Southampton, NY Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Town Code Chapter 287, Article IV, § 287-13, adopted in 1986 and amended in 1993, governs any private alteration of a Town highway or the sidewalk within it in the unincorporated Town of Southampton. No person, firm or corporation may change or alter the grade of a Town highway or a sidewalk in it, alter or change the line or height of a curb, open the surface of a highway, excavate beneath it, or place, erect or relocate a utility pole in a Town highway without first obtaining the written consent of the Town Superintendent of Highways.

The applicant must use the form the Superintendent provides and pay a $50 permit fee at the time of application. Section 287-14 adds a second condition: the Superintendent cannot give written consent under § 287-13, or under § 287-13.1's double-pole removal work, until the applicant furnishes a sufficient indemnity or performance bond, in an amount and form the Superintendent determines, and the bond must be filed and approved in the Town Clerk's office before consent takes effect. A related but broader provision, § 287-15, separately requires written consent of the Superintendent, backed by its own bond, before anyone disturbs, breaks, mars, injures, removes or defaces any highway, street, road, sidewalk, sidepath, passway or public way maintained by the Town.

Utility work carries added rules: § 287-13.1, added in 2010, gives a permittee 60 days after installing a new pole to remove any damaged or double pole it replaces, and lets the Superintendent order a utility to remove a damaged or double pole within 30 days of written notice. Violating the utility-pole removal timelines draws the § 287-19(C) penalty of $250 per day the pole, plant or attachment remains standing beyond its removal deadline, on top of any court-ordered removal and cost recovery.