A proposal to offer monthlong nonresident parking permits at East Hampton Village beaches garnered broad support at a village board meeting on Thursday.
The village puts up for sale 3,100 nonresident seasonal beach permits annually, which provide parking access to the village's five ocean beaches from May 15 through Sept. 15. Daily parking permits are available for a fee at Main and Two Mile Hollow Beaches. On weekends and holidays, daily parking is limited to 60 vehicles at the former, and 40 at the latter. In October, the board increased the cost of seasonal permits from $400 to $500, and daily ones from $30 to $50.
The seasonal permits go on sale Feb. 1 and traditionally sell out in six weeks, but this year they were gone in about a week, said Marcos Baladron, the village administrator. Six thousand daily permits are sold each year, he said. Because demand for them is dependent on the weather, however, they don't provide a reliable revenue stream for the village, and on good beach days, high demand can cause the parking lots to become overcrowded.
Mr. Baladron recommended that the village "substantially" reduce the number of daily permits, and instead offer 500 monthly permits that would allow nonresidents to park at any village beach in June, July, and August. A permit would cost $300, and expire at the end of each month.
Having monthlong access to the beaches would be an incentive for visitors to plan longer stays, he said. Mayor Jerry Larsen noted also that the permits would be a boon to village homeowners who rent out their houses, because resident beach permits, which are free, are not transferable to guests.
By pricing them at $300 per month, just $200 less than a four-month seasonal permit, Mr. Baladron said the permits would not cut into the demand for seasonal ones, and could provide the village with an additional $450,000 in revenue. The number of permits issued overall would be reduced, he said, so the parking lots would be less crowded as well.
The permits would be available for purchase on the village's website, he said, and since the village will enforce parking with the use of a license-plate reader, a license plate would serve as a parking sticker.
Chris Minardi, the deputy mayor, was in favor of the proposal, and Arthur Graham and Rose Brown, trustees, said they were too, as long as some daily passes remained available for visitors on day trips. "If we can reduce the volume and increase revenue, it's a win-win," said Ms. Brown.
Eager to have the permits available for the upcoming season, Mayor Larsen asked Beth Baldwin, the village attorney, to begin drafting a law for trustee approval.
The board also agreed to raise the fees for road-opening and tent permits, and to increase the cost of obtaining a certificate of occupancy. The cost of a permit to open a village road for construction will be increased from $150 to $250, bringing it into alignment with what East Hampton Town charges.
The existing fee for a permit to erect a tent is $100, and Kenneth Collum, a code enforcement officer, recommended following Southampton Village's lead by instituting a fee schedule based on a tent's square footage. The new fees will be $100 for a tent smaller than 1,500 square feet, $150 for one between 1,500 and 3,600 square feet, $200 for one between 3,600 to 10,000 square feet, $250 for one between 10,000 and 15,000 square feet, and $500 for one between 15,000 and 50,000 square feet. The cost of obtaining a certificate of occupancy will increase from $150 to $250.
The dredging of Town Pond was halted on Feb. 27 to give wildlife rescuers a week to safely remove turtles, and Dell Cullum, the founder of Wildlife Rescue of East Hampton, who is overseeing the rescue effort, told the board that three turtles had been saved. "That was a huge success for all animal lovers, but a small segment of what we were really hoping to achieve," he said. He asked for more time to continue the search, and the board agreed to delay the dredging through Sunday.
The village will enter into a 10-year license agreement with Andrew Saunders, the president of the Saunders and Associates real estate firm, who has agreed to provide free Wi-Fi and cameras that provide live video at all the village beaches, said Mr. Baladron. No branding will be allowed on the equipment or the video feed, he said. Ms. Brown asked that the village have a say on where antennas and other equipment are placed.
A public hearing was held on a proposal to allow one food truck vendor to operate at Two Mile Hollow Beach this summer. No objections were raised, and the board issued a notice to bidders.
Michael Reid was hired as a full-time public safety dispatcher effective Monday, and Terry Wallace, who recently closed his art gallery on Eastman Way, was appointed as a museum promotions consultant for one year with no compensation. The board accepted John Tarbet's resignation from the planning board, and appointed Carrie Doyle as his replacement.
