Shelter Island Town Board discusses fertilizer, construction, docks and parking

According to a major study by North Dakota State University, “When nutrients and other pollutants associated with animal manures and commercial fertilizers are not managed properly, they can affect plant and animal life (including humans) negatively. Some of these impacts include algae blooms causing the depletion of oxygen in surface waters, pathogens and nitrates in drinking water, and the emission of odors and gases into the air.”

Shelter Islanders have been aware of algae blooms in their surface waters for years, and are moving in several directions to eliminate nitrates and other toxic elements from their drinking water.

New legislation is proposed on regulating the use of fertilizers on the Island, and was discussed when Water Advisory Committee members met at a public hearing Monday night after resident Pam Demarest declared it “not ready for prime time.”

At issue for Committee member Lisa Shaw, who launched the effort to get a new chapter written into the Town Code, is getting a law in place before the warm weather season takes hold.

While acknowledging that overuse of fertilizers is a relatively small contributor to nitrogen levels in town waterways, she said that “every little bit [of regulation] helps.”

The major thrust of the effort is education, she explained, but noted that legislation is needed to give teeth to the effort to control the overuse of fertilizers.

The proposed law is not aimed at licensed professionals who understand how to use fertilizers, but aimed at property owners and unlicensed lawn care workers who tend to overuse fertilizers.

To keep the process of getting a law on the books this summer, Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams and her Town Board colleagues closed the public hearing on the issue, agreeing to allow written comments through May 17. The Town Board will discuss the proposal at its May 21 work session.

If the Town Board ultimately makes substantial changes to the chapter draft, it would require another public hearing. But if changes are relatively minor, the Board could vote in June.

Town Attorney Stephen Kiely noted that there are aspects of the town law that are stronger in dealing with the New York state’s stand on fertilizer use and permission to exceed those standards would have to gain state approval.

Among them is a town clause that would prohibit use of fertilizers within any part of the 100-foot buffer of wetlands, while the state law allows fertilizer use within 20 feet of the vegetative buffer.

Dock moratorium

Following a brief public hearing at which there were no comments, the Town Board voted unanimously to approve a three-month extension of the moratorium on new dock applications. The current moratorium expires May 13.

Pyramid law

There was a brief public hearing on the proposed so-called “pyramid law,” which is meant to limit the height of structures, with a sole comment coming from Ms. Demarest, who said she favored the legislation.

Vehicle and traffic changes

With only a couple of questions from bayman Bert Waife, changes to parking regulations at the town dock on Bridge Street appear headed for approval. Parking would be limited to one hour from May 15 through Sept. 15, and with that limit, Mr. Waife said, as long it’s seasonal, he had no objection.

At the same time, he said there could be times when work at the dock would require more than an hour.