Dougherty ‘no’ vote as board approves O’Shea permit
Supervisor Jim Dougherty voted against expanding the living area of the O’Shea house on proposed road, saying “it leaps right out at you.”
“It’s inappropriate, Supervisor Jim Dougherty said of SeanO’Shea’s nearly 12,000-square-foot house, the subject of a TownBoard special permit. “Going down Proposed Road, it leaps right outat you.
And so Supervisor Dougherty voted against approval of the permitduring a special meeting of the board following Tuesday’s worksession.
“If you look at Proposed Road from the water, you should be veryconcerned about our aquifer, about Suffolk County Water comingover, and the visual impact, he said.
Other board members voted in favor of the finished basementplan, which pushed the total square footage of the house frombeyond the 8,500 square foot threshold triggering the specialpermit. Approval of the permit was conditioned on the followingconditions: installing no more than two sinks, two toilets and twoshowers in a large bathroom (four of each were proposed); covenantsrequiring the installation and use of a 10,000 gallon cistern foroutdoor water and a well system limited to 1 horespower and 24gallons per minute for potable water. Installation of a rain gardenmay also be required after further board research.
The board noted in its resolution: “The Town Board goes onrecord herein that this property has been developed to its maximumand will not issue any further requests for development oradditions.
The board also approved a wetlands permit for Alex Zagoreos todemolish his house at 28 Ram Island Drive. The ZBA reviewed a planto rebuild this week (see story page 1).
OTHER TOPICS
During the March 2 work session, the Town Board discussed thefollowing issues.
Crab Creek dredging. Chris Pickerel of CornellUniversity presented tidal measurements taken for three weeksbefore and after dredging the inlet to Crab Creek last fall.Dredging initially increased flushing within the creek system butstorms began filling in the opening before the end of post-dredgingmonitoring.
Pesticide regulations in the wetlands. Theboard will send a copy of Chapter 129 of town code to the stateDepartment of Environmental Conservation. The code stipulates thatno fertilizers, pesticides or other pollutants be used within 100of wetlands, a rule the DEC is now willing to let the town enforceif it does not interfere with state pesticide licensing.
The definition of SFLA. The board recentlyproposed redefining the term “square foot living area to includeunfinished basements and possibly more interior space; a total SFLAof 8,500 or more requires a special permit. But the board is nowconsidering Paul Shepherd’s suggestion to change the numericalthreshold instead of the living space criteria.
A town-sponsored environmental fair on May 1.Green Options and other committees will organize booths onenvironmental practices, technologies and more at the Youth Center.More details will be announced.
A new draft of the temporary sign law. Thedraft sets the maximum size of real estate and other signs inresidential areas at 1 square foot. Copies of the revised law areavailable on the lobby table at Town Hall.
