HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-04/23/2024 PH 1
1 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK : STATE OF NEW YORK
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TOWN BOARD
4 REGULAR BOARD MEETING
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Southold, New York
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April 23 , 2024
9 4 : 30 P .M .
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15 B E F 0 R E :
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17 ALBERT KRUPSKI JR, SUPERVISOR
18 LOUISA P . EVANS , JUSTICE
19 JILL DOHERTY, COUNCILWOMAN
20 BRIAN 0 . MEALY, COUNCILMAN
21 GREG DOROSKI , COUNCILMAN
22 ANNE H . SMITH, COUNCILWOMAN
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APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 2
1 PUBLIC COMMENTS
2 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : So before
3 we start, is there anyone like to speak
4 to any item that ' s on the agenda?
5 ANNE MURRAY : Hi . My name is Anne
6 Murray . I live in East Marion and I ' m
7 here on behalf of the North Fork
8 Environment Council , again . I see that
9 you have the notice for the public
10 hearing for a small moratorium of hotels
11 and resorts set for June 18th, I guess .
12 And I don ' t want to reiterate all the
13 points I ' ve made before, but I do think
14 that there is an issue maybe with being
15 too narrow in having a moratorium that
16 someone could legally raise . If you
17 have a more broad moratorium, you ' re not
18 singling out one particular group of
19 businesses for a moratorium. That ' s
20 something you might want to think about .
21 And also, you know, New York State , I
22 think you will read something, and I
23 sent Councilwoman Smith about the legal
24 arguments for a moratorium. And do you
25 know, have any East End towns ever been
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 3
1 sued over having moratoriums ? I don ' t
2 think they have, as far as I know . So I
3 mean, you ' re perfectly within your legal
4 rights to make it bigger . I just want
5 to reiterate that . And I think that
6 there ' s a lot of support for it and
7 maybe you need to consider that . Well ,
8 we ' ll find out at the public hearings ,
9 anyway . Thank you .
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
11 you, Anne . Would anyone else like to
12 speak to any agenda item?
13 GEORGE MAUL : Good afternoon . My
14 name is George Maul . I ' m a resident of
15 New Suffolk . I wanted to say that this
16 morning ' s work session, the information
17 that Heather gave was really good . I
18 think it did a lot to help people
19 understand what ' s going on in terms of
20 development . I think that the number of
21 subdivisions and the fact that they ' ve
22 been around for a very long time, it ' s
23 really good information . The fact that
24 we ' ve had a little less than 80 houses a
25 year built for the last 20 years and
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 4
1 that Harvest Pointe was the outlier in
2 terms of that . That ' s all really good
3 information to help people understand
4 what ' s really going on . And to , you
5 know, the more information you have, the
6 less fear is around in terms of what you
7 might be afraid is happening . If you ' re
8 xenophobic, information like that helps
9 to see things clearly . I still think
10 that there ' s a lot of work that needs to
11 be done , and I , you know, I want to echo
12 what Al said about how the zoning
13 process has been a real community
14 process and how nice it is to see that .
15 And also, I think I heard him say this
16 morning that he doesn ' t want to wait
17 until March to hear people say, well , we
18 didn ' t know anything about that . So I
19 think that the community wants to be
20 engaged . And I still think there ' s a
21 lot of hard work that has to be done .
22 And a lot of back and forth that has to
23 occur . But as a member of the
24 community, I want to be a part of that,
25 and I look forward to the next year and
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 5
1 getting a lot -- getting more done than
2 some people think we ' ll be able to .
3 Thank you very much .
4 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
5 you . Appreciate that . Anyone else?
