CAC members present were  helped  by Town Trustees, Eric Schultz and  Fred Havemeyer in their clarifications of the issues involved in the lawsuits concerning the Town Trustees’  authority over beach lands in Southampton Town, as well as over the Town  ponds, bays and inlets.

Also present were  David List and Todd Brun ,   representatives of  Citizens for Access Rights, (CAS),  an activist  group that has been   trying to get similar  protective action concerning public access and usage of the  waterways and beaches of East Hampton.

Also on the agenda was Jeff Mansfield’s description of the proposed Mecox Bay Yacht Club trials which offered  a striking  preview of  the problems that residents of the South Fork  may face concerning beach access and public activities  on the beaches, inlets, and ponds. Members of the CAC who were present  rightly  pointed out that the threat of lawsuits by  beach bordering landowners was ominous  because of the huge economic imbalances that exist between  town, village, and trustees against  the resources available to many of the waterside  landowners.

CAC members learned that there seems a severe controversial relationship between the Southampton Town authorities and the Town Trustees. It also appears that there is a reluctance at the village, town, and state levels for anyone to engage in much active opposition to the landowner demands. It appears the governments are reluctant to act  for fear of spending rare dollars defending against  individual landowners who may engage in   lawsuits aimed at protecting their senses of their privacy .

The Chairman have felt the weight of this  reluctance by Southampton Town officials to act by the lack of  success in their  attempts to get a reasonable response from the Town Attorney and from Chris Nuzzi. The CAR members identified similar reactions they have endured from East Hampton authorities when they inquired  about  similar issues.

Therefore we request the following resolution be approved by the membership of the Bridgehampton for delivery to the Southampton Town Board:

JULY 9 ,2012

A RESOLUTION FROM THE BRIDGEHAMPTON CITIZENS’ADVISORY COMMITTEE

RESOLVED that the Chairmen are authorized to seek an answer from the Town Supervisor’s Office as to whether the Town intends to exercise jurisdiction over the beaches and the portions of the beaches held by Mr. Justice Mayer not to be within the jurisdiction of the Town Trustees. If not, then who does the Town state has such jurisdiction? If the Town states that it has jurisdiction, what agency of the Town will exercise that jurisdiction and what new laws will be required?