NEWS RELEASE February 11, 2010
Contact: Ryan Horn
(631) 287-5745
Trustees Re-Empowered to Set Shellfish Fees
Malone Sponsors Law to Restore Ancient Authority
At its afternoon meeting, the Southampton Town Board approved a resolution returning a long lost authority to the Town Trustees.
Sponsored by recently-elected Councilman Jim Malone, the local law repeals Town Board established shellfish permit fees and “returns the power” to set them to the people’s traditional representatives on such matters.
“The Andros and Dongan Patents recognized the Trustees’ exclusive control over the Town’s natural resources,” said Malone, who is also an attorney and the Council’s liaison to the group. The historical documents, issued by New York’s colonial governors in 1676 and 1686, codified existing rights and the independent land deals between Southampton’s first settlers and the Shinnecock Indians.
Under current regulations, shellfish can be taken with a permit. A Town freeholder or permanent resident can receive one for free, but temporary residents are made to pay.
New York State Town Law §130(18) requires Town Boards to first obtain Trustee consent before enacting legislation pertaining to shellfish. However, in Malone’s view, the Town’s founding documents vested that authority solely with the Trustees. “As an independently elected body which governs even closer to the people, the Trustees should be free to make these decisions as they like,” he said. “It worked well for over 300 years, but somewhere along the way there was a diminution of power.”
The councilman’s measure was introduced at the Town Board’s Special Meeting of January 29 and later the subject of a public hearing. Aside from the principles involved, the Trustees also emphasized the practical considerations, noting that current fees for temporary residents have not changed in several decades. “It will give us the flexibility we need,” said Trustee President Jon Semlear of Noyac. “We appreciate the Board’s consideration of this legislation.”