The Army Corps of Engineers presented a plan for the Montauk Inlet on Tuesday that would combine dredging with a project to bolster the shoreline to the west.

A number of alternatives involving trucking in sand and/or using sand dredged from the shoaled-in inlet to build up the beaches along Soundview and toward Culloden Point have been under discussion for years. Some included the use of shoreline structures to trap and hold the sand, which naturally moves from east to west.

The Army Corps’s recommended course of action is to add enough dredged sand to create a 10-foot-wide beach and to install several groins made of sand-filled geotextile bags at intervals along the beach to contain the loose sand, Steve Couch of the Army Corps said on Tuesday. The proposal meets the federal agency’s standards of cost-effectiveness and maximized net benefit.

But “it’s your project; you get to have a voice,” Gene Brickman, an Army Corps deputy chief planner, told the town board and others in the audience. “You can recommend an alternative plan. We’re not just saying, ‘Here’s the  project. Take it or leave it.’ ”

However, a decision is needed “in the April time frame,” he said.

Money authorized following Hurricane Sandy is available to get the project done at mostly federal expense, Mr. Brickman said at a town board meeting at the Montauk Playhouse, but the town must give its initial okay within several weeks in order to maintain a good chance of gaining the funding. “This is a real opportunity; you have a chance to get a project. The time to act is now. There’s lots of projects competing for the same pot of money.”

Montauk Inlet, a federally designated navigation channel, is dredged by the Army Corps every three years, with a goal of dredging to a depth of 12 feet.

Commercial fishermen have long said a deeper channel is needed and that the occasional dredging does not maintain the channel at even the 12-foot depth.

While dredging to a deeper level — a separate process that could be pursued — has not been federally authorized, Mr. Brickman said that the deeper dredging could nonetheless be accomplished as part of the project under discussion.

Under a cost-sharing scenario, federal money would cover 80 percent of the approximate $10 million cost of the groin construction option, with New York State to contribute 15 percent, and the town 6 percent.

The Corps’s recommended alternative raises a number of questions and issues including compliance with the town’s local waterfront revitalization plan regarding the installation of shorefront structures such a groins.

Public access to the bolstered beach, perhaps requiring the town to purchase land, or easements, or to acquire land through eminent domain, would be required.

A second alternative meeting the Army Corps’s standards would require the town to kick in more funding.

Under that scenario, which would eliminate the groins, the beach would be rebuilt to a width of 70 feet, using 400,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from offshore. The inlet channel would be dredged every 10 years and that sand added to the western beach. The channel’s routine dredging, a separate effort, would continue.

At the town’s request, the corps could analyze the feasibility of building a wider beach without the groins, said Mr. Couch. Should the town ask instead for that project, estimated to cost $21 million, none of the additional cost could be borne by the Army Corps, Mr. Crouch said.

Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell issued a call for public comment about the proposals. “We’re going to certainly seek all the answers that we can through this process, but we’d also like to know how you feel,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The Army Corps proposal will be posted online at the Corps’s New York District website for review.

East Hampton Town will move to require advanced treatment of septic waste in its harbor areas in order to stem the release of nitrogen into surface waters where pollution from wastewater has been climbing.

The proposed legislation would require sanitary systems of a certain size and sewage treatment systems in harbor protection overlay districts to use technology that can remove higher levels of pollutants than the systems currently accepted by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. The requirement would apply to both new and existing systems.

A hearing will be held on the proposed law at Town Hall on April 7 at 6:30 p.m.

The law would require the installation of advanced septic treatment systems — those that remove more nitrogen than standard systems — for all new development that would result in an “intermediate” level of sewage flow, measured in gallons per day.

The standard would set the bar for environmental protection higher than that now set by the county.

“The stricter standard is necessary because the standard in use by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services is generally intended to protect human health, but is not sufficient to protect ecological health and to avoid ecological impacts to the harbor protection overlay district,” according to the draft law.

It would apply to all properties that generate between 1,000 and 30,000 gallons of wastewater per day and would set limits on the amount of nitrogen that could be released after waste treatment. The law would allow the town zoning board of appeals to grant an extension of time, up to five years, for compliance and sets fines for noncompliance.

