UPDATE: Fencing Pops Up Following ATV Complaints at Sans Souci

Bicycle riders, all-terrain vehicle users and those who like a good trek in the woods are noticing something new along the trails at San Souci Lakes: new fencing aimed at prohibiting access to neighboring private property that has cropped up in the past few weeks.

"I was riding my bicycle  in the park along the trail when I ran into fence after fence right across well-worn trails I have ridden for years," a bike rider and Patch reader wrote in an email. "There had never been any private property signs but now there is chain link fence everywhere with signs about private property and prosecution."

The fencing popped up just a few weeks after a lively debate related to a Patch article on a call for increased police enforcement on ATV activity on the county park land.

Bayport Civic Association and Suffolk County Parks officials had met in June to discuss options but Civic President Robert Draffin said had hadn't heard about any new fencing work.

"After the complaints we received, anything that can be done to protect the residents using the Park for legal purposes would be seen as a plus," he told Patch.

Patch trekked into the county park that spans Bayport and Sayville at several entrances and while there were signs alerting visitors to the no-ATV policy, no new fencing was discovered.

Suffolk County Parks officials weren't aware of any new fencing either and plan to visit the park this week to determine what was put in place.

It is clear that a neighborhing company to the northside, Vitamin World, is adding fencing to its property on the north side of the lake. The company, which did not return a call to Patch by press time, is considered the fencing culprit by the bike rider who reached out to Patch.

"I rode over to Vitamin Drive which is where the factory is located and the same is true here, everything has been fenced in and labeled off limits," said the rider.

"I hate it, the saying about fences make good neighbors is turned around here with Fences make bad neighbors.  It’s not like the trails were just made these are very established trails that have been open for many years," he wrote in an email.

Vitamin World, also known as NYBT and which was bought by another company this past spring, has several signs along existing fencing that access and ATV use is prohited. There are new fence poles along Vitamin Drive but no fencing as yet.

The fencing discovered cutting off trails by the bike rider reportedly has NBTY's name on it.

"Everything from the [Bayport] Aerodrome to the what used to be the middle of the trails has been fenced off with fences and warnings about lrivate property and prosecution," he told Patch.

"It’s also unfortunate because I did see an increase in pollution in and around the lakes, the fences may have the effect of forcing more people onto fewer acres of open land," he noted.

Patch will continue to update the story as more information becomes available.