East Hampton Village is seeking to tighten its leash laws. The proposal was discussed at last Thursday’s work session, and the board was unanimous that a law should be written and introduced at its next meeting on Friday, Oct. 20. Afterward, it will be up for a public hearing, likely in November.
“Clean up after your dog.” “Keep your dog on a leash.” The signs are everywhere, yet piles of poo, and, nearly just as bad, those green bags full of it, are left lingering along curbsides, medians, the beach, or sometimes right in the middle of a walkway.
“If a dog is leashed, the owners are more likely to clean up after the dog,” Deputy Mayor Chris Minardi observed at last week’s meeting.
Dog feces are not only unsightly, they can also affect water quality. When left on the ground, they break down, but the harmful bacteria they harbor can ultimately end up in our waterways, carried by stormwater. That bacteria can sicken people and create algae blooms.
The village already has a leash law at beaches during the summer. Dogs must be leashed within 300 feet of the beach access, and if a dog poops, its owner must clean it up.
“A majority of people do the right thing,” said Drew Smith, the village’s head lifeguard, in a phone call. “We do find piles of dog feces now and then. Or, a lot of people clean up the dog mess and, unfortunately, leave the bag.”
The new rules would expand the leash law to the village’s other public places. “Right now, there is nothing in place to tell people to clean up after their dogs except for on the beach,” said Mayor Jerry Larsen at the work session.
“I think it’s crazy to walk your dog without a leash,” said Mr. Minardi, noting that all other nearby villages have a broader leash law.
Another item on next Friday’s agenda is a recommendation by Billy Hajek, the village planner, to extend the moratorium on converting residential tennis courts to pickleball. The village has engaged a professional acoustical engineer to help guide such regulations, he said, but more time is needed.
Right now, to construct a new pickleball court, a property must be at least an acre and a half. The court must be sunk four feet below grade, surrounded on three sides by six-foot sound-attenuation walls, and contain no lighting.
The problem is that there are no such minimum requirements to convert an existing tennis court. “So, if you have a nonconforming tennis court, that’s what we’re concerned with,” said Mr. Hajek.
Speaking of courts, fencing has been placed along the Newtown Lane entrance to Herrick Park as construction begins on the two new Roy Mabry Memorial Basketball Courts. The old courts were moved from their location on the western border of the park, next to the tennis courts, to make way for a sidewalk connecting the Reutershan parking lot to the long-term lot. The new courts will now be nestled between Newtown Lane and the children’s playground, closer to the middle school, a heavy user.
Marcos Baladron, the village administrator, said by phone on Tuesday afternoon that grading will soon begin. The contractor gave him his word, said Mr. Baladron, that the basketball courts would be “100-percent complete by the end of the year,” in time, perhaps, for the village to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their dedication to Mr. Mabry.
