s proposed Land Disturbance Ordinance
- Overclearing and overdevelopment on the East End
- Protecting aquifer recharge and water quality
- Trees, carbon sequestration, and flood prevention
- Wildlife habitat and pollinator protection
- Revegetation versus preservation
- Community input and environmental governance
- Balancing property rights and ecological stewardship
Quotes from Neely & Iacilli:
“If we protect the aquifer as we’re doing, but ignore the land in between the aquifer and the water bodies, we risk polluting the very water that we’re trying to save as it moves through the ecosystem.”
“What we’re trying to do is get ahead of it at the beginning of the building process.”
“You don’t really get what was there for 50 years or 100 years that’s been torn away.”
“We need the pollinators. We need the insects. We need the animals to have places to live.”
“This creates that notification system… and allows the environmental division to take a look before you go ahead and just clear everything out.”
From Southampton Town:
The proposed Land Disturbance Ordinance is designed to curb overdevelopment by creating a Land Disturbance permitting process that gives the Town’s Land Management department the ability to limit overclearing before it happens.
Under the proposal, on properties of 20,000 square feet or larger, up to 2,000 square feet could be cleared or disturbed without additional review. Any clearing or disturbance beyond that 2,000 square foot threshold would require approval through Land Management.
This review process would allow the Town’s environmental division to assess plans before construction begins, helping prevent excessive clear-cutting and other environmental damage before alterations are made.
The ordinance also seeks to close loopholes in the Town Code, where current restrictions apply only within the Town’s APOD (Aquifer Protection Overlay District) areas, which cover less than half of the Town.
The next Town Board hearing on this legislation will be April 28 at 6 PM at Southampton Town Hall.
More on the legislation here: https://www.southamptontownny.gov/2373/Draft-Legislation