Southampton, NY Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Town Code Chapter A340, Article VII (Dredging, Docks, Bulkheading and Channels) puts every dock, pile, tie-off pole, bulkhead, jetty, ramp, catwalk, or walkway built for shoreline access under the Board of Trustees' permit power under § A340-47. Applicants submit a surveyor's property survey no more than a year old, scaled drawings, site photographs, any recorded covenants, and, where applicable, a Building Department electrical permit; the Board charges a nonrefundable inspection/application fee plus per-structure fees for docks, ramps, catwalks and tie-off poles. Approved permits are issued in duplicate under the Board's seal, run for one year made out to the property owner, and may be renewed for up to four additional one-year terms if the renewal is filed within three months of expiration and the work described has not changed.

The Trustees may require a public hearing on any application that draws significant public interest: the applicant posts a two-by-one-foot sign on-site and mails certified notice to abutting owners at least ten days ahead, the hearing itself cannot open sooner than 15 days after the application is deemed complete, and the Board must close it within 60 days and decide within 45 days of closing. An application sits abandoned, and lapses, if the applicant goes a full year without responding to the Trustees. Only untreated lumber free of chemical preservatives may go into a Trustee-approved dock or bulkhead, a ban in effect since June 3, 2002, and the Trustees reserve the right to inspect any permitted structure and to cancel a permit whenever they find continuing it against the public interest.