Town of Southampton
Deer Fencing & Deer-Resistant Planting in Southampton, NY
A deer fence in Southampton needs a permit above a modest height under Town of Southampton's own rules, which differ sharply from the next town over — East Hampton Town caps front yards at 4 ft by right, while Southampton charges a standalone $525 application fee. Installed cost runs about $5–15 per linear foot, or $8,000–15,000 for a 100–200 ft run. We put Southampton homeowners in touch with one landscape pro who has filed this permit in Town of Southampton before.
Last updated · Reviewed by Bridgehampton Gardens
A deer fence in Southampton is a permit question before it is a fencing question, and the rule genuinely differs from the next town over. We put Southampton homeowners in touch with one landscape pro who has filed this exact permit in Town of Southampton before.
Deer fencing in Southampton: what's different here
Gilded-age estate grounds on the ocean lanes with formal plantings and master-planned gardens, village Colonials and Capes north of the highway with modest beds in small rear yards, and bay-side properties in North Sea with gardens set into the moraine.
Southampton runs from large, open parcels where the lot-coverage test matters most to smaller inland lots where a fence rarely approaches it, so which rule actually binds depends on the parcel, not the hamlet.
General fence rules require a permit above 4 ft and do not allow more than 6 ft by right; an 8-ft deer fence needs either a Zoning Board of Appeals variance or Planning Board site-plan approval within the Town's Agricultural Overlay District, though commercial farms can get up to 10 ft of high-tensile woven-wire fencing exempt outright. The Town's wetlands code (Chapter 325, since 1993) sets 100-ft setbacks for turf, fertilizer and pesticide treatments near a wetland, 125 ft for structures and 150 ft for wastewater systems — reducible to 75/100 ft on lots that were already developed before the code existed.
Permits in Southampton run through the Town of Southampton Planning Division inside the town; Village of Southampton Building Department inside the village; the landscape pro we put you in touch with handles the filing where one is required.
How it works
Tell us about the job once. One licensed, insured landscape pro who works Southampton and handles deer fencing regularly contacts you within 1 business day. Free for homeowners, no spam calls.
FAQ
Deer fencing questions
How tall can a deer fence be in the Hamptons, and do I need a permit?
It depends entirely on the town. East Hampton Town caps front yards at 4 ft by right and anywhere at 6 ft, with default height limits of 6–8 ft and the Architectural Review Board able to allow up to 10 ft for animal damage. Southampton Town charges a standalone $525 Deer Fence Application fee and generally requires a Zoning Board variance above 6 ft. Sagaponack Village caps general fencing at 6 ft, with an 8-ft deer fence needing a ZBA variance — a 2017 court case shows that variance can succeed on appeal. Installed cost runs about $5–15 per linear foot.
Read the full answer →What plants are actually deer-resistant in the Hamptons?
Rutgers Cooperative Extension rates plants on a four-tier scale from A (rarely damaged) to D (frequently severely damaged); sample A-rated plants include American holly, barberry, bayberry, bleeding heart and blue fescue. The important caveat: in winter, deer eat species they normally avoid entirely, explicitly including privet, arborvitae, euonymus and boxwood — the most common hedge and screening plants in the Hamptons. "Deer-resistant" means less preferred, not immune, and a hard winter with enough deer pressure will test even an A-rated planting list.
How does Bridgehampton Gardens work, and what does it cost me?
It costs homeowners nothing. You tell us, in about sixty seconds, whether you need design (a master plan or a planting design) or care (maintenance, cleanup, irrigation, deer fencing) — that first answer is the whole funnel. We put you in touch with one licensed, insured landscape pro who works your town and does that kind of work, and they call you within one business day. We are a Hamptons-only referral service, not a landscape architecture, design or maintenance company, and we are not connected to any garden, nursery or landscaper of a similar name. Participating pros pay us a referral fee.
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