Deer Fence Moratorium

A 90-day moratorium on installing deer fences was adopted by the Sagaponack Village Board following a public hearing on Monday. The moratorium will allow the board “breathing space to update our current code,” according to Mayor Donald Louchheim. 

Officials say the code, which permits eight-foot-high fencing only on agricultural property, is in need of revision. Two recent applications sparked a realization that the definition of agricultural production needed to be clarified to differentiate between bona fide farmers and property owners who grow fruits or vegetables in backyards. 

The mayor said the moratorium did not mean the board would not approve deer fencing in the future. “Nor are we going to restrict deer fencing solely to those currently in agricultural production,” he said. “We do not want to stifle new farms.” 

Under discussion, he said, was a possible condition requiring residents who start a farm to provide “specifics on what will be planned for the area where fencing is required, and, if those plans aren’t implemented within 12 months of approval, the fencing will have to be removed.” 

During the hearing, five residents, including David Schoenthal, who was in favor of the moratorium, and John Frawley, who was against it, spoke out. The discussion was muted compared to recent board meetings at which several neighbors vehemently opposed an application for deer fencing by the owners of a Parsonage Lane residential property. 

William Barbour, a village board member, referred to the animosity that had arisen over the issue in a statement he made at Monday’s hearing. “I find it very disheartening that the deer fence dilemma has turned into a Hatfields and McCoys scenario,” he said. He recommended that residents redirect their anger toward the 18-foot-high privet hedges that block sight lines on many Sagaponack properties. “Deer fence to protect someone’s crops is nowhere near as distasteful,” he said.