Group fed up over housing code violations

After spending a year trying to get East Hampton Town to satisfactorily address concerns about overcrowding and illegal housing in their hamlet, some residents of Springs are demanding changes in the way town officials do their jobs, and are calling for a special town board work session dedicated to a "housing ordinance enforcement summit."

David Buda, a Springs resident and spokesman for The Springs Concerned Citizens, told the town board at its meeting Thursday night that despite some progress, local residents are frustrated. "We are tired of being told there is nothing we can do," he said.

Buda called for new laws that would make it easier for code enforcement inspectors to enter private property and look for signs of illegal overcrowding; to have those inspectors work at night or early in the morning, as opposed to daytime working hours; and to have the town issue a weekly list of charges inspectors have filed against homeowners.

Town board members did not immediately react to the group's request, although Peter Van Scoyoc, in response to a later question, said he "saw nothing wrong" in holding such a meeting.

Buda, in an email to fellow members of The Springs Concerned Citizens, noted that earlier this month at a town board work session, officials were told their public safety division was already conducting "coordinated block-by-block patrols" looking for housing violations.

While the town is allowed to enter the private property of owners already convicted of housing code violations -- including overcrowding -- as a standard settlement requirement after conviction, it is much harder for an inspector to walk into a private house to check for overcrowding.

Buda suggested that the town could find that -- based on the number of cars parked overnight, the number of entrances or the number of utility boxes visible from the outside -- there was a presumption of illegal overcrowding, and its enforcement agents could then enter the property and look for other signs of illegal multifamily use in a single-family house.

Other towns have also wrestled with that problem, only to find that spotting several cars overnight at a residence could just indicate a party.