The legislation is similar to that enacted in the Town of Brookhaven. That legislation was presented to the board last winter by Kevin McAllister of Defend H20, who asked that East Hampton consider adopting similar requirements.

Also this week, after a hearing last Thursday, the board agreed to completely decommission East Hampton’s scavenger waste treatment plant, which has been out of operation for some time. Suspending use of the outdated plant, which would have required extensive and costly updates to meet current environmental standards, was among the recommendations in a recently prepared townwide comprehensive wastewater management plan.

The town board voted unanimously to have all of the buildings and equipment removed from the plant, which is next to the town recycling center on Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton, at a cost of $400,000 and approved the issuance of a bond to pay for the work.

Supervisor Larry Cantwell said that the board had decided to fully decommission the approximately three-acre site, meeting New York State Department of Environmental Conservation standards, so that the property could be put to a new use by the town or sold.

It is in a commercial zone, and Mr. Cantwell estimated its value at $3 million. With several projects currently in play — the construction of a new town hall building and sale of nearby condos now holding town offices, as well as a discussion of replacing the town senior citizens center — the scavenger waste plant site is part of the mix, he said, though no decisions have been made. It will be two to three months before the decommissioning is done, the supervisor said.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals was in an Amagansett state of mind during its March 15 meeting, considering applications about two Beach Hampton properties.

Carter Burwell, a composer, was before the Z.B.A. for the second time in four years, this time seeking a 971-square-foot, one-story addition to the house at 39 Marine Boulevard he and his wife, Christine Sciulli, purchased in 2010. The couple also want to add a 571-square-foot accessory structure to the property, which is roughly three- quarters of an acre.

The application is markedly different from the one made in 2013. At that time, the couple asked for four variances and a special permit to build in an area with wetlands and dunes. The proposal required  variances from the pyramid law and from the amount of lot coverage. The board found the variances sought extreme.

According to Lisa D’Andrea, a planner for the town, “The applicant has now designed a proposed project that requires a [special permit] and conforms to zoning in all other respects.” However, she said, “It remains an aggressive development of an environmentally sensitive property.”

At the hearing, Mr. Burwell, who was nominated for an Oscar this year for the soundtrack of the film “Carol,” explained that he sought an accessory structure because he now works in part of the pantry. “I hear everything going on in the house. My goal is to build a soundproof space. I’m hoping I can have a more proper studio,” he said. The accessory building would be just under the town limit of 600 square feet.

The additional living area the couple are seeking would contain two additional bedrooms, and Mr. Burwell said that he and his wife had a third child since the house was purchased.

Richard Whalen of Land Marks, who said the couple had worked diligently to assure that variances were no longer needed, represented them at the hearing. He noted that the house is compliant with Federal Emergency Management Agency elevation rules for structures in flood zones, with the ground floor used only for storage and as a carport.

 While additions were being sought, he said  641 square feet of first floor decking, 161 square feet of first floor living space, and 443 square feet of second-floor space had been removed from the plans. The net increase in floor area would be only 791 square feet. “We are moving development away from the dunes, backward toward Marine Boulevard. The property gets a new septic system.”

Jim Grimes, an East Hampton Town Trustee, told the board that the trustees had no objection to the proposal itself but to numerous structures, which he said the couple had placed in and around the dunes. He apparently was referring to a large hammock. Ms. D’Andrea added that there was an illegal garden in the dunes. Ms. Sciulli, a video installation artist, apologized about that, saying the garden was a failed experiment she had set up for her children and would be removed. She said that she and Mr. Burwell believed in revegetating with native plants.

Maziar Behrooz, an East Hampton architect, also addressed the board on the couple’s behalf. Responding to a concern about retaining walls proposed for the septic system and driveway, he told the board that it was now difficult to back out of the driveway. “We are very sensitive to walls out of grade,” David Lys said. When the presentation was completed, the board agreed to keep the record open for up to four weeks, to allow the applicant to supply an accurate survey of the retaining walls.

Concern about retaining walls came up again in connection with the second Beach Hampton application heard that night. Edward Weissberg owns a house at 48 Beach Avenue, which has been in his family for many years. The lot is less than 9,000 square feet and only 60 feet wide.

