Southampton Town Looks To Protect Existing Marinas In Residential Zones

Town of Southampton officials want to amend the town code to allow pre-existing marinas and boatyards to be a permitted use in residential districts.

“We have a lot of marinas that exist in residential areas and have not been able to renovate, said Town Councilman John Bouvier, who sponsored the code amendment. He said when neighborhoods turn over with new residents who aren’t used to the activities of nearby pre-existing businesses, like farmers riding tractors early in the morning, the town tries to appease everyone by finding the right level of oversight.

“We want to protect the marina owners and also the residents who want to have marinas in local communities,” he said.

There are 42 marinas and boatyards within the town—15 of which are nonconforming uses in residential districts. The amendment would conform those properties to residential zoning code, and preserve public access to waterways for commercial and recreational fishermen, pleasure boaters, personal watercraft users, charter fishing and excursion vessels, and hand-propelled craft.

The amendment is a nightmare for residents like Clayton Munsey, who has lived down the road from one of the 15 marinas the zoning change could impact, Strong’s Marine of Southampton Marina.

“As long as it doesn’t negatively affect neighbors, I am all right with it,” Mr. Munsey said, referring to the proposed amendment, which stands to benefit marina owner Jeff Strong.

“If it helps Jeff, I’d say it’ll do more harm than good.”

The two men have battled over alleged code violations they’ve brought to the town’s attention for the past five years. Mr. Munsey has wanted to sell his home, and blames lackluster offers on the marina. He acknowledges his situation is “the worst-case scenario” for living next to a marina.

Mr. Strong, one of the North Fork’s largest marina operators and boat dealers, expanded his business to the South Fork in 2000 on Alewife Creek in North Sea. On any given spring morning, there are about 50 boats in the water, and another 75 in storage on the property.

Mr. Strong also owns a residential property next door to the marina. There, he stores about seven more trailers and six 25-foot motor boats. A commercial dock extends from Strong’s marina to behind the property, with two or three boats at dock. Mr. Munsey shares a fence with the residential property, and has woken up to forklifts outside his bedroom window.

“The property next door is currently zoned residential and has been used for boat storage and dockage for well over 60 years, but is not currently zoned marina nonconforming. There is a problem in that we are trying to get it to become part of the marina’s nonconforming zone,” Mr. Strong said, responding to Mr. Munsey’s discomfort. “We are working with the town to get them to realize that this property has been used this way in the past.”

Mr. Munsey has argued that the previous seasonal homeowner allowed for neighbors to dock and store their row boats—not motorboats with hundreds of gallons of fuel—in her backyard while the family was away during the year. Mr. Strong disagrees.

It’s unclear if Mr. Strong is trying to change the use of the single-family house, or is seeking to make the property conform to zoning by joining the two parcels together. Mr. Strong denied to comment on his team’s strategy.

Either way, the amendment could allow for Mr. Strong’s marina—and other marinas on the Peconic Bay, Shinnecock Bay and freshwater pond shorelines—to obtain permits for individual renovations and expansions via special exception approval. It would require that the marina follow regulations that prevent erosion and protect the marine environment, as well as preserve open space. The effort has been a long-range planning recommendation from the 1999 Comprehensive Plan Update to the Coastal Resource and Water Protection Plan to revitalize Southampton Town’s fisheries and maritime industries.

Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said it would not apply to new marinas, and would not allow for pre-existing marinas to expand their use to have lodging and amenities.

“We are not looking to expand them in any way—just to treat them in a way that won’t make them disappear,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “When something is a nonconforming use, when something is zoned in a category that doesn’t allow its use, there is a presumption that the town wants it to go away, to one day be phased out and disappear … they just need the right level of oversight.”

Mr. Strong had praised the town for relaxing restrictions, and keeping waterways available to the public, instead of incentivizing marina owners to sell their land for residential development. “The town is being supportive and understanding of keeping marinas viable,” he said.

The difficult part, Mr. Munsey said, is he can’t take any legal or civic action against Mr. Strong’s use of the property for boat storage, until a change-of-use application is submitted to the town.

“I can’t really oppose his action legally because he hasn’t applied for anything—it’s a catch 22,” Mr. Munsey said.

However, he can ask the town code enforcement division to enforce ordinances.

Southampton Town’s head of public safety, Steven Troyd, said a summons was issued on May 8.

“This has been an ongoing issue, and we’ve gone right to summons, so it will be in court soon,” he said.

Mr. Troyd added that Mr. Munsey “has the right to report an issue, as long as it doesn’t become personal.”

The two neighbors may bring their arguments to the Town Board during a public hearing to discuss the proposed amendment scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 12.

“The arrogance of government is just obscene. This place is just off the rails,” Mr. Munsey said. He has threatened to sue the town for inaction.

Mr. Schneiderman said the town is taking appropriate action with Mr. Strong.