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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-08/23/2022 PH 1 COUNTY OF SUFFOLK : STATE OF NEW YORK TOWN OF SOUTHOLD -------------------------------------------------- TOWN OF SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD REGULAR MEETING -------------------------------------------------- Southold, New York August 23 , 2022 4 : 30 P . M . B E F 0 R E : SCOTT A . RUSSELL, SUPERVISOR LOUISA P . EVANS , JUSTICE JILL DOHERTY, COUNCILWOMAN BRIAN 0 . MEALY, COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI , COUNCILMAN SARAH E . NAPPA, COUNCILWOMAN August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 2 PUBLIC COMMENTS SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : I am going to invite anybody that would like to come up and address any of the specific agenda items , please feel free? MS . RONA SMITH : Hi . My name is Rona Smith . I live in Greenport . I purchased the property known as Cutchogue Woods because it ' s a prime candidate for development . If this were planned to build mic-mansions on that land, they wouldn ' t have to come in front of you . They would do it as of right . So this is not a question of development versus preservation . This is what kind of development does the Town want and need . Preservation is off the table . Because this was pooled by Suffolk County on a preservation questionnaire . And that questionnaire is a scale of 0 to 100 . This property received 21 points . 25 is considered a code for being preservation . There are properties that are scoring way closer to 100 and if this were considered to be August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 3 preserved by this Town, that would mean taking limited funds and applying them to a parcel that really shouldn ' t qualify and taking it away from a piece of property that should qualify . So we have to always ask ourselves , what kind of development do we want to go on this site? Will this be the site of three mic-mansions for second homeowners , entailing maximum and unregulated clearing on the site . You will have no -- there is no legislation or code provision to keep them from clearing the land and putting in decorative landscaping . Instead, it could be 24 units of Affordable Housing that you have been saying for weeks is a desperate need and that is why you want us to all vote for the referendum . So this parcel could be half preserved without any costs to the Town . It could have a 200 foot setback off Route 48 . But you would prefer by voting no to the Zoning Change, you would prefer three large luxury houses that have the right August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 4 to clear the land and install wall to wall grass and wall to wall irrigation, which will be taking water, like SEG -- statements that they have made , 500 of the water from our aquifer, drinking quality water, is going to irrigation in our Town . So you will be endorsing that . And the Town ' s committees on which I served for years , on both the housing comission, you know, development committee . Both have weighed in on this . And despite the fact that these are hardworking Southold residents who volunteer their time, energy and effort to making the Town a better place , and taking some of the work off the shoulders of the Town Board, they have made strong recommendations for approval of this Zoning change . And they feel they have been ignored . I think about what you all said . I sat here when we talked about putting the referendum for the half percent tax on the ballot . And a quote from you, the Town Board, was an adequate supply of housing opportunities August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 5 for all residents of the Town of Southold is critical to the future and sustainability of the Town . Don ' t let perfect get in the way of much needed progress . This 24 unit homes won ' t solve the problem. The Town has not yet enunciated how many housing units will solve the problem, but we know that 24 won ' t . This is progress . This is going in the right direction . This is a viable project . The Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code do need, you know, clarification in a lot of areas , but that ' s going to take years . And the 2010 Comprehensive Plan is definitely not an impediment to this project . They have the foresight that economic and infrastructure conditions could change as they have . We ' re dealing with problems with congestion in the hamlets and not acknowledging that . And even though the plan that was written, was written mostly by 2015 . And they did not explicitly prohibit the citing of workforce housing in any zone . Instead, August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 6 the current zoning allows for the Town Board to have the discretion to make zone changes as requested here . A vote for this project is simply that . A vote for this project . There is no precedent saying issue here . Each proposal that comes before the Town Board has to be looked at as a finite project . There is no precedence setting rule . We don ' t have that written anywhere . And because the Town can ' t control the sale and location of a available developable land, it must reserve the right to allow zone changes where appropriate . There is lots of discussion that I hear from opposition . By the way, the opposition is very light in this . Any percent of the comments that we tallied from all of the meetings that have been held with people speaking, all of the letters that the Town Board gets , it ' s less than 200 of the total comments on this project . We also have sent out petition . An e-mailed petition . We have about over 300 signatures on that petition, which August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 7 we would be happy to share with you . Those signatories are business owners within the Town . People who need housing and they ' re just regular citizens who believe in doing the right thing for the whole population . The wealthy can chose to live anywhere . In fact, chose to live on this property that we ' re calling Cutchogue Woods without any weigh in from the Board . And keep in mind, that