ZBA Attendance Requirements Passed, And Town Line Road Parking Again Discussed At Latest Sagaponack Village Board Meeting

On Monday afternoon at Sagaponack Village Hall, the Village Board unanimously passed an amendment to a local law addressing attendance requirements for members of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Effective immediately, any ZBA members who fail to attend two out of three consecutive meetings — with exceptions made for illness or conflict of interest — will be subject to removal by Mayor Donald Louchheim, following a public hearing.

There was also lively public discussion on an issue that has animated many village residents in recent months. Several homeowners living on Town Line Road, as well as other Sagaponack residents who live near the road and frequent Town Line Beach, were at the meeting to discuss their frustration with the ongoing beach parking issues there.

Residents of Town Line Road have expressed their opposition to the board’s consideration of making its 12-foot right-of-way on the western portion of the street available for parking for village residents who want to access the beach during the busy summer months. The residents are concerned that would create a dangerous situation for passing pedestrians and would also potentially make the road impassable for emergency vehicles, primarily because East Hampton Town residents who are currently allowed to park on the narrower eastern side of the street partially block the roadway.

But increasing beach access for Sagaponack residents is something the board wants to implement in the interest of fairness. Currently, Sagaponack residents who want to park on Town Line Road to access the beach must purchase a non-resident season pass from East Hampton Town, which costs $500. Mayor Louchheim has previously tried to work out an arrangement with East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc that would allow Sagaponack Village residents to park on that side of the street for a lower fee, but those attempts have been unsuccessful so far. He said at the meeting that he planned to take the issue up again with East Hampton Town officials after the November election and added he was sensitive to concerns on both sides of the issue.

“I think the rough consensus on the board is that we really do not want to increase activity on that street during the summer and allowing parking on [the Sagaponack side of the road] would virtually double the amount of traffic in that area,” Mayor Louchheim said during the meeting, before stating his intention to take up the issue with East Hampton Town officials again. “Independent of that, I think the board was very sensitive to the residents’ comments on safety on that particular road, and I think we have to do something about widening the cleared part of the right-of-way on the west side of the road to allow for safe passage of emergency vehicles, in the event they are called there.”

Mayor Louchheim made it clear that the village would not engage in any construction projects in its 12 foot right-of-way, but said that residents who have done plantings or placed any other objects in that zone in front of their homes may need to remove them in the near future.

Charlie Crane, who lives on Town Line Road, requested that the board create a written proposal of what it intends to do with regard to clearing its right of way, so residents who will be affected by any clearing of that area will know what to expect.

“That would be helpful, because there may be obstructions we don’t care about, but then there are things like hedges that were planted in 1940,” he said. “If the plan was to move everything up to the hedge, that probably wouldn’t be a problem, but if we have to tear up the hedge, it gets more dicey. Before jumping to conclusions about how big of an issue it would be, it would be helpful to have a written proposal of what you want to do, with input from emergency services, so everyone can be on the same page.”

In response, Mayor Louchheim said the board would likely do what it did with the widening of Sagg Main Street; superimposing on a Google Earth photograph where the line would be, a plan he said will make more sense to do once the foliage has thinned out, making it easier to see the demarcations in the photos.