Greenport approves zoning changes, lifts building moratorium: Changes on the horizon for village

Stepping or driving off a North Ferry Boat in Greenport might have many new sights for Islanders to behold in the near future.

After months of meetings, six public hearings and lots of robust debate, Greenport Village officials recently passed a sweeping series of zoning changes, including a new mandatory entertainment permit for live music — and lifted a controversial development moratorium that first took effect last December.

“I recognize that with anything like this, it’s never going to be seen as perfect in everybody’s eyes,” Mayor Kevin Stuessi said at a recent monthly Village Board work session. “But I believe the work that’s been put into it was with a lot of thought, consideration and a lot of research and intelligence from a lot of other communities.”

Village trustee Patrick Brennan concurred. “On the whole, I think this amendment strikes the right balance — and I’m talking about a balance between under-legislating and over-legislating,” he said. “For example, we broadly reduced parking compliance requirements for many small-business owners and property owners, while at the same time mandating some additional parking analysis requirements for projects that may have a potentially larger impact.

“We’re also trying to balance protecting residents’ interest and accommodating business needs at the same time,” Mr. Brennan continued. “We’re leveling the playing field for competing entertainment venues while also putting some mechanisms in place to help protect the quality of life. And there’s a balance between protecting what has been historically a value in our village and better positioning the village for current and future needs.”

At the heart of the changes is a rezoning along part of the south side of Front Street from Waterfront Commercial to Retail Commercial. That change removes an impediment that frequently required retail shops to seek variances for standard retail-oriented uses because of the previous zoning designation.

The changes also include a new entertainment permit requirement for village businesses that want to showcase live entertainment. Those businesses will need to apply for a two-year permit that can be renewed if the establishment has received no citations during the previous permit period. Initial entertainment permits will be issued for free, as long as applications are submitted by Dec. 31, 2023, but each two-year renewal will cost $250. Enforcement will not begin until May 2024, according to officials.

As Mr. Brennan acknowledged, Greenport’s Village Board ultimately abandoned a proposed code change that would have required some new businesses, as well as existing businesses seeking significant expansions, to pay fees if they couldn’t provide new on-site parking. The board had proposed $25,000 per space for businesses requiring 10 or fewer parking spaces, and $50,000 apiece for businesses needing more than that.

Longtime trustee Mary Bess Phillips, who headed up the village’s zoning code subcommittee, said the changes “took into consideration the community as a whole, as well as each of the districts.

“We did a great amount of research. A lot of it was done in looking at other towns’ and villages’ actual codes,” she said. “We took the advice of counsel on many things when we started getting a little bit off-center [and] needed to come back to the center. So I would like to say thank you to people who worked the hardest on this along with me. And yes, there is nothing that’s ever going to be perfect. And for the first time in a long time, I’m seeing the village moving in a direction where we talk about things, put it on the table. We’re working hard and engaging the community. And that’s one of the goals that was the original intent of the moratorium, and all of the [Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan] updates.”

Beginning last December, Greenport Village instituted a development moratorium restricting any new projects from being approved in the community’s General Commercial, Retail Commercial and Waterfront Commercial districts. Mr. Stuessi, who was elected in March after campaigning on the need to keep the moratorium in place, faced opposition from developers and — at one point — the Suffolk County Planning Commission’s staff, on the legality of the development halt, though the commission later endorsed the policy.

Officials said that work continues on the village’s LWRP and harbor management plan.

Trustee Julia Robins reminded the audience that the changes are “a work in progress, and it’s going to be a continuing, ongoing thing” to adjust and update the village’s codes going forward.

“I think it was an amazing thing that we had this many public hearings,” Ms. Robins said. “And that we’ve got this much information from everybody. And I feel that we’ve done a thorough job.” All of the code changes can be found on the homepage of the village website, villageofgreenport.org, under the heading “What’s New.”