Last summer, the Town of Southampton commissioned a $24,000 study of bars, taverns and nightclubs within its borders. The consultants who prepared the study talked to neighbors, checked zoning codes, documented previous violations and stopped by on weekends to listen to the thumping music and witness the revelry.

The study, released last month, concludes that some of the town's bars and nightclubs are running smoothly, posing few problems for neighbors. But it recommends that others take certain measures to become more neighborhood friendly: anything from reconfiguring exits so headlights do not shine in residents' windows, to moving noisy air-conditioners, to putting in double doors to block the sound of music when one set swings open.

But it is what could happen if the most irksome clubs do not comply with such recommendations that is drawing the most attention.

In conjunction with the study, the town supervisor, Patrick A. Heaney, said he intends to introduce a law that would let the town, over time, phase out nightclubs whose owners or managers repeatedly rebuff demands to address neighbors' concerns.