Shortly after Hampshire Country Club was acquired in 2010 by real estate developers, the new owners proposed that part of the property be rezoned to allow for the development of a massive 120-unit five-story luxury condominium complex. The Village Board of Trustees refused to consider the request for rezoning. 

In 2016 Hampshire submitted to the Planning Board a proposal to build a Planned Residential Development consisting of 105 homes (44 single family homes and 66 town houses) on a portion of the golf course property. A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) prepared by Hampshire was accepted by the Planning Board in January 2018. Important issues for the Orienta Point neighborhood are:

• Flooding: The golf course and its surrounding roads have flooded several times in the last 25 years – most notably during Superstorm Sandy and during the 1992 Nor’easter (when an Orienta resident drowned when his car was washed into the golf course during the storm surge). The proposal in the DEIS to deal with the flooding issue is inadequate and poses risks not just to the residents of the new homes, but also to residents of Orienta and to the Hommocks School.
• Construction: The DEIS states that the construction period will last for 5 years. Beyond building 105 residences, construction will involve re-grading the existing site topography, cutting down bedrock hills and adding fill. During this period there will be a significant number of large construction vehicles (many needed to bring in the large amount of fill), possible rock blasting and increased traffic. During the first year of the project, given the number of trucks estimated by the developers, a steady stream of heavy construction trucks will rumble past the Hommocks Middle School throughout the school day.
• Environmental Contamination: Several core test results from the site showed the presence of arsenic and toxic pesticides, not unusual for property that served as a golf course for almost 100 years. While the presence of arsenic and pesticides does not present any concern while embedded in land used only as a golf course, the disturbance of these toxins in connection with 5 years of construction including cutting and moving of over 300,000 cubic yards of golf course dirt, may present health dangers for neighbors and for the students and staff at Hommocks Middle School.
• Compliance with Village Law and Consistency with Village Comprehensive Plan: Hampshire is considered a Critical Environmental Area in the 2012 Village Comprehensive Plan (link). The proposed project does not comply with provisions of Village law regarding floodplain integrity and density. Nor is it consistent with the Village Comprehensive Plan in connection with management of the Hampshire Critical Environmental Area.
• Pressure on our Schools: Enrollment in the Mamaroneck Union Free School District (MUFSD) has been growing consistently over the last many years. Some elementary schools are currently beyond optimum capacity; the District has held meetings recently about this crisis and is considering different alternatives to address it. The addition of 105 new homes will introduce a large number of school-aged children into the school system, thereby exacerbating the school overcrowding problem.
• Sewer Issues: The DEIS provides that the 105 new homes would have sewers that connect directly to the sewer line on Orienta Avenue. The Village of Mamaroneck’s sewer system is already under significant stress and the Village has been the subject of a Consent Order with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation regarding the inadequacy of its sewers.
• Traffic: Growth in the community over the last several years has created significant traffic congestion, particularly along Weaver Street and Boston Post Road. The addition of 105 homes that will use Hommocks Road and Orienta Avenue as the primary means of access will exacerbate these traffic problems.
• Non-viability of a 9-hole Golf Club: The reduction in size of Hampshire to a 9-hole golf course is likely to threaten the continued existence of the entire Club. Experience has shown that private 9-hole golf courses rarely succeed. The Hampshire developer is not concerned with failure of the golf club. The developer will profit from the sale of the new homes and is then free to walk away from the property.