Panel Girds For Battle

East Hampton Town Trustees have hired David Gilmartin, a Southampton attorney and authority on colonial patents, to help guide them in their quest to assume a greater role in town government.

Meanwhile, Supervisor Cathy Lester, who has opposed the ancient body's recent effort, continued to blast the Trustees this week, saying their quest was motivated by politics.

The nine-member board voted last week to pay Mr. Gilmartin up to $5,000 to articulate, in legal terms, what they see as their right to administer and enforce laws relating to the use of town waters, underwater lands, beaches, and the structures on them.

Heated Memo

The attorney was hired specifically to answer the question of whether the Trustees have the authority "to oversee and direct the activities of the Town Department of Harbors and Docks [created in 1989] with such department remaining a department of the Town of East Hampton." The department is administered by Bill Taylor, the senior harbormaster.

Mr. Gilmartin is also being asked if harbormasters and bay constables would retain their "protections" as town employees should they fall under the Trustees' direct supervision.

Two weeks ago, the Trustees announced their intention to put town harbormasters and bay constables under their control. It was their "first step" in a broader effort, according to Trustee James McCaffrey.

That step drew a heated memo from Mr. Taylor, in which he cited state law, town economics, police unions, and conflicting jurisdictions to argue against the Trustees' plan.

"The department is not broken, please don't fix it," Mr. Taylor wrote to the Trustees.

Behind the harbormaster-Trustees dust-up and the hiring of Mr. Gilmartin lies the 21-page document the Trustees are humorously calling their "TWERP" (Trustee Waters Environmental Review Permit) ordinance, a tag they say they prefer to the original: "manifesto."

Borrowed From Code

The Trustees' attorney, John Courtney, wrote it, acknowledging that he borrowed wholesale from sections of the existing Town Code, especially the part dealing with the Department of Natural Resources special permit procedure. He is quick to point out that the proposed "Trustee special permit" would be applicable only within areas already under the ancient panel's jurisdiction.

Except in Montauk, where the ancient body lost its jurisdiction in the late 19th century, Trustee approval is now required for waterfront structures and certain activities on the waterfront, on bay and harbor bottoms, and on most beaches.

Municipal boards like the Zoning Board of Appeals do not issue permits for the use of these areas without the consent of the Trustees. The Trustees complain, however, that their consent is too often considered as an afterthought. Rather, it is the appointed members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the staff of the Natural Resources Department who lead the review of waterfront-related projects.

Behind The Scenes

Mr. Courtney said the Trustees were not trying to substantially change town laws as they relate to the use of town waters, but they - an elected board - did want to be the governmental body that administered them and oversaw their enforcement.

To succeed in their revolution, East Hampton Town Trustees have hired David Gilmartin, a Southampton attorney and authority on colonial patents, to help guide them in their quest to assume a greater role in town government.

Meanwhile, Supervisor Cathy Lester, who has opposed the ancient body's recent effort, continued to blast the Trustees this week, saying their quest was motivated by politics.

The nine-member board voted last week to pay Mr. Gilmartin up to $5,000 to articulate, in legal terms, what they see as their right to administer and enforce laws relating to the use of town waters, underwater lands, beaches, and the structures on them.

Heated Memo

The attorney was hired specifically to answer the question of whether the Trustees have the authority "to oversee and direct the activities of the Town Department of Harbors and Docks [created in 1989] with such department remaining a department of the Town of East Hampton." The department is administered by Bill Taylor, the senior harbormaster.

Mr. Gilmartin is also being asked if harbormasters and bay constables would retain their "protections" as town employees should they fall under the Trustees' direct supervision.

Two weeks ago, the Trustees announced their intention to put town harbormasters and bay constables under their control. It was their "first step" in a broader effort, according to Trustee James McCaffrey.

That step drew a heated memo from Mr. Taylor, in which he cited state law, town economics, police unions, and conflicting jurisdictions to argue against the Trustees' plan.

"The department is not broken, please don't fix it," Mr. Taylor wrote to the Trustees.

Behind the harbormaster-Trustees dust-up and the hiring of Mr. Gilmartin lies the 21-page document the Trustees are humorously calling their "TWERP" (Trustee Waters Environmental Review Permit) ordinance, a tag they say they prefer to the original: "manifesto."

Borrowed From Code

The Trustees' attorney, John Courtney, wrote it, acknowledging that he borrowed wholesale from sections of the existing Town Code, especially the part dealing with the Department of Natural Resources special permit procedure. He is quick to point out that the proposed "Trustee special permit" would be applicable only within areas already under the ancient panel's jurisdiction.

Except in Montauk, where the ancient body lost its jurisdiction in the late 19th century, Trustee approval is now required for waterfront structures and certain activities on the waterfront, on bay and harbor bottoms, and on most beaches.

Municipal boards like the Zoning Board of Appeals do not issue permits for the use of these areas without the consent of the Trustees. The Trustees complain, however, that their consent is too often considered as an afterthought. Rather, it is the appointed members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the staff of the Natural Resources Department who lead the review of waterfront-related projects.

Behind The Scenes

Mr. Courtney said the Trustees were not trying to substantially change town laws as they relate to the use of town waters, but they - an elected board - did want to be the governmental body that administered them and oversaw their enforcement.