Ag Reserves Under Fire
819 Lumber Lane (aka North Edge Stables)
A prospective buyer is trying to develop one of our remaining protected open swaths of land
This property on the northeast corner of Lumber Lane and Scuttle Hole Road is protected by a Town purchase of development rights and a related easement for which the Town spent $1.8 million of our taxpayer dollars in 2001 (over $3 million in today’s money). The easement, while it allows equestrian rights, prohibits ALL commercial and residential use other than one limited exception for the raising of crops, livestock and livestock products. The property is also protected by a 2002 Declaration of Covenants which prohibits “residential or residential accessory structures,” and the Planning Board’s own subdivision approval which prohibits “dwellings.”
A prospective buyer (North Edge Stables), not the current owner (Steven Klein), is proposing to purchase the property and then overdevelop it with a 21,000 sq ft indoor riding arena, a 19,152 sq ft barn for 26 horses, a 14,480 sq ft trailer garage, a 68-space parking lot, and three townhouses for 12-15 employees, all to be used in a proposed boarding and training operation of show horses (both the owner’s and other people’s), along with related riding lessons, yet North Edge Stables is arguing it would still somehow be a private horse farm.
North Edge Stables and its team can call it whatever they want, but the second they start charging fees, or their trainers do, for the boarding or training, they have moved from a private horse farm into a commercial use triggering the commercial use prohibition of the easement. The boarding and training of horses are services and not production and therefore not within the one limited commercial exception.
North Edge Stables also briefly mentions the breeding, raising and training of show horses. But will this be the primary use? Will it be the primary generator of sales? Or is it just a way to bootstrap the otherwise prohibited boarding, training and lesson service operation onto this property?
We believe this is a complete misuse of CPF protected lands. Land purchased with CPF money is specifically meant to be preserved for open space, parkland, or historic preservation, and allowing this proposal to move forward would be, in our opinion, a violation of the public trust.
We also believe the Planning Board erred in accepting North Edge Stable’s assertion this was a Type II action for SEQRA. Because the proposed project changes the fundamental use, and is both a new and significant intense expansion, it is hard to see how a determination can be made it is a routine farm management practice within the Type II exception, and we believe it should be a Type I or Unlisted Action.
What can You, the Public Do?
Sign our petition (click here to see it) opposing the proposed overdevelopment by emailing us at bridgecivic@gmail.com to add your name and kindly provide your local street address. We are accepting signatures until 5pm on May 8th!
Write to the Planning Board (email kdougherty@southamptontownny.gov) before May 9, 2026 and tell them you 1) object to the SEQRA classification and request a full environmental review, and 2) object to the proposal as a violation of both the CPF use of funds and the recorded easement and covenants and ask that they deny the application.
Write letters to the editor of the Southampton Press expressing your objections and concerns. Letters must be submitted no later than noon each Monday by emailing the letter (450 words max) to mailbag@expressnewsgroup.com.
Speak Out. Be Heard. Stand Together.
625 Butter Lane Ag Reserve
The owner purchased this property in 2015 knowing that the property had a Conservation Easement that permitted only commercial agricultural operations. For the last 8 years the owner has tried various legal methods to thwart the Conservation Easement to engage in non-commercial agriculture and build 3000 square feet of housing, outdoor kitchens and bathrooms and other hardscape that would permanently take a significant portion of this reserve out of commercial production. Having tried and failed to convince the Town, the owner is pursuing a lawsuit and tried to use the NY Agricultural Markets District laws to override the Conservation Easement.
In September 2025, the Town, aided by efforts of the neighbors and the Bridgehampton Civic Association, won a victory, with a NY court denying the owner’s claim he was entitled to build housing on this ag reserve. The owner has filed a notice of appeal.
Under pressure from neighbors and the Bridgehampton Civic Association after 17 adjournments, the owner also recently finally withdrew his variance request for the Alpaca that had been pending for 4 long years, another victory.
We, along with The Group for the East End and neighbors, continue to oppose this owner’s plans and insist that he comply with the terms of the Conservation Easement and Town Code as written.
Two Trees Farm
The new owners of this property expanded the number of horses well beyond the 89 permitted by prior Planning Board approval, resulting in overcrowded stables and riding rings. The owners attempted to build new rings without permits and to host a large horse show series. The owners have expressed their desire to make Bridgehampton “the Wellington of the North”. For those that do not know Wellington, FL, it is the winter home of equestrians. Our position is that we do not wish Bridgehampton to become the summer home, with all the extra traffic and infrastructure pressure that would bring.
Unfortunately, the Planning Board granted the relief requested, which is to increase the number of horses to the density limit of 107 and add two new sand rings. We requested covenants that would limit through traffic on that part of the parcel that is protected by a private scenic easement and that ensure that the stables and on-site labor housing, individually and as a whole, are not overcrowded. The neighbors remain in litiigation over lack of compliance with covenants in the conservation easements.
First Blue East Horse Farm
First Blue East operates the horse farm on the north side of Scuttle Hole Road between Lumber Lane and the Bridge-Sag Turnpike. It is currently a riding academy and boarding operation. First Blue sued the holder of its Conservation Easement, Peconic Land Trust, also to build ag labor housing even though it is residential structures are prohibited by the Conservation Easement. In a decision issued in the fall of 2022, First Blue lost with the court ruling that the Conservation Easement prohibited such housing, a huge victory for those of us fighting hard to enforce these Conservation Easements!
Now, they are asking the Planning Board to allow them to build a tennis court for use by their customers. The matter seems to be on hold, but should it come back, we plan to oppose this as the parcel was envisioned to remain agricultural in use, with only compatible recreational activities, which we believe are things like hiking, biking, nature paths, etc.