A New Deal for Lazy Point

Lengthy negotiations between the East Hampton Town Trustees and residents of Lazy Point in Amagansett, who lease the lots on which their houses sit from the trustees, should soon produce a new set of rules and regulations intended to give residents greater security in their leases and, by extension, their houses, most of them modest in size, many standing only feet from the shore.

While leases on the humble lots at Lazy Point have been historically low, the trustees’ efforts in recent years to enact sharp increases have met furious opposition from the lessees, who argue that they do not enjoy the security of homeownership, hold only one-year leases on their lots, and endure harsh weather conditions and an uncertain future at an eroding shoreline. A fourfold increase proposed early this year, from $1,500 to $6,000 per year, was abandoned in favor of a 10-percent rise along with a 4-percent transfer fee when a house is sold.

At the trustees’ meeting on Tuesday, residents thanked them for their diligence and good faith in negotiations held over the last several months. Meetings between subcommittees of residents and trustees produced “a professional three-point proposal” for amendments to the rules and regulations for Lazy Point leases, Rick Drew, a resident and spokesman for the lessees, said. The residents also submitted “a fact document on the cost of ownership” at Lazy Point relative to nearby areas, Mr. Drew said.

Beginning in January, according to a draft document, the lease fee for each lot will increase based on the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region, as determined by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. In another modification to the rules and regulations, all leases in effect on Dec. 31 will automatically renew, provided tenancy has been continued and the tenant is in compliance with all provisions of the rules and lease.

The draft rules and regulations also include language assuring lessees of the right to rebuild houses damaged by severe weather, which a prior trustee proposal had made uncertain.

“We request the board to move forward in a timely manner so the proposal can be voted on at the next trustee meeting,” on Sept. 22, Mr. Drew said.

Diane McNally, the trustees’ clerk, told the lessees in attendance that, while she was comfortable with the proposed amendments, the trustees would seek an independent analysis of the lessees’ document pertaining to the cost of ownership.

Once approved by a majority of trustees, the lessees will review the draft document. Because the trustees own the land in question on behalf of all the residents of East Hampton, a 30-day period to solicit comment from the public would follow before the trustees take a formal vote to adopt the new rules and regulations. The amendments would take effect with the next lease, which will begin in April 2016.

Ms. McNally asked the lessees to recognize “the fact that you all are living on the public’s property.” The publicly owned land has been developed over several decades, she said, as fishing shacks were expanded and upgraded to residences. “It is the public’s property we’re trying to manage on the public’s behalf.” Going forward, she said, the trustees must ensure that both residents’ and the public’s assets are protected. For the latter group, that includes access to the beach and protection of the environmentally sensitive area, she said.

The Georgica Closure

In other news from the meeting, the five trustees present voted to extend the closure of Georgica Pond in East Hampton to the harvesting of crabs for another two weeks due to the dense cyanobacteria bloom that appeared last month. The bloom has covered the entire pond, said Ann Hall, a pondfront property owner who asked the trustees to post more signs warning against exposure and to consider opening the pond to the Atlantic Ocean sooner than the traditional mid-October opening, a move that would flush the pond with ocean water and kill the algae.

The trustees did not commit to an early opening of the pond. Its closure to crabbing is now in effect through Sept. 22.