Mr. Weissberg wants to replace the existing  house with a 1,805-square-foot, two-story house with a 178-square-foot porch, 523 square feet of decking and stairs, a small shed, and an outdoor shower, along with a new septic system.

Numerous variances would be needed, Tyler Borsack, a planner for the town, told the board. These include 10 setback variances, four of which were for more than 70 percent of what is allowed. Also sought were variances to build close to wetlands, for the septic system, and from the pyramid law. While significant, Mr. Borsack said the new house “is roughly in the same location as the previous residence with very few other options for relocation.” However, he also said, “The current proposal is an aggressive redevelopment of the property and would be likely recommended for denial if the lot was vacant.”

But Britton Bistrian of Land Use Solutions, representing the applicant, said there was no way to make the new house and septic system more conforming because of the small size of the lot. The pyramid variance, she said, was mostly due to the need to raise the elevation of the house to make it FEMA compliant.

Again, Mr. Lys brought up retaining walls, saying the design  of the wall proposed “appears to be over 30 inches out of grade.”

It is the goal of the applicant, Ms. Bistrian said, to use plantings, as opposed a hard retaining wall. She pointed out that the applicant had previously been granted a variance to build a deck within seven feet of the property line, which he would relinquish.

The board received two letters from neighbors in support of the application and one opposed.

East Hampton Town

Sanitation Department Flooded

Those looking to renew a dump permit have been advised to visit Town Hall rather than the town’s Sanitation Department. Pipes burst in the Sanitation Department’s office on Valentine’s Day, according to Patricia Sanfilippo. She and the other clerk are working in trailers behind the Highway Department while the office is being outfitted with new floors, walls, and furniture. It was particularly bad timing for the Sanitation Department, which this month processes new dump permit applications, Ms. Sanfilippo said. The department hopes to be back in its office in a couple of weeks.

Southampton Town

Blinking Light Test a Go

Next month, a three-day traffic experiment will be conducted on Country Road 39 in Southampton. The traffic light at the intersection of County Road 39 and Tuckahoe Road will be converted into a blinking yellow light from April 19 through 21 during the morning commutes from 6 to 9. The test will allow the county’s traffic engineers to study if a blinking light would ease a bottleneck that forms at the light near the Stony Brook Southampton campus.

Following a public hearing on Tuesday night, in which no one spoke for or against, the Southampton Town Board agreed to temporary restrictions on vehicular traffic, allowing for the use of a blinking light. During the test period, left-hand turns onto County Road 39 from Tuckahoe Road, which runs north and south, intersecting the highway, as well as left turns by westbound traffic from 39 onto Tuckahoe Road, will be prohibited. Drivers also won’t be able to drive straight across County Road 39 to continue on Tuckahoe.

New Date for Gateway

While the hearing on the change of zoning for a mixed-use planned development district known as the Bridgehampton Gateway project had been held over until April 26, the Southampton Town Board voted Tuesday night to postpone it another week. Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said the previous date fell in the middle of public schools’ spring break, and he had a family obligation. Councilwoman Julie Lofstad would also be out of town, he said.

The board decided in February to keep the hearing on whether to consider a zoning change open as the proposal — presented with 90,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, plus affordable housing and market-rate condominiums — had failed to win community approval. The developer, Carol Konner, is working on making some changes.

Bridgehampton Street Renamed

A portion of Hildreth Avenue in Bridgehampton will now be called Audubon Road following a request by the street’s residents. Hildreth Avenue is an oddly shaped street that starts at Ocean Road and then turns at a 90-degree angle toward Sagaponack Road. The latter portion was renamed Audubon Road by town board resolution on Tuesday night after a quiet public hearing. The numbering on the street has posed problems, and residents often have trouble receiving deliveries, according to Carl Benincasa, an assistant town attorney.

Push for Accessory Apartments

Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said last week that he is working on a plan for accessory affordable apartments that would help address the town’s housing crisis in which “the town is generating a huge labor demand that can’t live here.” He is working with Michael DeSario, the president of St. Michael’s Windmill Housing Associates in Amagansett, in the hopes of coming up with a proposal for a program that would match those working in Southampton Town with homeowners in need of extra income. The program would help pay for converting space in “underutilized houses” into accessory apartments, Mr. Schneiderman said.

