Violators Getting the Word

An aggressive stance toward those who violate the East Hampton Town Code translated last year into better compliance with the laws.

Betsy Bambrick, who heads the Ordinance Enforcement Department, told the town board on Tuesday that not only were more violators who ignored charges taken to court, but voluntary compliance improved as well. The enforcement director suggested that people have become more aware that the town is being aggressive in obtaining code compliance, either “upfront or through the court system.”

Her department opened 1,939 cases in 2015, she said, up from 1,590 in 2014. Of last year’s total, 812 were resolved through voluntary compliance, 550 were determined to be unfounded, and 358 resulted in court cases. That last number was down slightly from the 388 cases adjudicated in 2014, but, Ms. Bambrick told the board, the 358 cases resulted in 1,304 counts of violations. In 2014, by comparison, the 388 court cases produced only 653 such counts.

Though the number of code cases opened last year in Montauk, after a summer in which residents banded together to demand increased enforcement, was lower than in 2014 — 474 versus 553 — “the cases themselves were bigger,” Ms. Bambrick said.

“It’s really the number of charges or counts that were brought,” said Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, noting that they had “more than doubled.”

Ms. Bambrick said that while voluntary compliance — having violators correct offenses before the court gets involved — is the goal, her department has taken a hard line if that does not happen. “We write every charge,” she said. “If we’re not getting voluntary compliance, we’re writing every charge.”

Four hundred fifty-six of last year’s code enforcement investigations were related to zoning violations, twice as many as in any other category. Housing code and environmental violations and those related to taxi licensing made up the next-largest categories. Alleged violations relating to noise, lighting, parking, contractor licensing, and signs were among the other cases that were opened last year.

Complaints came from various sources, with 642 of them, a large majority, generated internally by ordinance enforcement department staffers, stemming, for instance, from repeated scanning of online rental sites, where those who illegally rent houses for short periods of time might advertise. Officers on patrol initiated complaints 377 times, while 317 complaints came in through the department’s online system.

Phone callers generated 293 complaints, and 131 were lodged in person. There were also 155 referrals from other town departments about code violations, and 24 complaints received by email.