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Dering Harbor revises hunting ban

REPORTER FILE PHOTO Dering Harbor Village Hall.

The Dering Harbor Village Trustees met on Saturday, October 13 and after public hearings on four issues, unanimously passed several measures.

A revision was made to the village’s hunting ban, to allow Dering Harbor to participate in the Deer Management Program under the auspices of the Shelter Island Police Department.

The program uses a Deer Damage Permit for culling deer from February 1 to March 31. Recreational hunting is allowed from October 1 to January 31 in the Village, only on the 5-acre Parcells property and the two Mildred Flower Hird preserves, which have sufficient acreage for hunting to be permitted.

Revisions were made to zoning violation fines, which had not been raised since 1970. Attorney Wayne D. Bruyn said it was advisable for the village to conform to other municipalities and state law.

A law requiring setbacks of 75 feet in side and rear yards for outdoor structures and swimming pools was replaced with one requiring setbacks of 75/50/50 feet in District A, which contains parcels of 3 acres or more; and 40/30/30 feet in District B, where lots are smaller. While these requirements are less stringent, they will still give Dering Harbor the strictest starting setbacks for accessory structures on the North and South forks.

A proposal to re-define the type of noise-generating construction that could be banned or limited on weekends drew considerable discussion. The board decided to adjourn the hearing until the next meeting to allow them to tweak the proposed changes and distribute the bill before that meeting.

A request for proposals was opened. The only proposal received was from Chris Johnson, for highway and snowplowing service.

Patrick Parcells reported on the continuing progress of the water system. Suffolk County and New York State had some final inspections but all concerns seemed to be resolved. Pending one more bacteria test, the system was expected to switch to using the new tank in the coming week.

The name of Shore Road has been officially changed to Harbor Lane. Trustee Clora Kelly has replaced the signs and erected new signs alerting drivers to the change. Fire Marshall Arthur Bloom has contacted first responders and security companies to advise them. Mayor Betsy Morgan and Clora Kelly are working with Waze and Google to update their maps.

The mayor announced that there is an opening for a clerk.

She also reminded residents that October 15 would be the last date for trash pickup by the village, in the wake of Richie Surozenski’s retirement. Some cost-saving measures were reported, including cancelling cleaning service and switching from Verizon to Optimum for phone service.

A Zoning Board of Appeals meeting was announced for October 27 at 10 a.m. The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is set for Saturday, November 10 at 9 a.m.