Town Line Road

Town Line Road is a boundary drawn down the middle of a road. In the words of The East Hampton Star, the double-yellow stripes running its length "make up the official dividing line between the hamlet of Wainscott and the Village of Sagaponack, in East Hampton and Southampton Towns respectively."

That makes it the one lane on this list where two towns, and an incorporated village, govern opposite sides of the same street. A house on the east side is in Wainscott and answers to the Town of East Hampton. A house across the road is in Sagaponack, an incorporated village in the Town of Southampton, with its own zoning, building department and village board. Taxing jurisdictions and beach permit systems follow the same split.

Two rulebooks on one road

The practical consequences are larger than they look. Zoning districts, allowable floor area and the permit process are set by different codes on each side. A comparable sale across the road may have been built under a different code. A buyer should start with the parcel's tax map district, not its mailing address; addresses on the road carry a mix of Sagaponack, Wainscott, East Hampton and Sag Harbor names.

The two governments also share the road's problems. After a 2022 fatal accident involving a construction vehicle south of Montauk Highway, East Hampton considered stop signs where Town Line Road meets Wainscott Main Street, Daniel's Lane, Hedges Lane and Parsonage Lane. Sagaponack proposed a sidewalk on its side, a turnaround at the beach end for emergency vehicles, and the removal of landscaping and anti-parking devices encroaching on village-owned strips along the road. A buyer on the Sagaponack side should confirm where the private lot ends and the village strip begins.

The beach end

The road ends at the ocean. At the time of the 2022 reporting, holders of East Hampton Town beach passes could park along the Sagaponack side of the road almost to Wainscott Main Street, and Sagaponack had asked East Hampton to consider restricting that parking. Current beach operation, parking and any drive-on rules at this road end should be confirmed with both municipalities before anything is said to a buyer.

New York State administers the Coastal Erosion Hazard Area along the ocean on both sides. The Town of East Hampton's coastal program records that groins on the East Hampton Village beach have affected beaches to the west, which includes this stretch.

Questions to settle before contract

• Which side of the center line is the parcel on, and which village or town issues its permits?
• Does the survey show any encroachment onto a village-owned or town-owned strip along the road?
• Which zoning code applies, and what floor area and coverage remain under it?
• Are the comparable sales drawn from the same municipality?
• What beach parking or access does the owner actually hold?
• For oceanfront parcels: dune position, the erosion hazard line and lawful structures.

Nearby

Beach Lane is Wainscott's other road to the ocean. The Sagaponack guide covers the village on the west side, and the Wainscott guide covers the hamlet on the east.

Considering Town Line Road?

Request a private pricing review for a specific Town Line Road property from The Roebling Research Desk, organized around municipality, zoning, encroachments, beach access and the comparables from the correct side of the road.