By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass

TL;DR:

Sands Point runs its own building department with rules stricter than anywhere else on the Port Washington peninsula, and waterfront sellers feel it most. Dock permits are not permanent — they run five years and have to be renewed, and a lapsed one means an unpermitted structure on the property. The village is also split into two coastal zones with opposite rules: on one side of the line new docks are allowed, on the other they are not. Two homes can both advertise water access and only one can ever build a dock. None of this is a reason to worry about selling here. It is a reason to pull the file early, because every one of these takes longer to resolve than a buyer's timeline allows.

The Dock Permit Nobody Knows Expires

Most homeowners assume a dock permit works like a certificate of occupancy — issued once, good forever. In Sands Point it does not work that way.

Dock permits run for five years. Renewal has to be filed ahead of expiration, roughly two months before, and it is not a form. The village wants a sworn statement that the dock is still where it was approved and has been maintained, current photographs, sometimes an updated survey, and a written opinion from a licensed engineer confirming the structure is sound. The building department or village engineer then inspects and reports to the zoning board.

A homeowner who inherited a house, or bought it fifteen years ago and never thought about the paperwork, may be sitting on a permit that lapsed years back. The dock is still there. It looks fine. On paper it is an unpermitted structure, and the penalties for that are steep enough that nobody wants to discover it while under contract.

This is the single most common thing a waterfront seller here does not know, and it is the first thing worth checking.

Two Sides of the Same Village, Two Different Rules

A few years ago the village divided its coastline into two zones, and the difference between them is substantial.

Along the Long Island Sound side, no new docks, floats, ramps, or boat lifts may be built at all. Docks that existed when the rule took effect can stay and be maintained, but replacing one or making a substantial repair requires going back through the approval process. Building a new one is effectively off the table, and the variance standard there is the toughest one in New York law.

Along the harbor and bay side — the Manhasset Bay and Hempstead Harbor shorelines — docks, floats, mooring piles, and boat lifts are permitted, subject to the village's approval process.

The village's reasoning is in the law itself: the Sound shorefront is a high-energy environment with continuous public beach, and the village decided that open, unobstructed views and the public's ability to walk the shoreline outweigh private dock access there. The harbors are calmer, already more developed, and considered more appropriate for docks.

What this means practically is that two waterfront homes in the same village, both marketed with water access, can have completely different futures. A buyer planning to add a dock needs to know which side of that line the property sits on, and so does the seller — before a listing goes live with language that turns out to be impossible to deliver.

One exception is worth knowing. Moorings are still permitted on the Sound side with village approval. A homeowner who cannot have a dock may still be able to keep a boat off the property. For a buyer whose real question is "can I keep a boat here," that distinction matters.

Older Docks Get Looked At Closely

If a dock predates the mid-1990s and is coming in for its first permit, the review is unusually hands-on. Two members of the zoning board physically inspect it. The building department inspects it. The village engineer inspects it and reports separately on whether it is structurally sound.

If everything checks out, the board can approve it without a public hearing. If it does not, the application goes onto a hearing calendar — and calendars move on the village's schedule, not a closing's.

This is worth knowing because older waterfront properties in Sands Point frequently have older docks, and the ones that were never properly permitted are exactly the ones that draw the most scrutiny.

What Else Needs a Permit Here

The list is longer than most homeowners expect, and it goes well past additions and renovations. Driveways. Decks. Sheds. Pools. Fences. Retaining walls. Underground sprinkler systems. Storm and sanitary systems. Adding or removing fill. Substantially replacing siding or windows. Clearing a wooded area.

Air conditioning condensers and generators need permits too, and there is a placement rule attached: they are not allowed in the front yard and have to sit as close to the house as practicable. A unit installed years ago by a contractor who put it wherever was convenient may be nonconforming by location even if someone did pull a permit.

Trees are their own category, and the timing is cruel. Pre-listing cleanup is exactly when people take trees down, and in Sands Point removing a tree of any real size without a permit is a violation. The code even anticipates people cutting first and asking later — where a tree came down without a permit, the village measures the stump.

Two Rules That Cost Real Money

Two provisions deserve singling out, because they change the arithmetic of fixing a problem late.

The first is the penalty structure. Work started before a permit was issued, or work that went beyond what a permit allowed, can carry a fee of up to four times what it would have cost to do properly. That is the steepest penalty on the peninsula, and it applies whether the homeowner knew or not.

The second is subtler and catches people off guard. When the village issues a permit for work that was already done, it backdates the permit to when the work actually started. So a project finished a decade ago, legalized today, gets a permit dated ten years ago — which means it may already have expired the moment it was issued, with extension fees owed for the years in between.

There is also a title consideration worth mentioning. Unpaid village fees become a lien on the property and get noted in the building department's records, including on the certificate of occupancy, where they serve as notice to every future owner. Notices of violation are filed with the village clerk against the property until they are cured. Neither of those disappears quietly at a closing.

