Sagaponack Officials Discuss How To Approach Potential Influx Of Deer Fence Applications

An ongoing application to install an 8-foot-tall fence around a nearly 34-acre private agricultural reserve on Parsonage Lane—a move intended to keep deer off the property—has led Sagaponack Village officials to look at the way it reviews the need for fencing around agricultural properties.

During a meeting on Monday of the Planning Board—which is composed of the same members of the Village Board, serving in a dual role—village resident Kim Lippman’s application was again met with opposition from area residents, who referred to it as a potential eyesore.

Board members, who have not publicly spoken out against the application but said they were open to alternatives, used the debate as an opportunity to talk about legislation they will consider as the Village Board to shift the review of similar applications from the Planning Board to the Village Board so that they might be considered on a case-by-case basis.

While the board has served as the Planning Board since 2011, Village Attorney Anthony Tohill said the measure would give officials the opportunity to bypass stricter regulations set on the Planning Board by state code. The legislation would amend the village code, adding criteria that gives the board clearer direction on how to address an expected influx in agricultural fencing applications due to a growing nuisance deer population that has been devastating crops in recent growing seasons.

“Maybe we’ve dropped the ball on culling,” board member Lisa Duryea Thayer said during the meeting. “We, as a board, have allowed this to get to this point.”

The legislation would better define who is a “bona-fide” farmer based on their volume of income; require fencing to be removed after land lies fallow for more than two years, or the village will remove it and place a lien on the property to pay for it; and keep vegetation clear around fencing that’s roadside to keep vistas open, to name a few. The legislation could potentially open the board to alternatives to 8-foot fencing.

During Monday’s meeting, Ms. Lippman’s application was again met with staunch opposition from neighbors—including Ruth Raisman who said she would “stop at nothing to find an alternative to the 8-foot fence.”

“We want to preserve the vistas that Sagaponack was built upon,” Ms. Raisman said.

Some alternatives to an 8-foot fence could include two 6-foot fences with tall hedges in between, and a newly designed 4-foot mesh fence that also extends 4 feet horizontally at the top to prevent deer from jumping over.

“Deer are going to go somewhere no matter what fence is approved here,” said Richard Warren, a village planning consultant. “They’ll get into other yards, and more residents are going to be coming in here to ask what their options are.”

Mayor Donald Louchheim said he’s open to alternatives to the 8-foot fences, which “give you the feel that you are driving past a concentration camp.”

The proposed code change will be discussed on Monday, August 20, at a Village Board meeting, and a public hearing could be planned for next month at the earliest.