6 MARGARET STEINBUGLER : Good
7 afternoon . I ' m Margaret Steinbugler . I
8 live in Southold Hamlet . And I just
9 wanted to quote a few elements from the
10 paper that Anne referred to . This is
11 from a White Paper on land use
12 moratorium prepared by the New York
13 State Department of State . And it says ,
14 the objective of municipal land use
15 controls is to promote community
16 planning values by properly regulating
17 land development . It follows that land
18 use controls work best for when built
19 upon a carefully considered
20 comprehensive plan . It takes time to
21 put together or update a good community
22 plan . During this time, demand for a
23 particular land -- use of land may arise
24 for which there are inadequate or
25 non-existent controls . If the community
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 6
1 allows development during that time, the
2 ultimate worth of the eventual plan
3 could be undermined . For these reasons ,
4 moratoria and other forms of interim
5 zoning controls are often needed to,
6 " freeze " development until a
7 satisfactory final plan or regulations
8 are adopted . And it goes on to
9 elaborate a little further . But there ' s
10 an element there where it talks about in
11 order to prevent a race by property
12 owners to obtain building permits when
13 the word -- when they ' re rumored or they
14 hear about a moratorium becoming a
15 possibility and it becomes common
16 knowledge in the community . The
17 issuance of a town -- a municipality can
18 adopt stop gap ordinances , which impose
19 a moratorium on the issuance of certain
20 types of permits during the time that
21 the proposed new zoning is being
22 developed . And the validity of this
23 type of ordinance has been upheld by the
24 courts . So I guess what I ' m saying is
25 we ' re in a position where it ' s exactly
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 7
1 as this White Paper describes . We have
2 a good comprehensive plan . We ' re in the
3 process of developing the zoning that
4 will support its goals . We are focusing
5 on a moratorium that ' s rather narrow . I
6 fully support a moratorium on hotels and
7 motels , but I do think it should be
8 broader, and there might be other land
9 uses that are inadequately controlled in
10 our current zoning, inadequately
11 addressed, or perhaps some land uses
12 that aren ' t addressed at all . And it
13 would be possible to make the moratorium
14 broader to protect against permits being
15 issued and applications being accepted
16 during the time when the zoning updates
17 are being developed . Thank you .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
19 you . Thank you, Margaret . Anyone else
20 like to address the Board on any agenda
21 item? I don ' t see any hands up on Zoom.
22 (Whereupon, the meeting continued
23 onto the Resolutions at this time . )
24 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
25 PUBLIC COMMENTS
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 8
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
2 right . That concludes the regular
3 agenda . Is there anyone who would like
4 to speak to the Board on any matter?
5 PAUL MURPHY : Hi . My name is Paul
6 Murphy . I am a resident of Southold . I
7 met with Supervisor Krupski about three,
8 four weeks ago, very briefly on this
9 topic . And the topic is vehicle noise
10 in the Town of Southold . And what I
11 mean by that is , in 2022 , Governor
12 Hochul passed a law called " SLEEP" ,
13 which the acronym stands for Stop Loud
14 Exhaust and Excessive Pollution . And
15 what the law basically states is that if
16 someone has modified the exhaust on
17 their car, truck, or motorcycle , that
18 they can be fined in this state . And
19 the minimum fine listed by the State of
20 New York is $ 800 . And it goes up to
21 $2 , 500 if somebody ignores that first
22 fine and continues to drive the vehicle
23 and is cited . Now, I know that that
24 would put a huge burden on our Town
25 police force . And I don ' t think police
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 9
1 officers want to be driving around with
2 decibel meters to figure out , you know,
3 is this car illegal ? Is that truck
4 illegal , etcetera . So I took it upon
5 myself to do a little research . Based
6 on an article I read in the New York
7 Times about Manhattan implementing noise
8 cameras . And a noise camera is a device
9 that goes up on a pole at an
10 intersection or anywhere along the road,
11 and it is designed to measure sound
12 level , decibel level of a vehicle . And
13 it is of -- these devices at least the
14 one I looked at from a company called
15 Sonic View out of Great Britain, is a
16 very sophisticated device . It can tell
17 not only the level of the exhaust being
18 emitted from a particular vehicle, it
19 can give you the distance -- this is all
20 done by software by the way . You sit at
21 a computer and you can program it for
22 decibel level , distance level , etcetera .