the Cutchogue Woods team is ready, willing and able to move forward on this . Working with you to achieve move-in ready housing, as soon as the zoning change is approved . Every study I have ever read about any venue, always says that stable , permanent housing is a hallmark of a stable town . You need to put that into law and pass this zoning change . This is consistent with the referendum and it ' s consistent with everything else that we have heard and read in this process . Thank you . SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Thank August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 8 you . Who else would like to address the Town Board? (No Response ) . SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Okay . (Whereupon, the meeting resumed and proceeded to reading of the Resolutions . ) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PUBLIC HEARING-LAND PURCHASE . SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : I am going to invite anybody the opportunity to address the Town Board on this ? MS . MELISSA SPIRO : I guess that would be me in this wonderful room of people . I am Melissa Spiro , the Southold Town Land Preservation Coordinator . And I would like to point out for the record that the property was noticed under the name Cutchogue Vendee Daniel Messina . And that he has now formed an LLC, called 2425 Laurel Avenue , LLC . And that is assigned to the contract of sale . So the acquisition is , as Councilman Doroski has read, is for the Town to purchase 43 August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 9 acres . And it ' s part of a conservation subdivision . The applicant chose to do a conservation subdivision instead of a full density standard subdivision . Density must be reduced by 60% and 800 of the buildable land must be preserved . This project , the preservation requirement is being accomplished by the Town ' s purchase of the 43 . 6 acres . The 43 . 6 acre area includes the 400 of the buildable lands , plus the un-buildable land . Most notably the 10 acre wetland area . There is two maps in front . And there is one put up on Zoom . The map with the white labels , that is the one on Zoom, shows the area to be preserved outlined in red . With the proposed lots sketched in broken white lines along Laurel Avenue . The property contains ( inaudible ) pools , wooded wetlands that are part of a larger complex woodlands and wooded wetlands . Second map, that is kind of a colorful map . There is a section of the Town ' s protective lands map, existing property shown in there in August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 10 red without the sketched residential lots . And it ' s shown in the lower left color . The different colors represent preserved lands . As you can see on the map, this property is on the western edge of a significant amount of preserved lands . They stretch all the way down to Moore ' s woods in Greenport . Couldn ' t quite print that out on our map, but it ' s in that right upper hand corner . It ' s a lighter green . That is Moore ' s Woods . These lands have been preserved in various ways . It ' s hard to describe all the different colors . These protected lands include subdivision space, farmland easements . And for a really significant part of this area, open space lands that are either owned by the Town or County or both in partnership . Like I said, Moore ' s Woods you can ' t see on there but that is the Village of Greenport . The habitat supports many species , including threatened box turtles , endangered long eared bats , grey horn owls . Just to August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 11 name a few of the species in that significant area . The conservation subdivision is before the Planning Board . Once the subdivision design was determined, the Town had the property appraised and the Town ' s purchase price of $ 1 . 25 million dollars is in accordance with the appraised value . As noted, the Town is using our Community Preservation Funds for this important acquisition . On a personal note, as a planner with the Planning Department many, many years ago before the Community Preservation Fund was enacted, we spent a lot of time with the planner reviewing this property . As it had a pending major subdivision with 18 proposed lots and new roads . That subdivision was not completed and I am glad to be here instead and asking the Town Board to proceed with this land acquisition for open space purposes . The land owners are in the process of completing the final conservation subdivision stages . Once that August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 12 subdivision gets approved, the Town will be in a position to close on the property . Both the Land Preservation Committee and I support the Town ' s acquisition and recommend that the Town Board proceed . I am here to answer any questions . Thank you . SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Thank you . Would anybody else like to address the Town Board on this particular Local Law -- Public Hearing? JUSTICE LOUISA EVANS : Motion to close the hearing . COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Second . SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : All in favor? COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Aye . COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye . COUNCILWOMAN SARAH NAPPA: Aye . COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Aye . JUSTICE LOUISA EVANS : Aye . SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Aye . (Whereupon, the, Public Hearing concluded at this time . ) August 23, 2022 Regular Meeting 13 C E R T I F I C A T I O N I , JESSICA DILALLO, a Court Reporter and Notary Public, for and within the State of New York, do hereby certify : THAT the above and foregoing contains a true and correct transcription of the Meeting held on August 23 , 2022 , via videoconference , and were transcribed by me . I further certify that I am not related to any of the parties to this action by blood or by marriage and that I am in no way interested in the outcome of this matter . IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of September, 2022 . J ssica DiLallo