Southampton Village Increases Beach Parking Fees For 2018 Season

The cost to park at beaches in Southampton Village is going up this summer.

The biggest impact will be for visitors to the village, who will pay $450 for a summer parking pass, up by $100 from 2017. If visitors visit Coopers Beach between May 15 and September 15, they will be required to pay $50 per day, $10 more than the $40 the village charged last year.

Non-residents of the village, but who live within the Southampton Fire District or Southampton School District—residents of Tuckahoe, North Sea, Water Mill and Shinnecock Hills, for example—will pay $250 this year for a parking pass, up from $225. Veterans and seniors who live outside the village but within the school or fire districts will continue to pay $175 for a permit.

Village residents still will receive free parking permits for up to three vehicles registered to an address. For additional vehicles, the cost will remain $450.

Mayor Michael Irving blamed the rising costs of maintaining the beaches—cleaning, raking and providing additional services—for the Village Board’s decision at a February executive session, and said it’s not meant to discourage the use of Coopers Beach and other beaches within the village borders.

“There is no effort to keep people from visiting our beaches,” he said in an email on Monday. “Surrounding municipalities have comparable fee structures.”

Eileen Musarra, the deputy village clerk, noted that if a visitor plans to go to Coopers Beach more than nine times during the summer, they might want to consider purchasing the seasonal parking pass instead.

All parking passes are available at Village Hall on Main Street.

Year-round renters who live in the village also can get a beach permit this year, but they will have to jump through hoops to get one.

Ms. Musarra said renters must present proof that they lived in the village for one year prior to the 2018 summer season. For example, she said, a renter can bring in a utility bill that is in his or her name and has the address of the current residence, from April 2017, and December 2017, and then the most recent bill.

She added that rental receipts from landlords cannot be used, because anyone can type anything on a computer.

Anyone who owns a home under a limited liability corporation, trust or anything other entity other than their name, Ms. Musarra said, also will have to provide village officials with additional paperwork showing that they do, in fact, own the home. The owner of a home listed under an LLC, for example, must provide village officials with an operating agreement that shows who the homeowner is. Once that is provided, she added, it will not be required again for future permits.