Politics & Government

On the Agenda: Southold Special Events Law Public Hearing

Southold Town Board will hear public comments on proposed changes to special events legislation in light of more activities at wineries and other sites around town.

Nearly three months after Southold Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals Chairwoman Leslie Weisman approached the Southold Town Board about to evolve with “creative marketing strategies” that various business people are trying to put in place on the North Fork, the board is ready to hear from the public at a hearing on the issue Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at

Southold Town’s special event permit currently only addresses issues associated with single, stand-alone events — like the held for the past two summers on the grounds ofTown zoning inspector Damon Rallis said in an earlier interview with Patch that the town didn’t anticipate a winery such as hosting — nor a winery hosting a farmers’ market featuring only out-of-town vendors.

Some organizations have recently approached the town about setting up this summer in the Town to sell produce and other food items at places like wineries and preserved land — which makes these markets dicey for the Town to approve, according to Weisman.

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“The North Fork is growing with marketing ideas and we need to figure out how this development should occur,” Weisman told the board in February.

Town Attorney Martin Finnegan explained to the board at Tuesday's work session that the changes the code committee had worked on over the last few weeks are not “meant to police or regulate every event ever contemplated,” he said.

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“We’re focusing on events that will exceed lawful use and have impacts on the community,” Finnegan said. “Some sites have bigger capacity for bigger events.”


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