Even though the proposal is in its infancy, the supervisor said his goal is to register 25 units by the end of the year. “I think the community wouldn’t even know that they’re there,” he said. “I feel like we have an obligation as a town board to try to find a better way to house a larger percentage of our work force.”

The East Hampton Town Planning Department has recommended the denial of two applications from waterfront property holders.

Barbara Hair owns a house at 265 Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Highway that stands a scant 32 feet from the bluff crest, where 100 feet is the standard, and wants to tear it down. The house was built before the town’s zoning code was written, and is also much closer to wetlands than the code allows.

The new 3,015-square-foot house she is planning to build, which would be set away from both the bluff crest and the wetlands, does not require any variances. It is what Ms. Hair hopes to do with the hole left in the ground after the teardown that was the subject of a heated hearing before the town’s zoning board of appeals on Feb. 23.

Jonathan Tarbet of Tarbet & Lester, Ms. Hair’s representative, told the board that she wants to build a pool with a patio there. That would require nine setback variances, a number of them for over half the required 100 feet. One request for relief would allow construction just two feet from the bluff crest.

Mr. Tarbet told the board that his client had a beautiful view of the harbor and did not want to lose it. With a 560-square-foot pool and a 480-square-foot pool patio, she would maintain the view.

He argued that since she was removing an asphalt driveway, which he said drains toward the wetlands, and an underground oil tank as well, and replacing the old septic system, the net effect would be a major gain for the town — a “home run,” as he put it.

“As currently proposed, the Planning Department recommends denial,” Tyler Borsack, a town planner, told the board that night.

Board members were skeptical of the application. Cate Rogers pointed out that if Ms. Hair removed a proposed house patio and placed the pool in that location, the number of needed variances would plummet.

Tyler Armstrong, an East Hampton Town trustee, addressed the board as well, saying that the trustees opposed the pool. Inevitably, he said, the bluff crest will recede over time, creating the possibility of the pool toppling into Three Mile Harbor.

When Mr. Tarbet said there were other properties in the area with pools, Mr. Armstrong countered that all of them were landward of the houses.

Mr. Tarbet said the trustees and the Planning Department, considering that the septic system would be moved and modernized, “should be jumping up and down for joy.” “I don’t think that is their position,” Ms. Rogers said.

Mr. Tarbet demanded that Mr. Borsack, who had left the podium, be summoned back. “If he is honest, he will have to admit that what I am proposing is better for Three Mile Harbor.” He said he wanted Mr. Borsack “to state what the detriment is.”

“We’re not going to do that,” John Whelan, the chairman, responded.

The record was kept open to allow the trustees to make an official comment on the proposal at their next meeting.

The Planning Department also opposed the application of John and Robyn Diament, who own an older house at 91 Napeague Harbor Road in Amagansett, also facing the water. They are requesting seven variances to build a new house with a deck, Brian Frank, the town’s chief environmentalist, told the board during a March 1 public hearing, including both setback and pyramid variances.

The problem, Mr. Frank told the board, is that the proposal would make a bad situation worse. “The closest structure on the property is currently located 39.6 and 45.2 feet from the primary dune crest and wetlands, respectively. The new residence and deck will reduce these already nonconforming setbacks to 29.9 and 39.9 feet respectively.”

The Diaments, who purchased the property two years ago, knew what they were getting into when they bought it, Mr. Frank said. He told the board that in requests involving the tearing down of a nonconforming structure, the board needed to approach the application as if it were for an undeveloped property.

Andy Hammer, representing the Diaments, made an argument similar to Mr. Tarbet’s, touting the proposal as a trade-off in which the town wins. The old house, he said, “has a septic system that is essentially a cesspool in groundwater.”

Mr. Diament addressed the board as well. He and his wife care very much for the environment, he said, but if their application were denied, “we’ll continue to use an old septic system.”

