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The Southampton Town Board voted to codify the parking restrictions at Wildwood Lake Park in Northampton as a year-round policy at its meeting on May 28. DANA SHAW
The Southampton Town Board has adopted restrictions on parking at Wildwood Lake Park in Northampton, which were part of a pilot program last year, as a year-round policy going forward.
The decision at a meeting on May 28, after holding a public hearing, formalized the restrictions, which were tested in the pilot program after residents complained about overcrowding, and that parking spaces at the park were being occupied by nonresidents.
The pilot program — now a year-round policy — limits parking to vehicles bearing a town parking permit from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends and federal holidays from May 15 through September 15.
There was initially confusion among the board as to whether the resolution amending the town code applied only from May 15 through September 15, as in the pilot program. “The language ‘at all times’ was requested specifically,” Sean Cambridge, an assistant town attorney, told the board during the hearing, “so it was included in this draft.”
Board members agreed to vote on the resolution as worded, extending the restrictions throughout the year.
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the kettlehole lake had become a popular recreation destination for people from all over Long Island. Nearby residents said they saw an adverse impact on their quality of life, leading to the pilot restrictions.
“There are many, many people enjoying this spot,” Cambridge told the board, “but sometimes too many. We need our first responders to be able to get in there and respond accordingly.”
While the six residents who offered comment at the hearing were appreciative of the board’s efforts, they said much more remains to be done in the area of enforcement.
One reported that every parking space on May 26, during Memorial Day weekend, was occupied by vehicles lacking parking permits, and police patrols have been rare. She also complained of bonfires and amplified music, both of which are prohibited.
Donna Ferrara Gregory seconded that observation, noting that despite signs prohibiting pets, alcoholic beverages, bonfires, littering, household garbage and amplified music, “all of that goes on. It goes on all the time, and there’s no one to enforce it.” She asked that the board consider hiring seasonal staff to check vehicles for permits.
“As a lifelong resident,” said Robert Gregory, “I’m saddened to see what has been transpiring over the last many years at this particular beach at the end of the lake,” which he said has become “more and more overcrowded, and as a result, the violations … have become more extreme.”
The adverse impacts of overcrowding are affecting every resident on the lake’s perimeter, he said. “I can tell you that the noise and the debris and the garbage that floats to the east side of the lake is being generated at this park,” he said.
Supervisor Maria Moore said that she agrees that rules without enforcement are “not worth the paper they’re written on. We’re going to talk internally about what we can do about that.”
Councilman Michael Iasilli said he is working with the town’s Human Resources Department “to see if we can find additional personnel to help with some of the needed enforcement.”
