The East Hampton Town Board, citing rising instances of overclearing of parcels during building construction, voted last Thursday to increase the fees for vegetation compliance reviews.
On the recommendation of David McMaster, an assistant town attorney, and Mark Abramson, the assistant environmental protection director in the town's Natural Resources Department, the board raised the fee for reviewing revegetation of a parcel after construction from $225 to $550, and the fee for any required follow-up visit from $100 to $225. The amended fees, which took effect immediately, represent the first update since January 2016, "although the costs of providing the services and processing the applications has increased since then," according to the resolution.
Under the town code pertaining to building construction, applicants are assessed fees for building permits, sign permits, and, following construction, revegetation compliance.
The vote followed an Aug. 16 discussion during which Mr. McMaster and Mr. Abramson relayed numerous examples of overclearing. It also followed a "companion" resolution, as Councilwoman Sylvia Overby described it, requiring that areas on a property in which clearing is permitted be delineated prior to construction.
The $550 fee includes an initial consultation with applicants "to go over what needs to be done," Mr. Abramson told the board on Aug. 16. "Once the plantings have gone in, we then do another inspection to make sure it's done as approved." If revegetation was not done as approved by the town, or clearing beyond what was approved is observed, "we do another inspection after we've let them know what was done incorrectly, and hopefully they've then fixed what was done."
Overclearing is sometimes done mistakenly, Mr. Abramson said in answering a question from Councilman David Lys, but it also happens intentionally. "We did put a code section in that we're going to flag out the clearing line and stake it to make sure that they're aware of the clearing line so they're not going to go past it," he said. "Hopefully, that will alleviate some of the issues. But sometimes it's done maliciously," while in other instances "they've owned the property for such a long time, they might just move their lawn out a little bit."
In answer to a question from Councilwoman Cate Rogers, Mr. Abramson explained that a consultation may take around one day, depending on the size of a particular property, and require discussions with the property owner, landscaper, and builder. An inspection might last just 15 to 30 minutes, "because I'm going to walk the entire property, check that the species are correct, make sure that they're actually in the ground and not just lying on top. And after that, they would have to get a survey to make sure the numbers are right; I'm just making sure that what was approved approximately is what was put in, because we're not licensed surveyors."
When a case of an overclearing violation goes to court, Mr. Abramson "has to approve the revegetation plan as part of the disposition before we plead out the case," Mr. McMaster said. "That's also staff time, because before each court date, Mark will check in on the property, see if the person has complied with the plan, and then inform me if they've made progress or if they're pulling our chain and we need to have a talk with them. So there is significant investment on his end, not just in developing this but also in implementing it and working with the town attorney's office."
It is a significant time commitment, Mr. Abramson agreed, "but we take every case seriously and try to work with all the homeowners that are actually willing to work with us as much as possible."
"I have seen a lot of overclearing," Ms. Overby said on Aug. 16. "I think it's something that we need to get folks to understand — that this is unacceptable behavior."
