HomeMy WebLinkAboutTechnical Consultant Fee Reimbursement BOARD MEMBERS Southold Town Hall
Leslie Kanes Weisman,Chairperson 53095 Main Road P.O.Box 11.79
Patricia Acampora Southold,NY 11971-0959
Eric Dantes
631
Robert Lehnert,Jr. '°�« Tel. ( )765-1809
Nicholas Planamento . {1� Fax(631)765-9064
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
TO: Supervisor Krupski and Town Board Members
FROM: Leslie Kanes Weisman, ZBA Chairperson/Department Head
RE: Proposed Local Law on Technical Consultant Fee Reimbursement
DATE: December 16, 2024
I'm writing on behalf of the Board of Appeals to support the proposed code, and respectfully request that
this letter be read into the record of the hearing in its entirety, since I am unable to attend today in person.
Codifying the proposed local law is a longstanding practice in many municipalities. In our Town,the
Zoning Board of Appeals successfully implemented this process when our Board assumed lead agency on
complex applications requiring approvals from both the ZBA and the Planning Board.
In our experience, having guidance from our own experts in evaluating the merits of reports submitted by
an applicant's technical consultants was essential. Most of those reports -- from traffic studies by
engineers to environmental impact analyses by environmental planners -- are highly specialized and are
usually beyond the scope of Board members' expertise. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to assume that
an applicant's consultants would have the best interests of their clients in mind. To ensure the veracity of
their submissions,the Town must have available to us, consultants that have the best interests of our
Town in mind.
Zoning Board members believe it is both fair and appropriate that fees for the Town's consultants be
paid by applicants, whose proposed projects, if approved, are likely to provide them with substantial
benefits. Many developers are already familiar with the expectation that they will be required to
reimburse the Town for the consultants the Town deems necessary to hire during the review of their
applications.
The ZBA encourages the Town Board to adopt the proposed draft code as written.
Since yours,
j
Leslie Kanes Weisman
ZBA Chairperson/Department Head