Shepherd calls for community service for building violations

Councilman Paul Shepherd suggested at Tuesday’s Town Board work session that property owners who consistently defy Building Department regulations should be punished by doing community service.

The idea, Mr. Shepherd said, is “to take from a rich guy what he does not want to give — time.”
Under discussion was property owner Gary Baddeley of South Ferry Road. Building Inspector Chris Tehan told the board that Mr. Baddeley has built a roof over a patio that was not included in original plans and, in fact, no plans were made for the patio, either. “We were apprised of [the construction] after the fact,” Mr. Tehan said.

Original applications for work at the South Ferry Road property were made in December of 2010, according to Building Department records. Mr. Baddeley was fined $500 for a building construction violation of the town code in August of 2013.

Mr. Shepherd admitted his idea of imposing community service is “radical,” but said even though “I pretty much come down in favor of the applicants whenever possible, as long as they don’t do anything stupid, this really wobbles on that line.”

He said that Mr. Baddeley had applied for relief from restrictions, was granted them, but then broke the rules.

“Mr. Baddeley struck an agreement with us, and apparently deliberately walked away from it,” Mr. Shepherd said. He added that the homeowner should fix the problem according to the original agreement of construction, or keep what he has already done but be forced to do community service.

Councilwoman Chris Lewis said the idea was “interesting,” but Councilman Peter Reich, although intrigued by the idea, cautioned that if a precedent is set, dealing with limited liability corporations who own property, rather than individuals, would present problems assigning community service. A person low on the corporation totem might be chosen to do the community service, Mr. Reich noted, which would not be fair.

The councilman agreed with his colleague that people take advantage of fines by the building Department, looking at them as just another cost of doing business

Supervisor Jim Dougherty asked Town Attorney Laury Dowd if she “had a view whether we can mandate community service in this context.”

“It could be susceptible to legal challenge,” Ms. Dowd said.

Councilman Ed Brown suggested contacting Mr. Baddeley’s representative, Matt Sherman, to discuss the matter further. A decision was made to include Mr. Sherman on a conference call at next week’s work session to discuss the matter.

In other business: The board returned to solving the parking problem at the corner of Jaspa Road and state road Route 114. There are four businesses affected there, the Shelter Island Craft Brewery, Maria’s Kitchen, Bella Vita Pizza and Hubbard’s Repair Shop.

Police Chief Jim Read brought the issue to the board’s attention at a previous work session, that cars parking on both sides of Jaspa Road at the intersection effectively makes it a single lane, which could be dangerous for cars exiting or entering the state road.

George Hubbard, who owns the properties occupied by the brewery and Maria’s Kitchen will be contacted to give input on the situation.

Chief Read also suggested the other business owners’ opinions should be considered.

Meetings to hammer out a 2016 town budget has been scheduled. Dates include Monday October 5, 6, 8 and 9. The public meetings, held in the Town Hall meeting room, are all day affairs, starting most days at 10 a.m., except for the Thursday October 8 meeting, which will be on the Highway Department budget.

Mr. Dougherty released correspondence from state officials that the town’s request for a $250,000 grant for infrastructure and resurfacing of roadway projects is on track for consideration.