Fees to install dune fencing discouraging to some homeowners

Fees to place dune-preserving fences along Southampton beaches are discouraging some coastal homeowners from putting them up, according to Scott Chronis, whose company, Dune Saver, installs the fences.

But Southampton Town Trustee Fred Havemeyer said the fees are necessary for regulation.

The purpose of installing the fences—which is similar in practice and purpose to snow fencing—is to collect sand that blows across the beaches in order to build up the dunes. Over time, the fences become buried beneath the sand and help fortify the dune. As the dunes build up, and as vegetation grows, the fences serve as protection against hurricanes and they mitigate beach erosion.

Over the last few years, according to Mr. Havemeyer, many homeowners have been installing the fences to obstruct beach access, and not necessarily as a protective measure for the dunes. “Over the last few years, people were using dune fencing as exclusionary fencing,” Mr. Havemeyer said. “We had to do something.”

For more than 300 years, beach fencing has fallen under the purview of the Southampton Town Trustees. In 1686, King James II of England—through Thomas Dongan, his general governor in the colonies—established the Board of Trustees through the “Dongan Patent,” which granted the “Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of Southampton access and rights to common underwater land, Rights of Ways to the water, marshland and common areas.”

Under the patent, the Trustees act as stewards for these title lands. Though the Dongan Patent pre-dates the formation of the United States, courts—including the U.S. Supreme Court—have continued to validate its authority.

Julie Kranz, the legislative secretary for the Trustees, said in some cases homeowners were lining their beach property with the fencing and driving all-terrain vehicles on the dunes. During a recent interview, Ms. Kranz said the regulation of fence erection is an important measure.

“This is for the public good and for the environment,” she said. “A healthy beach is good for everybody.”

In July last year, the Trustees ordered a $2 fee for every linear foot of beach fencing installed, a cost in addition to the $250 application fee that is standard when building any structure within Town Trustee jurisdiction. The $250 fee is good for one project for one year, according to Mr. Havemeyer. After that, the applicant must pay the additional $2 for every foot of new fencing installed.

As Town Trustee President Jon Semlear explained in a recent interview, by charging a fee for the fencing, the Trustees are better able to regulate where the fencing is placed and what materials are used so as to ensure the fencing serves its intended purpose—to strengthen the dunes. To comply, the fences, including the poles, must be made from wood.

But Gary Vegliante, mayor of West Hampton Dunes Village, said he doesn’t buy Mr. Semlear’s argument.

“This is just another incredible act of the Trustees losing connection with the constituents,” Mr. Vegliante said. “To require another fee is just another attempt to broaden their powers. I thought we won the Revolutionary War. The health and safety of the dunes is germane to all of us. None of the Trustees have any scientific background to substantiate anything they’re doing.”

But, according to Mr. Semlear, the Trustees often consult studies and receive testimony from environmental experts before making decisions. “We reach out to scientists and experts all the time,” Mr. Semlear said. “We’re not just winging it.”

Mr. Vegliante, however, said he feels that the Trustees should simply establish a clear set of standards for installing the fencing rather than impose a fee.

In response, Mr. Havemeyer said the fencing fees were not meant to create a hardship on homeowners, nor were they aimed at Mr. Chronis or other fence installers.

“Our responsibility is to maintain the health of the beaches,” he said, adding that the fees are mainly to cover administrative costs. “Permits are labor intensive,” he said. “We have to go out to the site, approve the application, Bay Constables have to go out to make sure the applicants are in compliance and those applications have to be filed and maintained.”

Mr. Chronis said he believes there’s a better way for the Trustees to take in revenue—such as collecting fines for those not in compliance—than to tack on, what he called, a “25 percent tax” on his clients. “As much as I love the idea of the Trustees and having them to police this part of the environment, these fees will make it cost prohibitive for those who want to do the right thing,” Mr. Chronis said.

As an example, Mr. Chronis said he recently installed 400 feet of fencing along the ocean frontage of a client’s estate on a beach in Southampton Village. In addition to paying Mr. Chronis for his labor putting up the fence, that homeowner also had to pay the $250 application fee plus $2 for every foot of fencing, which came to $800, as that homeowner installed 400 feet of fence. So with the $250 application fee, plus the $800 for the footage of fencing, Mr. Chronis’s client, in total, paid $1050 in fees, plus the fee charged by Mr. Chronis.

While some have argued that the fees are nominal in relation to the multimillion-dollar homes that front the beach, Aram Terchunian—whose company First Coastal Corporation also installs dune preserving fencing—said that alone does not justify imposing the fees. “Just because someone can afford it is not reason enough to regulate,” he said.

The new regulations affect only fencing installed since the fees were enacted in July, Mr. Havemeyer said. Homeowners whose fences have metal poles—which were allowed up until two and half years ago—are not required to install new fences.

As Mr. Havemeyer explained, most of those older fences are now buried under accumulated sand and digging them out would be more harmful to the dunes. Fines for those not in compliance with the fencing regulations are $350 for the first infraction and can reach as high as $1,000 for subsequent violations, according to Mr. Havemeyer.