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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA-10/04/2001 SPEC HEARINGSOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD OF APPEALS TRANSCRIPT OF HEARINGS HELD OCTOBER 4, 2001 (Prepared by Paula Quintieri) Present were: Absent was: Chairman Goehringer Member Dinizio Member Tortora Member Collins Board Secretary Kowalski Member Homing PUBLIC HEARING: 6:30 p.m. Appl. No. 4990 - NORTH BAY PROPERTIES. Possible submission for Board review of written evaluation from applicant's environmental consultant. Proper-T Services, Inc. CHAIRMAN: We actually closed this heating but the nature of the application we are now going to be forced to open because we assume you have brought a gentleman from the environmental firm. Who is this gentleman? Who did you bring with you? JAMES FITZGERALD: I brought Mr. Bowman CHAIRMAN: of the hearing. possible. So I'll make a motion re-opening the verbal portion of the, the oral portion Okay we're ready. We just want to keep it as fairly short and sweet as JAMES FITZGERALD: Yes, at the last meeting I went over the reasons why the variance should be granted in accordance with the area variances before you, and you were concerned with the activities that were intended next to the crest of the bluff. Mr. Bowman is providing the plans for that which will be submitted to the Trustees and the D.E.C. for their approval. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Bowman we know of your expertise. I don't think I've ever met you personally. I've spoken with you many times on the phone. It's a pleasure to have you PAGE 2-OCTOBER 4. 200 I ZBA PUBLIC HEARING TILANSCRIPT TO\~,q'q OF SOUTHOLD here. I just wanted to preface 3'our statements by saying two things, we've had significant housing both as rehabilitation and reconstruction and new construction on the bluff: What we have been doing is taking bits of pieces of all these things and placing these in decisions, making sure that applicants comply and do what they're supposed to do based upon our collection of all this data. We have been relatively successful in doing so. We've seen bluffs re-nurtured, we've seen as much as you can do in high hazard erosion areas, where the toe of the bluff is scoured or whatever the case might be. Without further a dew I'm don't want to take any more time, I just want you to know. MR. BOWMAN: That's fine just there's a purpose for this. coastal erosion hazard inspectors Fire Island and all around the North Shore and I agree with you. These are high hazard areas. We must be careful with errors that make something eventful somethings may be accidental. But you have to be careful because things can happen very quickly in a major storm. That thing said, I got called to look at this property because there was specific erosion problem. Other than the normal erosion that would be caused by maybe storm events, what we saw was, during the building process the drainage or the house was not in any possible way. Many people don't realize that there's a layer of clay under a lot of our bluffs. That layer of clay when water percolates down from the surface and hits the layer of clay it'll move toward the sound. When that happens the whole bluff is I could show you filly examples up and down the coastal, you know million dollar homes where the architects or engineers and developers put drainage on the north side in the and it went down and it blew off the bluff and that's the end of the beautiful houses. So I didn't really document where the layers of clay was but there were actually two things that would have to be done, which we are prepared for. One is the upland or area landward of the bluff, where the drainage has been a problem. Right now there is a drywell there. It is certified that that drywell has penetrated the layer of clay, so we're now down to the sand and then it collects the surface runoff from the house toward the bluff. Also a berm which will be placed along the landward edge of the bluff to keep that water from going over. That should solve that problem. However it doesn't do anything to the natural erosion and the restoration. Also, on the North Shore, as you all know, are subject to some tremendous just this past week when we had that Northeast wind at 35 knots, I mean some of the damage was unbelievable. So it really doesn't do any good to regrade the bluff, to bring fill in, to stabilizing with vegetation unless you're somehow going to stabilize the toe. In the past people used bulkheads to do that, some walls you know. We don't recommend that because the bulkheads and sea walls can fail. You know you get a piling or tree from eastern Connecticut hitting the bulkhead . The Noreaster's of 1992 and 1993 were of what works and what doesn't. But when your dealing with a representative of D.E.C. also recommends is a layer of native stone along the bottom, not