It’s official, Sag Harbor residents of the East Hampton Town side of the village will have to pay the full nonresident price to park at Southampton Town beaches come summer. The Southampton Town Board decided on March 3 to eliminate a special parking accommodation that has been on the books since 2021.
Now, for those who live on the East Hampton side, a Southampton beach pass will cost the nonresident rate of $450. Among the beaches affected are Sagg Main, Scott Cameron, and Mecox.
Residents of the East Hampton side used to be able to buy Southampton Town resident beach parking passes for use only at Long Beach in Noyac, an accommodation that goes back many years and will not be impacted. This summer, for the first time, stickers bought there by Sag Harbor residents of the East Hampton side will look different from the standard Southampton Town resident sticker, effectively ending their broader use in the town.
The town board did agree to hold a public hearing on a proposal for a discounted $150 fee at Mecox Beach — described as a one-year-only compromise. That hearing was canceled, however, after no one appeared at a preliminary hearing and the sponsor of the proposal, Councilwoman Cynthia McNamara, withdrew it.
“There’s no support for it,” Ms. McNamara said, adding that she had received only negative feedback from residents of Southampton and ambivalence from those affected in Sag Harbor, who, she said, only wanted access to Sagg Main Beach, which is geographically the closest to the village.
Councilman Bill Pell pointed out that Sagg Main Beach is not under the jurisdiction of Southampton Town and is accessible to town residents only through an agreement with Sagaponack Village.
“They don’t seem to want to have access to Mecox,” Supervisor Maria Moore said at the meeting.
“As it stands, it’s not really palatable to anybody,” Ms. McNamara said. She added that the town, which is now working on a new online beach parking pass system, could offer a discounted weekday pass to those affected and would revisit that in the future.
