As more people and new businesses flood into East Hampton Town each year, quality of life conflicts are on the rise, too. Responsibility for dealing with the many problems that arise falls largely on the chronically understaffed Ordinance Enforcement Department. This is why Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc proposed increasing spending for the department in the 2023 town budget. This is much needed and, in our opinion, well overdue. The plan is to add four new jobs to the Ordinance Department, which will help but may be nowhere near enough.
Among all town agencies, there is none with a longer list of responsibilities than the Public Safety Division, of which Ordinance Enforcement is but a part. The handful of officers and inspectors are supposed to enforce all town laws and resolutions. A short list would include health, safety, housing, the environment, residential overcrowding, animal control, noise, lighting, zoning, and permits. During the summer season, the department has staff on seven days a week, but concerns extend year round. Field inspectors and supervisors are stretched thin, which is why, we presume, some of the most blatant town code violations, such as signs, go uncorrected. Citizens must play a role, too. Complaints can be made online; the town says that it takes about 24 hours for an inspector to go have a look.
Adding staff to the Ordinance Enforcement Department should be just the beginning of a top-to-bottom look at the town code compliance. As it has been described publicly, the enforcement strategy is to be complaint-based, that is, attending to many kinds of probable violations that the town has been alerted to, rather than to go seek them out. A quick look at the many hundreds of obviously illegal — in one way or the other — rental listings online indicates that property owners’ fear of prosecution is near zero. One big housing bust a year, as has been tradition, is inconsequential. A more proactive approach to assuring that the rules are followed is needed.
At times, East Hampton Town seems out of control. A more fully staffed Ordinance Enforcement Department is needed, along with greater interest in Town Hall to prevent violations before they start.