very high. I think about six or seven feet up the bluff and then down the beach, the beach drops in elevation just enough to dissipate that wave entity. Once that happens and you can have that in place and have what gave a vegetated bluff, that's the easy part. But like you said Mr. Chairman, there has to be a guarantee, if you will, if the work is to be completed. It's not rocket science, contractors are doing it, supervisors have been successful. With that in mind certainly there has to be some sort of guarantee fi.om the PAGE 2-OCTOBER 4, 2110 I ZBA PUBLIC HEARING TILs, NSCRIPT 10'¢, N OF SOUIHOLD property owners that this will be complete. We are just about done with our plans this week if not Wednesday of next week the application will be in with the Board of Trustees, who will go through their review process. It will take about four months to get that in place. And certainly more consideration of ttfis variance will need to be contingent on that work being completed. Whether that means you don't get the C. O. completed, or some other mechanism, a bond or something that shouldn't be some reasonable assurance. I just wanted you to be aware of what's happening, what's already been done. CHAIRMAN: After the wall has been put in, then there is a contour made from the top of the bluff or the lip of the bluffdown to. MR. BOWMAN: Actually we reclaimed what we call the natural angle proposed. If you look on either side and establish where the general line of the toe of the bluff would be. Right now there's lots of fill on the beach, or there was up until this past week. CHAIRMAN: I saw it down there, yes. MR. BOWMAN: So if it's still there when we try, to recover some of that the rest of would have to come upland sources and be pushed over the top of it. If we regrade that with a wide track bulldozer work at getting that natural line, we're going to put some topsoil on it. The bottom gets installed when that natural line keep the angle going down so you want to armor that with textile fabric and then the rocks. CHAIRMAN: Is there going to be any planting on the base of the bluff??. MR. BOWMAN: Wc actually that's where it all gets hydro seeded with grass. CHAIRMAN: We had granted one over on Soundview Avenue which was, the nature of the discussion that we had had during the time that Mr. Fitzgerald was presenting this case at the last hearing. I caught a discussion from environmental expert on that job, a gentleman by the name of Anderson, and he said that based upon the weather conditions we certainly don't do all the plantings at a certain period of time of the year which I would assume because it's pretty well frozen. So when do you think this planting might occur on a project of this nature? MR. BOWMAN: I would imagine would be in the Spring, it's the best time to do any construction. We can do it later on, but then you have to do temporary irrigation running up and down the bluff. Any work on the bluff is difficult, planting by hand. The least impact you can have while you're getting the grass established that's why we But it would be Spring and pretty much stick with the time frame you've got here for getting a permit. We don't know what the condition of the bluff would be, so when we put in the permit you always make provisions for more erosion than there is now. CHAIRMAN: But you've been pretty successful with the installing walls across. PAGE 2-OCTOBER 4, 2001 ZBA PUBLIC HEARING T1LkNSCRIPT TOWN OF SOUTHOLD MR. BOWMAN: I've been in business for twenty years we actually not only build them we supervise them, this one we'll be supervising, and quite frankly we know how to do them. CHAIRMAN: Those rocks are brought in by barge? MR. BOWMAN: No actually here we have access. We use a 6 x 6 and just run them down the beach. off road CHAIRMAN: Oh, you're going to come right in from where the Motel is. MR. BOWMAN: Right. Just run them down the beach, and because of the number of golf courses that are being built on Long Island, there's a lot of boulders. Usually we have a problem here on Long Island, you get rocks. CHAIRMAN: Yes, they have to come from New Jersey. MR. BOWMAN: Right now we have a lot of them. CHAIRMAN: Any questions of Mr. Bowman? Ladies and gentlemen? One last question, does Tanya still work for you? MR. BOWMAN: Yes, she does. CHAIRMAN: Please tell her I said hello. MR. BOWMAN: Yes, nice to see you. CHAIRMAN: Nice seeing you, thank you very much. Since we have re-opened this hearing is there anybody else that has a specific concern or would like to voice an opinion prior to us closing it? Seeing no hands I'll make a motion closing the heating reserving decision until later. SEE MINUTES FOR RESOLUTION Appl. No. 4994 ED AND EILEEN MAHER. Possible submission for Board review of plan with reduced variances (requested at 9/20 hearing.) John Wagner, Esq. CHAIRMAN: This hearing is closed, There's no more testimony.