Southold considers a new-dock ban on some bodies of water, sparking a debate

When Kevin and Josephine Klein bought their waterfront home on Laurel Lake in Southold nearly three years ago, they envisioned spending their retirement years paddling on the tranquil fresh water and teaching their grandchildren about nature.

The couple sought permits to build a 50-foot dock, using untreated wood and open grates to minimize its impacts. In May, despite an approval from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Southold Trustees — a five-member elected body that oversees development on the shoreline — rejected their application, citing environmental concerns.

The Kleins filed an Article 78 lawsuit against the town, challenging the decision, last month. That comes as Southold lawmakers consider a series of changes to its wetland regulations that would, along with modernizing code definitions and increasing pool setbacks from wetlands, ban new residential docks in nine bodies of water. The proposal has stirred debate over property rights and values, and public access amid mounting development pressures in the region.

Kevin Klein, 67, described the proposal as “overzealous” and said building a dock would provide access to the water for his wife, Josephine, who uses a wheelchair.

“Even if she didn’t get onto a boat, she could roll out and enjoy the water,” he said in an interview.

Under the proposed changes, new residential docks would be banned in Laurel Lake, Marion Lake, Maratooka Pond, Husing Pond, Lilly Pond, Great Pond, Inlet Pond, Hashamomack Pond and Dam Pond. Southold already prohibits new private docks in more than a dozen areas, including the Peconic Bay.

According to a draft of the new law, it would reduce allowable yearly dock maintenance from 75% to 25% of the structure without a permit.

Town trustees said docks jutting out into fresh and brackish waters could worsen water quality issues.

“Increased structures will further impair water bodies that are under a great deal of stress already,” trustee Eric Sepenoski said in an interview, adding that undeveloped shoreline areas are vital to the town’s rural character.

“You see the habitat and the animals and the insects and birds in those spaces,” he said. “That is a cultural resource that my grandparents got to experience, I got to experience, and my children are now able to experience. We have a responsibility to carry that on.”

New pool rules pitched

The proposal also would increase setbacks for in-ground swimming pools from 50 to 60 feet from a wetland, and to 100 feet for pools with retaining walls above 2 feet.

Trustee Liz Gillooly said the changes, first pitched to the town board in July, clarify language and respond to development trends — particularly pools built slightly above grade.

“With our increased storms and flooding, they can redirect water onto your neighbors' property in a way that could be detrimental,” she said in an interview.

Pools are also being proposed in areas with minimal depth to groundwater, which poses a threat to the aquifer, she said.

Opponents of the new rules include former trustee John Bredemeyer, who said at an Oct. 7 hearing that small docks can improve waterfront access for the elderly and those in wheelchairs.

He criticized the dock ban as an attempt to “extinguish” property rights “by a town with such a rich maritime heritage.”

Glenn Pressler, who owns a cottage on Great Pond in Southold, hoped to build a dock to avoid walking into the water to launch a canoe and to fish.

“It’s almost 30 feet of me traipsing through the wetlands,” he said, adding that a public access launch site is on the other side of the pond.

“The canoe, I would have to throw up on the roof of my car,” Pressler, 70, said. “That’s a little more difficult than it was when I was 25.”

Support from environmental advocates

Environmental advocates support the revisions, including Bob DeLuca, president of the nonprofit Group for the East End.

Hardening the shoreline with new structures, including pools, docks and bulkheads, has a “cascading” impact that can worsen erosion and harm water life and quality, he said.

“If you have an elevated dock, you’re shading out wetlands vegetation, killing it off,” DeLuca said in an interview. “If every single surface water is just ringed end to end with docks … now it just looks more like a swimming pool.”

The town board is accepting comments on the proposed regulations until Nov. 5.

Supervisor Al Krupski, who previously served as a town trustee, said he supports the new restrictions.

“This is public land, and public access to public land is really critical,” he said in an interview. “Once you put a structure on it, you’re effectively monopolizing that area.”

Klein, who estimates he’s spent about $10,000 in the permitting process, said he shares environmental concerns and hopes his granddaughters can enjoy the land and lake for years to come.

“We look for the frogs, we look at the fish. We teach them about the environment and what you need to do to protect it,” Klein said. “We’re not there to ravage the land.”