Government

A long-dormant agricultural tract on Cedar Street that was bought by East Hampton Town earlier this year will be farmed once again by a duo who were chosen for a unique opportunity to license the farmland, farm buildings, and a small house there.

After years of advocacy, Suffolk residents who took advantage of county Septic Improvement Program grants to replace their aging systems with a low-nitrogen variety will no longer need to claim those grants as taxable income, and those who were taxed for them in the past will be able to recoup their payments.

East Hampton Town Board members voted last Thursday to double the cost to residents or brokers to sign on to the East Hampton Rental Registry.

July Fourth drone shows, catered weddings in the sand, and surf instructors at Ditch Plain were among the issues invoked by the East Hampton Town Board during its Tuesday work session as the town looks to update its laws addressing permitted special events at public, residential, and commercial spaces.

The East Hampton Town Board is considering numerous revisions to the town code pegged to accessory dwellings. “There is an opportunity to solve this problem by using existing property,” the town supervisor said this week. “We are not going to build our way out of this problem,” he added, stressing that using existing property “requires removing some of the barriers” and possibly lifting the cap on the number of permissible buildouts of detached accessory units in the town.

At the 12-second mark of a short YouTube video taken from backyard surveillance footage at a Merchants Path house in August, the sharp crack of a rifle shot rings out. As workers duck for cover, a bullet strikes the house. The clip is one piece of evidence in a lawsuit filed on Nov. 29 by seven homeowners who live near the Maidstone Gun Club, which as of Friday has been temporarily shuttered by order of a State Supreme Court judge.

The East Hampton Town clerk’s office is accepting applications starting today for the annual lottery for hunters who want to use firearms to hunt deer during the month of January.

The solution to persistent flooding at the intersection of Stephen Hand’s Path and Route 114 in East Hampton, devised by traffic engineers hired by the town, is a new drainage trunkline now being installed underneath the road that will collect runoff through a series of manholes on the east side of Stephen Hand’s Path and channel the water into the woods on the south side of Route 114.

The Route 114 project aims to add 50 units of housing and 100 beds for persons of moderate means and their families. It comprises two town-owned parcels, at 776 and 780 Route 114, together totaling 6.5 acres, and an adjoining two acres at 782 Route 114, owned by the Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust.

The village has leased the lot from KeySpan Energy for parking since 2016. It became the center of controversy this week when the village petitioned the Public Service Commission to nullify a new lease on the property, held by Adam Potter through his 11 Bridge L.L.C. If the commission lets the lease stand, it will begin on Jan. 1, and the lot would be out of the village’s control for the first time since 2016.

The East Hampton Village Board will raise the price of nonresident beach parking permits from $500 to $750 next year. But if you're here in the winter, mark your calendars: There will be a one-day, in-person sale at the old price for town residents.

The renovation of the bathrooms at Herrick Park has begun, and at the other side of the park, when "The Platinum Bull" moves on after the holidays, Guild Hall will help choose future works for a pilot Art in the Park series.