Town Board: Hearing set for causeway moratorium, ‘Yes’ vote on Hay Beach special permit

A proposed moratorium on building in causeway areas will go to a hearing on March 18, the Shelter Island Town Board decided at its February 25 meeting. The moratorium, if passed, would prevent any land clearing, filling, new docks or bulkheads and bar new applications for land subdivision or permits in those areas.

The proposed law defines the bounds of the moratorium areas from Menhaden Lane in Hay Beach down Gardiner’s Bay Drive, along Ram Island Drive for the width of the First Causeway, then east to the Jaicks property. The bounds also extend from county-owned land at the west end of the Second Causeway, across the causeway’s width and east to Middle Har-Bay Road.

The moratorium would expire on July 31, allowing time for the Town Board to complete legislation and hearings on the proposed Causeway Overlay District and rules for causeway permits proposed for the wetlands code. A current moratorium on construction in the larger Coastal Barrier Zone expires on March 31.

The board voted in favor of granting Doug Hahn and Melissa Ko a special permit for construction of 750 square feet of living space in a pool house that will be built with a pool, tennis court and garage, which put the total square footage of their project to a total of 6,749 square feet, necessitating a permit and a Town Board hearing.

A neighbor, Marie Mazzeo, expressed concern that workers have been consistently parking in the street, “so much so that they took up the entire northbound lane” of Gardiner’s Bay Drive, forcing someone who is driving north into the opposing lane, while approaching a hill.

Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty assured her that a condition on the special permit would ensure that the workers’ cars do not block the road and asked her to contact the town if this condition is not met.

The board heard Jack Costello of Costello Marine present Maurice and Elizabeth Pinto’s plan to build a boat lift at their dock at the end of Sea Gull Road. The board and Mr. Costello discussed where best on the “L” shaped dock to put the boat lift. Mr. Costello argued for putting it on the west side, facing perpendicular to shore, so that it would be less of an eyesore than a boat parallel to the shore, and that there wasn’t enough water on the east side of the dock to navigate to the boat lift.

Town Councilman Glenn Waddington said that putting the boat lift on the west side might infringe on the water off the town landing directly to the west of the dock. The hearing was left open for further discussion.

During the February 25 meeting, the board also:

• Requested more information from Richard Homan regarding his wetlands application.

• Approved Stuart Parr’s application to install a mooring off Crescent Beach.

• Appointed Meghan Derby as a FIT Center aide.