23 It can also identify the vehicle among
24 several vehicles moving back and forth
25 across that camera ' s basically view .
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 10
1 The cameras are expensive . They ' re
2 presently $35 , 000 . But with an $ 800
3 fine , if you do the math, one ticket a
4 week pays for the camera in a year . And
5 I think the vehicles that going -- I
6 mean, don ' t get me wrong . There are
7 vehicles within the Town of Southold
8 that are breaking the law right now .
9 But I think a lot of the vehicles that
10 are going back and forth to the ferry,
11 they ' re excessive in their noise . I
12 find it to be trucks and motorcycles
13 more than vehicles , cars , when I say
14 vehicles . So I think it ' s a topic that
15 I would like the Town to think about .
16 I ' m prepared to do a presentation on it
17 because I ' ve done a lot of research on
18 it . I ' ve actually talked to a
19 representative of SoundView, Sonic View,
20 excuse me, the company that produces
21 these noise cameras . And I think it ' s
22 an opportunity for us to reduce noise ,
23 reduce pollution, because when the
24 exhaust is modified, it ' s throwing not
25 always the catalytic converter, but it ' s
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 11
1 changing the exhaust system in the
2 vehicle , and it is increasing pollution .
3 And I think in this day and age ,
4 everybody has to think about pollution .
5 Every individual citizen, every Town
6 Board, every community, every county,
7 every state . Because if we don ' t do
8 something on our level , it ' s not going
9 to get done . And I think it ' s
10 interesting that Manhattan of all places
11 has implemented this . Not across the
12 city because of the cost, but they ' re
13 putting, I believe, eight cameras into
14 place and they ' re going to monitor it
15 over a year . But I think this is a way
16 to raise money . Yes , we have to make an
17 outlay at first, but I think it ' s a way
18 for us to let people know that this is a
19 quiet community . I mean, I know you ' re
20 all aware that Greenport recently has
21 changed the whole idea with leaf
22 blowers . This is kind of along that
23 line . And the fact that it ' s a State
24 law, I think is very important . Because
25 I don ' t believe the Town -- and I ' m not
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 12
1 a lawyer, but I don ' t believe the Town
2 could be sued by a disgruntled vehicle
3 owner because they got a ticket in the
4 mail . And that ' s how they get the
5 ticket, by the way . It ' s just sent to
6 them like a traffic light ticket . So
7 there ' s no police officer involvement .
8 There ' s no member of the Town
9 involvement . They get a ticket in the
10 mail . They ' re told to pay it, or a
11 bench warrant is issued . And I don ' t
12 believe the Town . The process was
13 supposed to work where if an officer
14 pulled over somebody for excessive noise
15 level , in theory, the officer was going
16 to use a decibel level meter to measure .
17 And also note the inspection station
18 registration number because the
19 inspection stations are not supposed to
20 issue a new inspection to a vehicle that
21 exceeds the level . It ' s sort of like
22 the tinted windows on a car . They ' re
23 not supposed to allow you to do that
24 either . But a lot of inspection
25 stations look the other way . But a lot
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 13
1 of people, the first thing they do , they
2 get a -- and I know this to be true
3 because I have a couple of friends who
4 own motorcycles , the first thing they do
5 is they take the stacked exhaust off and
6 they put another exhaust on . Or they
7 run it with what they call open headers .
8 And it ' s loud . The level that the State
9 has set up as a guideline , I believe --
10 and this is arbitrary . I spent a career
11 in the sound industry, so maybe I ' m a
12 little too sensitive to sound . But it ' s
13 about 85 decibels , which is pretty loud .
14 A jet plane from 100 yards on the tarmac
15 is 110 when those engines open up . So
16 85 is not all that low a level . It ' s a
17 pretty loud level . And there ' s a huge
18 amount of information available from the
19 CDC explaining how loud noises affect
20 people ' s health . Not just pollution,
21 but anxiety, heart, stress , on and on
22 and on . So is there an opportunity for
23 the Town to comply with the law, benefit
24 the members of this community, and add
25 money to the coffers? I think there ' s a
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 14
1 possibility that we could do that .
