Amid winter’s icy grip, the East Hampton Town Board spent much of Tuesday’s work session thinking about summer, specifically how the board might better manage large gatherings and commercial activity on public property.
Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez told her colleagues that the town’s special events committee, which reviews applications that are sent to the town clerk’s office, would propose modifications to town code that the committee would like to see in place by the summer season.
The town issues five types of special events permits: for residential properties, for assembly of 50 or more people, for commercial properties, for public property, for art sales, and for parades or walking or running events. The town issued 547 special permits in 2018, 577 in 2019, and “just shy of 500” last year, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said. Applications tended to be for smaller gatherings last year, she said, as the Covid-19 pandemic lingered.
The committee would like to see several code modifications, including one codifying the committee itself. It now includes Ms. Burke-Gonzalez and Councilwoman Cate Rogers; East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo; Francis Bock, clerk of the town trustees; Carole Brennan, the town clerk; David Browne, the chief fire marshal; David McMaster, an assistant town attorney, and John Rooney, the superintendent of recreation. “This is working,” Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said.
The “rush fee” for expedited applications should also be codified, she said, and a cleanup deposit requirement for smaller events should be removed, as it has proven unnecessary. Permit holders should be required to “carry in, carry out,” taking all refuse off site at the event’s conclusion. This, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said, would be “in keeping with where the town is going” with efforts to control litter.
The town code should be modified to increase liability insurance from $1 million to $2 million. “It may make more sense to take the dollar figure out of the code,” she said, “and have it set by resolution so it gives future boards flexibility.” And commercial property applicants should be required to submit a copy of their site plan approval.
Also proposed are a requirement that applicants provide a more detailed narrative of the event planned; creation of a checklist for each permit type to ensure that submitted applications are complete, and an update to language in the “applicant acknowledgement” that gets notarized.
Language should also be added to permits for events on beaches clarifying that the beach is still open to the public and the permit does not confer exclusive rights to the property. A prohibition on use of sparklers, fireworks, fire lanterns, and balloons should be added to the code. Language specifying that parking lots are part of beach property should be strengthened, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said.
Given the time it takes to review applications and issue permits, the committee has also proposed that deadlines for application submissions should be extended, she said. Applications for events for up to 75 people should be submitted three weeks before the event, and those for events of up to 150 people should be submitted four weeks in advance. For events of up to 250 people, the deadline should be six weeks prior to the event, and for gatherings of more than 250, applications should be submitted eight weeks in advance.
The special events committee has also identified areas where guidance from the board is needed. One question is how commercial activity on beaches should be managed.
“We feel as a committee that we’ve kind of reached the maximum of our ability to deal with this issue within the constraints of existing town code provisions,” Mr. McMaster said. “This is evidenced by the number of applications we receive every year from a variety of commercial operators,” which include for beach chair and umbrella vendors, beach fire vendors, applications for brand-promotion events that have a purported charitable tie-in, fitness classes, and kayak and paddleboard rentals and lessons. The committee receives applications for all of them, he said, and addresses them on a case-by-case basis. This, he said, may not be the best approach for the town’s future. “If we had an overall policy or directive to strive for, that might help keep things in check.” Does the town want to cap the size of catered events on beaches? he asked.
The code needs another section, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said, as these questions are not for the committee to decide. There should be a broader discussion with the public regarding commercialization of beaches, she said.
“We just feel as a committee, we’re starting to be put in a position of legislating by committee instead of by the board,” Chief Sarlo said, with impacts to the use of public spaces by both businesses and the public. “We get to a point where we’re feeling like we’re setting policy,” Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said of the committee, “and we shouldn’t be.”
Commercialization “really diminishes the natural quality of our beaches,” Mr. Van Scoyoc said. “It very quickly becomes a sandy shopping mall. I don’t think we want to see that, at least I don’t.” The board, he said, should “try to find out from the public where the sweet spot is.” Weddings on the beach should be limited in size, he said, and receptions possibly prohibited there.
The town issues seasonal permits to commercial surf instructors operating on town beaches, including Ditch Plain in Montauk. That popular beach has experienced significant coastal erosion and worsening water quality, Mr. McMaster said, and the committee believes that the situation is unsustainable and potentially dangerous.
The board modified permit conditions for commercial surf instruction last year in an effort to improve public safety, reduce crowd size, and prevent commercialization of town property. Those include hours of operation of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between May 1 and Oct. 31. Only one-to-one instruction is allowed, with no more than 10 people, such as five instructors and five students, at any one time at Ditch Plain. Instructors must be CPR and first aid certified, and one person must be lifeguard certified. A sign-in sheet must be available on request by Marine Patrol and/or the Police Department, and students and instructors must wear brightly colored rash guards.
“We have decided that in 2022 we support the need to continue the permit conditions set forth in 2021,” Mr. McMaster said, though Ms. Burke-Gonzalez suggested that the hours of operation could be extended by one hour on weekdays in May and June to accommodate schoolchildren.
The special events committee was to meet again yesterday.