Mr. Whelan spoke for the board: “When you redevelop these properties, you are essentially starting with a clean slate. It is not really equitable to say, we have a single cesspool in groundwater, we are proposing a new sanitary system that meets Health Department standards.”

“That is like saying, we are building a new house, we are not going to put any lead pipes inside.”

An analysis of how last summer’s overnight curfew at the East Hampton Airport affected aircraft noise and its related complaints will be presented at a meeting of the East Hampton Town Board on Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. at Town Hall.

Representatives of Harris, Miller, Miller and Hanson, a consulting firm that has collected and reviewed information from several airport data-gathering systems at the airport, will discuss their findings. Among other things, the systems record aircraft landings, airport use, and noise complaints.

The town board adopted three regulations last spring in an attempt to reduce aircraft noise, particularly from helicopters, that has prompted ongoing complaints from residents of both the North and South Forks who live under flight paths. All three laws were challenged in court by the aviation industry. Two overnight curfews — an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. restriction for all planes, and an 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. closure to craft deemed “noisy” under Federal Aviation Administration standards, were let stand, but a judge struck down a once-a-week limit on round trips by noisy planes until the case is resolved.

The regulations were enacted after the sunset of several F.A.A. strictures that were imposed when East Hampton accepted F.A.A. money for the airport. When these so-called “grant assurances” are accepted, they tie a municipality to agreements that set standards for the operation of the airport, and can limit local control over such things as hours of operation.

Last Thursday night, a proposed state law that would allow voters to weigh in before towns could accept state or federal airport grants got a vote of approval from the town board, which has sworn off accepting federal money for the airport. The law, being considered in both the Senate and the Assembly under the sponsorship of Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., would subject decisions to take F.A.A. airport money to permissive referendum. If enough voters object, acceptance would be put to a townwide vote.

In its resolution of support for the state legislation, the town board said that “the town is well aware of the significant, long-term burdens, limitations and unfunded mandates that can be triggered by the acceptance of funding opportunities from the federal and/or state governments, especially as they relate to municipally owned airports. . . .”

Not long ago the town sent the state a home rule request backing state legislation revising local finance law, so that 30-year bonds to finance construction and improvements at the airport could be issued.

Controversy over the refusal to take F.A.A. grants has centered on the town’s ability to pay for upkeep and safety improvements at the airport without the federal money. While analyses of the airport budget indicate that revenue from the airport alone could be enough, according to a resolution passed on Feb. 25, “the Town Board finds that the ability to finance improvements at the East Hampton Airport over a period of 30 years would be of great benefit. . . .”

In other recent airport news, the board agreed to hire Walbridge Surveyors for a fee of up to $8,000 to stake out areas where trees considered obstructions to the runways are to be removed, which is required by the F.A.A.

The board also hired L.K. McLean Associates, for a cost not to exceed $19,700, to survey leased sites at the airport, including lots where the town has created an industrial park, with sites leased to various businesses.

After a hearing last month, the board agreed to lease two lots to Landscape Details at a market rate. The company was given a 20-year lease, with a $156,000 rental fee for the first year, followed by annual rent increases tied to the Consumer Price Index.

Seventeen years ago, when Maritza Guichay first moved here from Cuenca, Ecuador, she spoke not a word of English.

She recalls a segregated East Hampton Middle and High School, with Spanish-speaking students largely cordoned off from their English-speaking counterparts. 

“Not knowing the language, it was a big clash. I felt like an outsider,” said Ms. Guichay. “It wasn’t easy to adapt.”

In 1999, the year that Ms. Guichay arrived, East Hampton High School was 75 percent white, according to the 1998-99 New York State Report Card. By 2014-15, enrollment was 50 percent white, 43 percent Latino, 4 percent black, and 2 percent Asian.

Over the past two decades, the Town of East Hampton has witnessed a similar transformation.

Now 29, Ms. Guichay hopes to serve as a voice for the growing Latino population long removed from local government. She co-chairs the Town of East Hampton’s newly formed Latino advisory committee.

Last month, the East Hampton Town Board appointed a 10-person committee, comprised of six women and four men, with Ms. Guichay and Angela Quintero, a 44-year-old businesswoman from Colombia, serving as its co-chairwomen. 

Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell described Ms. Guichay, who first approached him last fall about ways of working with the Latino community, as a “tremendous asset.”

“The schools have done a much better job of communicating and integrating with the Latino community than the town has,” Mr. Cantwell conceded. For instance, the East Hampton School District first hired a Spanish-speaking community liaison in 2012. As of mid-January, school board meetings have been simultaneously translated into Spanish, with a translator available should attendees wish to make public comments.

Going forward, the aim is to make East Hampton Town more welcoming, too, despite the language barrier. Over the coming year, the committee will convene a series of workshops for Spanish-speaking residents, beginning on Friday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m., when it sponsors a workshop on the new rental registry and possible implications for the Latino community. Town employees and committee members will serve as translators.

Future workshops will address topics related to affordable housing, recreation, law enforcement, and justice court.

“It’s going to involve two-way communication, to educate a significant portion of the population, and also listen to their concerns so we can work together,” said Mr. Cantwell.

Oswaldo Palomo, a pastor with the Vida Abundante New York church in Wainscott, also serves on the committee. He sees himself as an elder, with Ms. Guichay as part of a new generation of “well-educated, bilingual leaders coming of age.”

Ms. Guichay, he said, is a bridge between two cultures long kept separate, despite living and working in close proximity. “It’s fine to keep our customs and our culture, but someone has to also explain our rights and our obligations,” said Mr. Palomo, a native of Costa Rica.

Faced with limited economic mobility in their native Ecuador, and three young children to look after, the Guichay family first moved to Springs in 1999, with Jose Ricardo Guichay, her father, later opening his own building company. Ilda Guichay, her mother, works as a cook for local families and caters private events.

Growing up, both parents stressed the importance of a college degree. After graduating from East Hampton High School, Ms. Guichay secured a partial scholarship to Suffolk County Community College. In 2010, she graduated from Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Her brother graduated from the New York Institute of Technology, where he studied architecture. He now works as an architect-in-training at the Farrell Building Company in Bridgehampton. Her older sister is studying osteopathic medicine at N.Y.I.T. Her younger sister attends East Hampton Middle School.

After college, Ms. Guichay worked for what was formerly Classic Party Rentals in Water Mill, first as a secretary and later an assistant operations manager, based in New Jersey. From there she moved to Manhattan, working as a controller at a private home-schooling company. While living in Queens, she became more politically active and joined Organización Juventud Ecuatoriana, a New York nonprofit founded by young Ecuadorians living in the U.S.

Two years ago, she decided to return to the South Fork and now works as a controller at Plum Builders in East Hampton. Since moving back, she has connected with several members of the Latino community and successfully organized her first leadership conference in Bridgehampton. Late last fall, at the urging of Mr. Cantwell and other Democratic leaders, the Latino advisory committee began taking shape, one member at a time.

“It’s going to be a big job. Not that many people want to get politically involved, but we need to start the conversation. We need information, in our own language, to know our rights and understand the laws, the norms, and responsibilities as East Hampton Town residents,” Ms. Guichay said during a conversation last week. “As Latinos from different countries living together, we need to integrate, learn, and respect the different cultures while also keeping our own identities. We may speak the same language, but we have different traditions.”

Time is of the essence. “Our community is the one that works full time in the summer,” she said. “Even if they have the time, they won’t have the energy.” As such, fall, winter, and early spring will be dedicated to concentrated outreach.

So far, the unpaid position has been more time-consuming than she expected. Besides committee meetings every third Monday of the month, Ms. Guichay meets two to three times each week with various individuals and organizations in other parts of Long Island, many of whom are eager to bring similar advisory committees to their communities. 

Talk quickly turned to political office.

“I’ve never really been interested in running for office, but I may consider it,” said Ms. Guichay, who, for now, is content with chairing the new committee and eager to witness its impact. “I’ve always felt that I wanted to give back.”

East Hampton Town

Pump-Out Boats Had a Busy Year

Four hundred and sixty-three thousand gallons of sewage have not entered waterways over the last six years, thanks in large part to the East Hampton Town Trustees’ pump-out boat program. That was the figure issued at the trustees’ meeting on Monday.

