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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand Use Group Report Town Fathers LAND USE REPORT Town Fathers 8-6-14 Power point need title image I would like to give a brief summary of the activities of the Land Use working group that was set up Last fall by Louisa Evans, town board member. This group was created because the Town of Southold is currently developing a Comprehensive Plan for the entire town. There are handouts on the table at back that have information on this plan and you will hear more about it after my remarks. Its Land Use chapter will provide a blueprint for future government action and will be the basis for zoning and other town code. Louisa believed that it would be shortsighted for Fishers Island to not actively participate in this process. Because the Comprehensive Plan’s land use chapter will incorporate important elements of the 2009 Fishers Island Strategic Plan--a plan that was created, vetted and accepted by the Fishers Island community-- she contacted former Stakeholders in that 2009 Plan and invited them to join a new Land Use working Group tasked with taking a fresh look at current zoning and land use on Fishers Island. Accepting the invitation and joining the group were former stakeholders Heather Burnham, Peter Burr, Ken Edwards, Judi Imbriglio, Penni Sharp, Bill Ridgway and Louisa Evans. As the current member of the Planning Board from Fishers Island, I was also invited. Since the first meetings the core group has expanded to include Sheila Kennedy, who has urban planning background, Gordon murphy, Fishers Island ferry district assistant manager, Steve Malinowski, Nate Malinowski, Elby Burr, Fishers Island Harbor Commiittee, Karen Lamb, Ace Ahrens, Mimi Gary , FIDCO, Dixon Harvey FIDCO, and Susan Young, At the Land Use Working Group’s first meeting it was decided that the group would only look at the West End of the Island. During its first few meetings, the group reviewed the current zoning designations and sought out obvious zoning inconsistencies using a map that showed both the tax parcels and the zoning designations. We mostly concentrated on areas with commercial activity, but also some with the possibility of more intensive residential use. In early February of this year, the Land Use Working Group met with Heather Lanza and Mark Terry, the Town of Southold’s Director of Planning and Principal Planner, respectively. The group presented the result of their work to date. After much discussion, the Town Planners suggested that it might be better for the Island to create zoning designations that are specific to Fishers Island instead of trying to fit the Island into the current designations. For, example, in the current Town Code, commercial zones are limited to just a few zoning districts that are “one size fits all”, meaning the Business (B) zone has the same permitted uses in Mattituck (a large hamlet in Southold) as on Fishers Island. Some of those uses while appropriate in a larger hamlet may not be appropriate in a smaller hamlet such as Fishers Island. Thus, the Island may want to have a separate designation for commercial use that would not allow certain uses that are currently permitted under the Business zone, or add uses that are currently not allowed. First slide xx One area we focused on was this LB or Limited Business zone that generated many questions about the advisability of bringing things into zoning conformance under the Town’s current zoning designations. The non-conforming grocery store would be permitted under HB, Hamlet Business or B, Business, but that designation would open the area up to more intensive uses. However, if we don’t bring businesses into conformance, our concern is that vital businesses on the island that are non-conforming will have limited options for being reestablished or expanded after a disaster like a fire, or after a change in ownership. There are also issues involving insurance and the availability of alternate sites for relocation. Along the lines of what Heather and Mark suggested, one solution would be to create a new Fishers Island Business zone that combines multiple uses into the very limited areas that are appropriate for business and contractors. This would provide more flexibility and we could remove business uses that are inappropriate for Fishers Island. Xxxxxx Ferry area To illustrate our process, at meetings in both Dec, 2013 and early Spring 2014, The Group discussed Marine Zoning and whether MII should be extended into the Coast Guard area shown here, and discussed question whether a new Marine Zone should be created. Xxxx Yacht Club Goose island area The group also discussed whether the MII zone should be extended into the yacht Club area, currently residentially zoned, and whether this too could be better served with a new Marine zone specific to Fishers Island. Currently only a small section of the Goose Island property is zoned MII. Xxxx Pirates cove At a later meeting in May, the group reviewed the two previously mentioned Marine-zoned sites in Silver Eel and West Harbor, but also focused on the Pirate’s Cove property which is currently not a Marine Zone. There was general agreement that it should be, with one participant strongly disagreeing. Xxxx The Business area around BD was also examined in the context of the Marine Zone/ Xxxxx detail chart MI and MII In the wake of the May Meeting we took spread sheets of all the permitted uses kindly provided by Heather Lanza and listed the Marine categories so that we could easily compare the permitted, not permitted, and special exception uses in the two Marine zone categories that currently exist in town code. Xxxxxxx part 1 of Marine FI We then proceeded to create a Marine Zone particular to Fishers Island, named “Marine FI”. Bill Ridgway took the lead on developing this list. The column at right illustrates part 1 of Marine FI uses. Xxx part II of Marine FI Among the uses removed were Fish processing, Hotels and motels. The one category that we couldn’t easily settle on was B&B, with some being opposed on the basis of encouraging tourism, and many feeling that the time was right to allow it. Xxx school property At our most recent meeting several weeks ago, We discussed affordable housing and possible sites for same. Our group is interested in hearing from the Town Planners and Philip Beltz, Special Projects Coordinator for the Town of Southold, about the types of affordable housing available, the restrictions to ownership and rental, and the possibility of creating an Affordable Housing District for Fishers Island that we prefer to call a “Year Round Residential District zone.” We hope that such a new designation will be able to be created and that it will have restrictions specific to Fishers Island. One of the sites discussed was the School property shown here between Whistler and Winthrop Aves. in the former Fort area. Any future usage of that site would, of course, be contingent on school board actions, but we are including it here as an example of the sites discussed. Other zoning areas have been looked to a greater or lesser extent by the Land Use working group, but the few shown here illustrate our chosen approach. Xxxx need image In summary, we are ready to move forward in our examination of the specific needs for zoning for fishers island, but the group would like to be reassured by the Town Board and Planners that zoning can be established, where appropriate, that is specific to fishers island. And if so, that we are headed in the right direction with our basic process as illustrated here. We certainly don’t want to be spinning our wheels. Land Use Group Report 814-6- LB Area: etc.Barn, Grocery, Evergreen Landscaping Canio AREA 1 MII to New Marine Dist.? Yacht Club/Goose Island Pirates Cove BD Contracting and Environs Detail of Chart Showing Existing MI and MII Uses Part 1 of New “Marine FI” MI MII Part 2 of New “Marine “FI” MFI School Property Between Whistler and Winthrop Aves.:Possible Year Round Residential Housing The End