Almost everything East Quogue stands to gain from the settlement over The Hills waits on a single date. The 32.4 acres on Montauk Highway, the $1.5 million cash payment and the trail easement across the northern part of Spinney Road are all held by an escrow agent until what the settlement calls the "Escrow Release Date." That date is at least 140 days after the rezoning becomes official. If everything had been finalized on the earliest possible day, the escrow still couldn't release before mid-February 2027.
One piece has an earlier date. The rule opening the southern stretch of Spinney Road to walkers and cyclists was drafted to take effect November 1, 2026, about four weeks from now. The rest arrives in a set order. Knowing that order tells you what to expect on Spinney Road this winter and how much time the hamlet has to decide what to do with the money.
One Date Controls Nearly Everything
On July 14, 2026, the Southampton Town Board adopted two resolutions. One approved a settlement with Discovery Land Company's DLV Quogue entities that ends three lawsuits. The other approved selling the Town's interest in a narrow strip of land inside the development, along with a 0.58-acre lot called Outparcel 18, for $10 million. The strip is 50 feet wide. The Town acquired it by eminent domain in 1958, and the Town's interest only came to light in a quiet-title case brought by Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle this year. The sale was subject to a permissive referendum, meaning it couldn't take effect for 30 days and would go to a townwide vote if enough voters signed a petition.
The full Stipulation of Settlement is posted on the Town's website. Its key clause defines the Escrow Release Date as the latest of three dates:
- 140 days after the "Rezoning Date," which is when the new zoning law is enacted and filed with both the Town Clerk and the New York Secretary of State
- 30 days after the Spinney Road local law passes
- 5 days after the closing in the quiet-title case, which is the $10 million sale of the strip and Outparcel 18
All three have to happen. The clock also stops while any court challenge to the rezoning, the Spinney law or the land sale is pending, and it doesn't restart until the case is dismissed and can no longer be appealed. A lawsuit filed next spring would freeze the countdown wherever it stood.
Both adoption votes were on the agenda for the Town Board's September 24 special meeting. They are RES-2026-1264, which creates "The Hills Southampton Mixed Use Planned Development District," and RES-2026-1265, which creates the "Spinney Road Recreation Segment." The Town had scheduled that meeting for 10 a.m. to handle hearings and resolutions carried over from September 22. Final vote records weren't available in the Town documents we reviewed. Even if the zoning law had been adopted and filed that same day, 140 days later is February 11, 2027.
What Sits in Escrow Until Then
The settlement calls the 32.4-acre parcel at 436 Montauk Highway the "Parlato Property." The developer has to deed it to the Town within 10 days of the Rezoning Date. The Town's escrow agent holds the deed, and it isn't recorded until the release date. Earlier Southampton Press reporting placed the parcel between Montauk Highway and Old Country Road, east of the main Hills tract.
Some terms shape how the land will look when the Town takes it over:
- The house. The existing house has to be empty by the release date.
- The farmstand. The developer doesn't have to end the current farmstand lease. If the lease would expire before the release date, it can be renewed for one year.
- Taxes and upkeep. While the deed is in escrow, the developer insures the property, pays its taxes and manages it. The Town becomes responsible only after it records the deed.
- The cash. The $1.5 million is due by wire within the same 10-day window and sits in escrow on the same schedule.
The escrow is structured to be reversible. If a court overturns the rezoning, the escrow agent returns both the deed and the $1.5 million to the developer, and the lawsuits can resume. The settlement doesn't say what the Town will do with the land, and no plan for the parcel had been announced as of early October.
Spinney Road, Split in Two
The settlement handles Spinney Road in two separate sections, and they move on different schedules.
The Spinney South Segment runs north from Redan Trail. Under the settlement, the Town Board was to propose a local law restricting vehicles there, effective November 1, 2026. If enacted, the public can use it from dawn to dusk for hiking, dog-walking, cycling, walking and cross-country skiing. Motorized bikes and e-bikes are excluded. Vehicle access is limited to owners whose property borders Spinney Road, emergency vehicles and Town Highway Department trucks. Golf carts and maintenance vehicles can't travel along it, although carts can still cross it on the approved golf cart path. The segment stays unpaved, and the settlement calls for maintaining it without unnecessary tree removal. The gates come later. The settlement describes an existing crash gate at Spinney Road and Redan Trail, to be replaced with paired gates that block vehicles but let pedestrians, bicycles and emergency vehicles through. They're due within 120 days after the release date.
