House-Share Limits Upheld

Jay Jacobs, chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Committee and an owner of the Hampton Country Day Camp in East Hampton, who had challenged the East Hampton Town Code’s limits on the number of people sharing a house as unconstitutional, lost his motion to dismiss a town case against the camp in State Supreme Court, Riverhead, last month.

Code enforcement officers issued 61 citations in August 2015 against a house at 17 Ocean Boulevard in East Hampton, saying it was being used as a dormitory for 25 camp counselors, citing the zoning code’s provision that no more than four unrelated people may share a house. Town officials sought a preliminary injunction to shut down the camp’s use of the house, and lawyers for Mr. Jacobs moved to have the motion dismissed.

In a 10-page decision, Judge W. Gerard Asher granted the injunction and upheld the town’s zoning restrictions.

In a release issued yesterday, Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said, “This decision upholds the Town’s Zoning Code and protects the integrity of our single-family neighborhoods.”

 “The court found that there were ‘enhanced risks to the health, safety, and welfare of occupants and nearby residents in the event such violations were to continue.’ Such a finding by the court illustrates the necessity for the strong provisions in our zoning code protecting the character of our single-family residences and the good work done by our Building and Code Enforcement Departments in enforcing the Town Code,” the supervisor said.

The judge had issued a temporary restraining order in 2015. The preliminary injunction now issued will remain in place while litigation continues. A trial with regard to the numerous charges involving town code violations is scheduled to take place in East Hampton Town Justice Court on Jan. 31.

After hearing from code enforcement, Mr. Jacobs indicated he was prepared to take the issue of the legality of the town’s four-person limit all the way to federal court. The number was “arbitrary,” he said at the time, calling the limit “an unconstitutional taking of my property.” He also called it an “unequal enforcement of the law,” citing a town decision that allowed the Ross School to house boarding students in residences as a functioning “family.”