Jet Skis Back On Trial
Charges against a man accused of riding a motorized water scooter in waters where such craft are not allowed will be reintroduced in East Hampton Town Justice Court on April 8. Justice Catherine A. Cahill dismissed the charges a year ago on a technicality, but they were recently reinstated by a state appellate court.
John Lagana of East Hampton and Nyack, N.Y., who was issued a summons on May 28, 2000, for operating his scooter in the harbor at Hog Creek in Springs, had challenged East Hampton Town's right to differentiate between water scooters and other small craft such as rowboats, arguing that such licensed and registered watercraft as Jet Skis should be subject to the same laws as small boats and that users should be given the same rights and privileges.
Justice Cahill did not rule on those assertions but did agree with Mr. Lagana's attorney, Laura Weiss, that the town may have passed the law at a public meeting that was improperly noticed. In her motion to dismiss the case, the lawyer charged that the town had not submitted a "legislative history" at the time of enactment proving all procedures had been followed.
The town appealed the dismissal, and this month the appeals court ruled that it was not obliged to provide that information.
Last August, Mr. Lagana got another ticket, this time for riding his scooter in Three Mile Harbor near the Gann Road dock. A court date on that charge was shelved pending the appellate decision; it has now been set for April 15, before Justice Roger W. Walker.
Ms. Weiss said this week that she had requested documentation, under the Freedom of Information Law, about how the watercraft ordinance was passed, and expects to bring another motion to dismiss the charges based on improper enactment.
The town code prohibits use of water scooters in harbors or at designated bathing beaches. Outside those areas, these motorized craft must stay at least 500 feet from shore and 50 feet away from swimmers, except when launching or returning to land, when they can go no faster than 10 miles an hour.
Lake Montauk has been designated a "harbor" under the statute. Several years ago, the Montauk Four-Wheeler and Watercraft Association, an advocacy group for Jet Skiers and all-terrain-vehicle users, was formed. The group has protested beach driving bans, particularly on the Navy Road beach on Fort Pond Bay in Montauk, claiming it limits watercraft users' ability to launch their craft.
State's Blessing
According to state legislation approved in 2000, municipalities may ban the use of the watercraft within 1,500 feet of shore. The town law predates the state statute.
Justice Cahill did not "declare the statute unenforceable," John Jilnicki, a town attorney who prosecuted the case against Mr. Lagana, said this week. The state legislation "absolutely" gives the town the right to enact rules limiting personal watercraft use, he said, adding that the state does distinguish between personal watercraft and small boats.
Mr. Jilnicki noted also that courts have previously upheld local jurisdiction over tidal waters in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and deemed them exempt from state control.
Even should Mr. Lagana succeed in getting the charges against him dropped, said Mr. Jilnicki, it would "not be a death blow to the town's regulation of Jet Skis." The town would simply re-enact its legislation, he said, following more specific procedures.