A public hearing on a proposed law that would extend the prohibition of dogs and trucks on East Hampton Village beaches from the current date of Sept. 15 to Columbus Day drew no comment from the public but sparked a debate among village board members when they met on Friday.
The village formalized an extension of the beach season from Sept. 15 to Columbus Day in February 2023, after previously extending it for a couple of seasons.
The proposed law would amend the code pertaining to conduct on beaches to prohibit dogs and other animals between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. from May 15 to the second Monday in October. Although trucks are not referenced in the proposed law, Mayor Jerry Larsen said that the legislation would also prohibit vehicles between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. through Columbus Day. “The same rules that we have in place until September will be extended into October,” the mayor said.
A second public hearing, which would extend the requirement of a village beach permit to park at a beach to Columbus Day, also drew no comment.
The impetus for the proposed code changes, the mayor said, “is that the lifeguards are there, the beaches have remained open. But they’ve been finding that it’s not the dogs that are a problem so much, but it’s the trucks.” Elsewhere in the town, he said, vehicles can be driven on beaches during daytime hours from Sept. 15 to May 15, “but we’ve extended our hours to have lifeguards there. We have beachgoers, especially on busy weekends, so the beach staff recommended that we extend it [the driving prohibition] so that the rules are in place and it’s safer for everyone.”
“My issue with this,” Carrie Doyle of the board said, “is that it will push back when people can take their dogs to the beach.”
Ms. Doyle said that she is among many residents who “go to the beaches Sept. 15, as soon as I can, with my dog. There’s lots of people — I talk to them all year long — they wait for those dates, and on the weekdays it’s crickets at the beach. There’s no one there. I think we all feel a collective sigh of relief after the summer season, when people, the traffic, and noise — have abated and we can take our dogs.”
She does not personally favor trucks on beaches, she said, “but I know it’s part of the culture. . . . To push it back when there’s often these empty beaches, and people have been waiting for this moment to reclaim East Hampton, I think it’s unnecessary.”
These were valid points, the mayor acknowledged, and mused about a prohibition of animals and vehicles on beaches only from Friday through Sunday between Sept. 15 and Columbus Day, or perhaps only on Friday and Saturday.
“I always lean toward safety, said Deputy Mayor Christopher Minardi, “and in the late summer, early fall, the beach is very busy on nice days. Trucks pose a threat to people and animals, and also . . . not everyone’s a dog person. It’s nice to give people a nice experience at the beach, where they don’t have to worry about animals interfering with their time.” He suggested that the board solicit input from Drew Smith, the beach manager, and Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson, but said that extending the prohibition of animals and trucks on weekends through Columbus Day “is a very fair compromise.”
Any change in laws regarding village beaches would be subject to approval by the town trustees, who own and manage the town’s beaches, outside of Montauk, on behalf of the public. Francis Bock, the trustees’ clerk, said that the matter is on the agenda for the trustees’ next meeting, which happens on Monday.
Ms. Doyle asked that interested residents contact her to share their thoughts on the proposed legislation, “because I think that this is a big issue, and we’ve slowly encroached — we keep taking away the rights of dog owners on the beach.”