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Mr .
3 Murphy, did you go to the -- did you
4 attend the Transportation Commission
5 meeting?
6 PAUL MURPHY : No , I did not .
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Okay,
8 because I did . I think that ' s the place
9 to start with this . We have the Chair
10 who ' s listening very intently to this .
11 And I think that there ' s something that
12 you schedule an appointment with --
13 start with the Transportation
14 Commission . I ' m familiar with this sort
15 of regulatory approach because you
16 mentioned the red light cameras and also
17 the school bus cameras , where the vendor
18 does all the administration . The cut up
19 for a percentage , of course, of the
20 ticket . And the part that it really has
21 to be considered is how there ' s going to
22 be an appeals process . And so how that
23 would be handled . But I would, if you
24 want to , contact my office and we can
25 help you get an appointment with the
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 15
1 Transportation Commission .
2 PAUL MURPHY : Sure . Okay .
3 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : We did
4 actually talk about this based on the
5 e-mail I think you sent us to get it on
6 our agenda, and we ' ve been doing some
7 research . So we welcome you to one of
8 our meetings .
9 PAUL MURPHY : Okay . I would be
10 happy to attend . Based on my research
11 there ' s a lot of information out there .
12 A lot of communities around the country
13 are starting to look at this , but in the
14 case of New York, it is a law, and it ' s
15 been a law for two years now . Thank
16 you .
17 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
18 you very much .
19 RANDY WADE : Thank you so much .
20 It ' s Randy Wade, 6th Street, Greenport .
21 I learned so much from Heather and from
22 you all talking this morning . I didn ' t
23 realize about the conservation
24 subdivisions that preserve 75 to 800 or
25 85% even of the property . Now I ' m just
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 16
1 so curious about more details of that .
2 In the meantime, when you ' re doing the
3 moratorium, which is excellent on the
4 hotels , can you take gas stations and
5 convenience stores out of B business
6 until the zoning code has the -- people
7 have a chance to update it a little
8 better? I have a feeling that if it
9 were to be looked at, you might save
10 yourself since, you know, gas is being
11 taken over by electric, that we really
12 have enough gas stations in Southold
13 Town, but I leave it to you to look at
14 it . But in the meantime, you could just
15 like pull it out of that code . That
16 would be great . We had a lot of people
17 who were right on the edge of Greenport,
18 who were so enthusiastic about Greenport
19 spanning of gas-powered leaf blowers .
20 They are gonna be banned this Summer .
21 Okay, this Spring and Fall , and then all
22 of 2025 onward . And you can ' t charge
23 your electric ones with a gas power
24 generator or anything . So if you did a
25 public hearing for that too, that would
APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 17
1 be great . Anyway, thanks .
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
3 you . Anyone else like to address the
4 Board on any item?
5 (No Response ) .
6 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
7 right, I ' d just like to thank our Deputy
8 Clerk for helping us stay organized
9 tonight . Thank you .
10 Motion to adjourn .
11 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Second .
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All in
13 favor?
14 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Aye .
15 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Aye .
16 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Aye .
17 JUSTICE LOUISA EVANS : Aye .
18 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Aye .
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21 (Whereupon, the meeting concluded
22 at this time . )
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APRIL 23, 2024 REGULAR MEETING 18
1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
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3 I , Jessica DiLallo, a Notary Public
4 for and within the State of New York,
5 do hereby certify :
6 THAT , the within transcript is a
7 true record of said Board Meeting .
8 I further certify that I am not
9 related either by blood or marriage to
10 any of the parties to this action; and
11 that I am in no way interested in the
12 outcome of this matter .
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
14 set my hand this day, May 4 , 2024 .
15
16
17 ( Je ica D Lallo )
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