The trustees operate two pump-out boats each summer, starting on or around Memorial Day. The service is provided to boaters free of charge. One boat is docked in Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton, the other in Lake Montauk. Like all open waters of the Peconic Estuary, both are no-discharge zones.

Last year was collectively the busiest to date. In Lake Montauk, the pump-out boat extracted 70,670 gallons; in Three Mile Harbor, 19,580 gallons. In 2013, the latest year for which figures were available, 2,532 boats were serviced in the two waterways.

The program costs $65,000 annually, though a state reimbursement grant provides up to $5,000 per boat.

Trustee Diane McNally recommended to her colleagues on Monday that the trustees provide the boat operators with shirts, hats, and windbreakers to identify them as trustee employees. The board has also considered acquiring a third boat.       C.W.

Cellphone Antennae

A planning board hearing will be held at Town Hall on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on a proposal to mount nine wireless antennae on an existing wind turbine tower at Iacono Farm on Long Lane. Board members have for the most part been supportive as the proposal made its way through the site plan process, but one board member, Job Potter, said earlier this year that he was opposed to the plan, fearing it would set a precedent.

John Huber, who represents AT&T, told the board during a presentation that the antennae were needed to fill a shortage across the town and poor cellphone service in places.       T.E.M.

Southampton Town officials are calling for a year-long moratorium on all new planned development district applications so that the town board can address what the supervisor called “real problems within the law.”

One issue that Supervisor Jay Schneiderman raised during his campaign for office addressed flaws in the planned development district code. Planned development districts, known as P.D.D.s, call for a community benefit, but that component need not be related to the development itself. “It was creating a situation where developers could line up special-interest groups,” which in turn lean on town officials to approve the project, Mr. Schneiderman said.

In one example, the Hills at Southampton, a mixed-used development district in East Quogue with a golf course and over 100 residences, college scholarships have been promised to local students, as well as a donation for a new piece of equipment to the fire department. “This is a golf course being proposed, and the community benefit is ancillary, unrelated to the actual benefit, but the code currently encourages that,” Mr. Schneiderman said.

The community benefit could be anything — he cited donations to the Retreat or creating a shellfish program — and “it becomes part of the package,” the supervisor said. “That’s not fair. That’s now how you plan.”

The moratorium, sponsored by Councilman John Bouvier, who was elected in November with Mr. Schneiderman, would bar any new applications under the P.D.D. except agricultural ones. It would allow the town board to evaluate “whether P.D.D. legislation is a tool it wants to continue to utilize within the Town,” the proposal states.

The town board would continue to process applications already submitted, such as the Gateway project in Bridgehampton, the Hills, and a condominium project in Water Mill. “I’m not trying to avoid making difficult decisions that are in front of me,” Mr. Schneiderman said, adding, though, that he thinks the town has been inundated with large-scale proposals. Several such projects, Sandy Hollow in Southampton, the Canoe Place Inn in Hampton Bays, and the Riverside development, have already been completed.

A hearing will be held on the proposed moratorium on April 12 at 1 p.m. at Southampton Town Hall.

Information about the effectiveness of the two East Hampton Airport curfews imposed before last year’s summer season will be presented at Town Hall tomorrow at 10 a.m.

The curfews banned all takeoffs and landings from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. by aircraft deemed “noisy” under Federal Aviation Administration standards.

Len Bernard, the town’s budget officer, will discuss the financial impacts of the curfews; Peter Kirsch, a lawyer representing the town in aviation matters, will review the laws and provide an update on lawsuits by aviation interests; Michael Sendlenski, the town attorney, will discuss the curfew violations that occurred, and Ted Baldwin, a consultant with Harris Miller Miller and Hanson, will present his firm’s analysis of the data compiled on airport operations and curfew compliance.

On Tuesday at the Montauk Firehouse, the Army Corps of Engineers will present its final report and proposals regarding Lake Montauk. According to Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, the agency is expected to present its recommendations regarding dredging of the Lake Montauk channel and future inlet dredging, the placement of dredge spoils, and the erosion occurring on shores to the west of the channel jetty. The meeting begins at 1 p.m.