Population Matters
During a Tuesday debate among East Hampton Town Board candidates sponsored by the League of Women Voters, there was much talk about how to solve a range of problems, such as water degradation, traffic, noise, and crowding, and yet the discussion consistently sidestepped the core issue: population.
This was true of the panelists other than Tom Knobel, perhaps, the Republican candidate for supervisor, who said he wished things were the way they were back in 1979. But then he, too, made a passionate argument against using public money for so-called density reduction achieved by buying vacant building lots. Others, Democrats and Republicans alike, steered clear of whether steps should be taken to drive the total population down.
As best anyone knows the numbers, they are frightening and deserve attention. About 2,000 to 2,200 undeveloped and buildable parcels remain within East Hampton Town. As put in a county study of South Fork housing, you can figure about 4.2 people per house here, meaning that if all of the lots were built, the town would see an ultimate semipermanent population bump of more than 8,000. Of course, that is not even half of the story. The summer population is where the real trouble starts: the thousands of people in multiple-occupancy arrangements, the party houses, and day-trippers.
Every person who is here at a given point in time matters, and it is a failure of government not to plan accordingly and take them all into account. According to the best numbers available, five years ago the peak figure for East Hampton residents and overnight visitors was about 100,000. It is important to note that this number reflects only people sleeping here; an estimate of day-trippers and of the area’s highly mobile work force was not included.
Obviously, aggressive measures at all levels to reduce the available building lots must take place. At the same time, officials must be willing to use whatever levers they have to tamp down the flood. This includes seeking legal remedies to combat illegal rentals. Another step would be to address so-called attractive nuisances, such as free access to beaches, where young day-trippers and others congregate to drink alcohol, and the nightclubs and motels-cum-nightclubs that draw unreasonably large crowds. The town must also take a hard look at large summer events, such as festivals and benefits, and consider whether these too should be reduced.
Sometimes too many is just too much, and a safe, sane, and environmentally sustainable future for East Hampton Town will require an end to the more-is-better philosophy. When hundreds gathered at the Montauk Firehouse in July to demand relief, they were not asking for the status quo but for bold steps. If the East Hampton Town Board really wants to get serious about the challenges — as it appears most of the seated members and candidates do — understanding and then driving down the peak population number is of the utmost necessity. Unfortunately, the candidates for town board appear unwilling to accept this reality.