Town Board considers commercial site planning
The Town Board at Tuesday’s work session agreed to consider establishing a system of site planning that doesn’t occur on most projects here.
What prompted the discussion was two commercial sites on Route 114 — described by Supervisor Jim Dougherty as “eyesores” — that have received numerous complaints and coverage by the Reporter, plus a recent Newsday story mentioning that a lot on Manwaring Road is being shopped as a site for a possible hotel and restaurant.
Under current stipulations, if a developer suggested such a project and it didn’t need lot line approvals or Zoning Board of Appeals variances, it could progress without public input.
“Maybe it’s time to kick around site plan review,” Supervisor Jim Dougherty said.
Councilman Jim Colligan said there are other municipalities that hold informal sessions with potential applicants before formal plans are presented. That would give both business and town officials a chance to talk about what might work and what might be rejected before anyone spends substantial money developing plans.
“It opens up a dialogue,” Mr. Colligan said. “It could help us identify potential problems.”
But Craig Wood told the Town Board he’s concerned that as soon as a dialogue opens publicly, there would be those trying to stop it.
Councilman Paul Shepherd said he thinks “real things have to have a place” on the Island and people can’t be so quick to reject every idea suggested.
Town Attorney Laury Dowd will draft a resolution for the Board to discuss at a future meeting.
In other business, the Town Board:
• Appointed a successor to Henrietta Roberts who was coordinator of senior services prior to her recent retirement. Loretta Gilman Fanelli was appointed to the job that has the Civil Service title of “neighborhood aid,” but she will be functioning much as Ms. Roberts did, according to Councilwoman Chris Lewis. She was hired at a rate of $24 per hour.
• Passed a resolution endorsing a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) and Senator Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) to control helicopter flights into East Hampton that have been disturbing to residents of other East End towns, including Shelter Island.
The resolution praises changes the East Hampton Town Board has already made to diminish noise from the helicopters, but concern is that a future Town Board could reverse those changes. The state legislation would be a step toward ensuring the changes are permanent and violations are punished.
It also calls on Mr. Dougherty to urge his colleagues on the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association to endorse the Thiele-LaValle legislation.
• Amended the fee from $250 to $50 for those homeowners who have had cisterns prior to implementation of the irrigation law.
• Approved Mr. Dougherty sending letters to residents about properly containing garbage cans on their property instead of putting them in the street where, in some areas, they sit for several days prior to collection. At the same time, the Board will discuss a resolution that could require placement of receptacles at the side of a house where garbage pickup services could empty them and replace them by the side of the structure.
• Agreed that a bill of $10,200 for dredging in the South Ferry Hills area should be paid out of the Waterways Management Advisory Council budget since neighbors had raised the money to pay for replacement of bulkheads. Ms. Dowd was to work out a method of paying the bill that under usual practices should have been put out to bid.
