East Hampton Village Board Debates Adding Beach Rules

The East Hampton Village board is considering adding new rules that beachgoers may need to follow next summer.

What the new rules will be is still up for debate, but proposals being debated ranged from restricting the behavior of drivers in beach parking lots to defining the age at which children require adult supervision.

“This all came up last summer when we had somebody act very recklessly, drive around our cones at the entrance to lot one and then wound up getting into a car accident and then left the scene,” East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said at the Dec. 18 board meeting.

The village plans on strictly enforcing the current rules in addition to adding more rules in response to the incident.

There was discussion on the addition of a “no idling” rule for beach goers. It is still up for debate on the finalization of that rule for if it will include the off season months and if there will be a limit as to how long cars can sit in the parking lots running.

The debate focused heavily on the acceptance of animals on the Main Beach pavilion deck and on the beach itself. The goal is to have a time that feels consistent with the current beach schedule. The decision hasn’t been made yet, but it’s leaning toward 9 a.m. for the cutoff to match the time with the beach itself.

A new age restriction could be coming to the beach as well. For the safety of minors, they are questioning the addition of a restriction for unaccompanied minors under the age of 12. There was a debate on whether 12 was too old to be left alone on the beach by members of the board. However, it seems to be headed in that direction.

The debate is expected to continue at the Jan. 17 board meeting.