If the House Is Worth More as a Teardown

Some Sands Point properties are genuinely worth more as land than as houses, and sellers often assume a buyer can simply demolish and start fresh.

The village makes that harder than it sounds. A permit to demolish a single-family house is generally issued only alongside approved plans for the house replacing it. A buyer cannot tear down first and design later.

That does not make a teardown impossible. It does mean the buyer's timeline runs through the village's approval process before a single wall comes down, and that reality belongs in the conversation early — with the seller, with the buyer's attorney, and in how the property is positioned in the first place.

A Composite Example: The Dock That Lapsed

Consider a composite drawn from patterns that recur here. A family lists a waterfront house they have owned for twenty-two years. The dock came with the property and has been maintained, repainted, and used every summer.

During attorney review the buyer's counsel asks for the dock permit. The seller finds one in a file — issued long ago, never renewed. Because renewal deadlines came and went, the permit lapsed years earlier.

Resolving it means an engineer's inspection and report, photographs, possibly an updated survey, and a place on the zoning board's calendar. The board meets on its own schedule. The buyer's rate lock does not.

The deal holds together, but the closing moves twice and the seller absorbs a credit for the delay. Had the same family pulled their file three months before listing, the renewal would have been an errand rather than an emergency, with the dock's status settled before a buyer ever asked.

Where to Start

Pull the complete building file from the village early — three months before listing is comfortable, and waterfront properties want more.

Ask specifically about the dock: is there a permit, when was it last renewed, and when does it expire. Ask which coastal zone the property sits in, since the village keeps the map on file and that answer shapes what can honestly be said in a listing.

Walk the property against the file. The condenser, the generator, the shed, the fence, the driveway, the retaining wall — all of it needs paperwork here.

Before any tree comes down for any reason, call the building department.

Engage a New York real estate attorney a week or two before listing, and consider a permit expediter if anything looks unresolved. Someone who works with this village regularly will know in one conversation whether a situation is routine or heading for a hearing.

The Honest Bottom Line

Sands Point is a beautiful place to own a home and a demanding one to sell without preparation. The rules exist because the village decided a long time ago to protect its coastline and its character, and they are enforced accordingly.

None of it is a problem for a seller who starts early. All of it becomes a problem for a seller who finds out during attorney review, when the village's calendar and the buyer's calendar are no longer the same thing.

This post covers process, not legal advice. Permit, code, dock, and disclosure questions should go to a New York real estate attorney. Village requirements, procedures, and fees change; confirm current rules and your property's coastal district directly with the Village of Sands Point before relying on anything here.

For sellers beginning to think through timing, a current look at Port Washington home values is a reasonable first step, and a conversation about what a specific file might turn up is available whenever it is useful.

FAQs

Do dock permits in Sands Point expire?

Yes, and this surprises nearly every waterfront seller. Dock permits run for five years and must be renewed before they lapse, with the renewal filed roughly two months ahead. Renewal requires a sworn statement from the owner, photographs, sometimes an updated survey, and a written opinion from a licensed engineer that the dock is structurally sound, followed by an inspection reported to the zoning board. A homeowner who bought the house years ago and never thought about the paperwork may have a lapsed permit and an unpermitted structure without knowing it.

Can any waterfront property in Sands Point build a dock?

No. The village divides its coastline into two zones. On the Long Island Sound side, no new docks, floats, ramps, or boat lifts may be built, though existing ones may remain and be maintained. On the Manhasset Bay and Hempstead Harbor side, docks are permitted subject to village approval. Moorings are still allowed on the Sound side with approval, so a boat may still be kept there. Since two homes in the same village can fall on opposite sides of that line, sellers should confirm which zone applies before a listing describes what is possible.

What happens if work was done without a permit?

It has to be resolved, and Sands Point treats it seriously. Work started without a permit, or work exceeding what a permit allowed, can carry a fee of up to four times the normal amount. The village also backdates a permit issued after the fact to when the work actually began, which can mean a newly issued permit has already expired and owes extension fees for the intervening years. Unpaid fees become a lien on the property and are noted on the certificate of occupancy as notice to future owners.

Can a buyer tear down and rebuild?

Not as a two-step process. A permit to demolish a single-family house in Sands Point is generally issued only together with approved plans for the replacement. A buyer cannot demolish first and design afterward. That does not rule out a teardown, but it means the approval process for the new house comes before anything is removed, and that timeline should be understood by both sides before a property is marketed on its land value.

How early should a Sands Point seller start?

Earlier than elsewhere on the peninsula — three months before listing is a reasonable minimum, and waterfront properties with docks warrant more. The building file needs to be pulled and compared against what is actually on the property, dock permit status confirmed, and anything unresolved started well before a buyer is involved. Items requiring a zoning board hearing move on the board's calendar, which will not accommodate a closing date. Sellers who handle this early rarely think about it again.

By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass

Eric Berman | Long Island & Queens Associate Broker | Compass
1468 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY 11030
(917) 225-8596 | eric@ericbermanre.com | theericbermanteam.com