News: ‘Matt Lauer halting horse farm construction after spat with Long Island residents’

That’s the headline from a story in the Christian Post about a stop-work order on the Today Show co-anchor’s new Southampton farm.

Top photo: Matt Lauer with wife Annette Roque. Wikimedia Commons.

In 2005 the Lauer family purchased the 40-acres, $3.5 million former plant nursery, located down the road from their estate, with intentions of renovating it into a “grand” horse farm.

Daughter Romy Lauer at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. Photo: Hamptons.com

According to the Daily Mail, plans include construction of a 36-stall barn, man-made pond, paddocks, indoor arena and the conversion of an office building into groom’s quarters.

The controversy involves the latter. The property isn’t zoned for residential structures, but the rules do allow the construction of “structures necessary for agricultural-related business.”

Photo: Huffington Post

Do groom’s quarters count as “necessary for agricultural-related business”? It’s unclear, but for now the town is saying no.

Who even knows if that’s the real issue. Neighbors told the New York Post that the property will cause too many issues into the area because of its size.

Resident Dee Hunter told the newspaper: “It’s just too big. They presented this as a little old family farm. But there is supposed to be room for 30 horses? Do they each ride six horses?”

Or maybe people just don’t like Matt Lauer.

Go celebrity horse farm drama.