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Southold Town Board approves special event; may re-examine legislation

On Tuesday, Town Board members unanimously approved a special event application for a wedding at Old Town Farm on Main Bayview Road that the Zoning Board of Appeals had denied in June.

In overturning the appeal, Supervisor Scott Russell said the Town Board needs to examine special events legislation, which was intended as a means for farmers to market their crops.

“The whole purpose wasn’t to open up opportunities to make venues, it was supposed to make a direct link between growing things and then selling things,” he said.

A neighbor who lives adjacent to the property said she opposed the event after a previous wedding held at the farm, where owner Ed Dart grows Christmas trees. Her concerns included loud music and guests wandering into her backyard to urinate.

Mr. Dart said he knows nothing about any “raucous behavior” and that the event was “low key.”

The Town Board approved the wedding, set for late September, event on several conditions: that Mr. Dart provide proof of payment for 100 juvenile living Christmas trees, that noise levels from the event comply with town code, that amplified music stop after 10 p.m. and that access from Willow Pond Lane be restricted to emergency vehicles only.

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