The Spinney North Segment crosses The Hills itself. The Town will abandon the road there, and the developer will grant a permanent 15-foot easement containing a 10-foot path, open dawn to dusk for the same activities. The path crosses two golf holes. The developer can landscape outside the path, has to keep the 10 feet clear and has to post signs welcoming the public. The easement also includes a short connector to Town-owned land. It only takes effect after the road is formally abandoned, and the abandonment certificate stays with the escrow agent until the release date.
Parking is small. The settlement provides four public spaces, open dawn to dusk, on part of a property at 67 Spinney Road, reached by a driveway off Spinney Road and not required to be paved. The settlement allows reasonable rules suited to "the residential character of Spinney Road," with noise and gatherings listed as examples.
Put together, the southern segment could open on paper in November, while the path through the golf course and its parking wait for the release date. The settlement doesn't describe trail conditions before then, and this post doesn't either.
The Larger Trail Build Runs Longest
The broader trail system has the longest timeline. The developer has to improve trails on specific Town-owned lots, add a trailhead and public parking, and make part of the system wheelchair accessible with compacted soil or wood chips where the grade allows. Trail locations will be set in consultation with the Town's Trails Advisory Committee. In its hearing coverage, the Southampton Press said the developer will improve and maintain "several miles of town trails" along Spinney Road and the surrounding Town land to the east of The Hills permanently.
The draft zoning law sets the schedule. The trail plan is due within 90 days after the law takes effect. Construction has to be substantially complete within 18 months after the Town approves the plan, subject to other required approvals. Allow time for the Town to review the plan, then add the 18-month build window, and completion could run into 2028. The land around it is in the Central Pine Barrens Overlay District, both Core and Compatible Growth Areas, and the new zoning district is meant to support the Pine Barrens land use plan.
The Spending Debate Has a Head Start
Once the sale closes, the Town will have about $11.5 million in total: $10 million for the strip and Outparcel 18, and $1.5 million as a public-benefit payment. Before it does, residents have been arguing about where the money should go. At the August 11 hearings, the Southampton Press reported that speakers who had disagreed for years shared one request: keep the money in East Quogue.
"Not a majority of the funds — all of the funds need to be kept in East Quogue." — Anne Algeri, East Quogue Civic Association
Cathy Zembetti, chairwoman of the East Quogue Citizens Advisory Committee, asked that at least a majority of the money go to the hamlet. She pointed to the need for a community center and more parking downtown. Another speaker named the fire department and EMS as priorities and also backed a community center. Councilman Michael Iasilli proposed a committee of stakeholders and residents to recommend how to spend it. No members had been named in the reporting we found, and no final decision has been made.
The escrow schedule works in the hamlet's favor here. Since the $1.5 million and the land can't come out of escrow before 2027, a committee formed this fall would have a winter to set priorities before there's anything to spend. Meanwhile, construction is moving. As of the August hearings, the golf course and about 22 of the 110 homes were finished and another 25 were being built. The new zoning lets the club sell 177 memberships to people who don't live in the development, on top of those held by owners of its 118 residences.
Where Things Stand This October
As of October 4, 2026, here is the status:
- Adopted July 14: the settlement and the $10 million sale of the strip and Outparcel 18, with the sale subject to a permissive referendum
- On the September 24 agenda: adoption of the rezoning and the Spinney Road Recreation Segment law, with vote records not available in the documents we reviewed
- Drafted to take effect November 1: public use of the Spinney South Segment for recreation
- Held until the release date: the Parlato Property deed, the $1.5 million, the northern trail easement and the four parking spaces at 67 Spinney Road
- Not yet announced: a spending committee, a plan for the parcel, or an opening date for the trail system
The same September 24 agenda also included a waiver of the Showmobile and bathroom-trailer fees for the East Quogue Fire Department's Holiday on Main. Holiday on Main is Saturday, December 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Main Street, followed by the tree lighting at 5 p.m. That's about two months before the escrow could release.
If you live near Spinney Road or along Montauk Highway and want to talk through what the settlement's timeline means for your home, Bridget Terry follows these Town Board steps closely and is happy to walk through them with you. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
