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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmark Pres. Amend 2001PUBLIC HEARING MAY 8, 2001 7:30 P.M. ON THE PROPOSED "LOCAL LAW TO AMEND THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF SOUTHOLD, CHAPTER 56, THEROF ENTITLED LANDMARK PRESERVATION, DELETING AND REPEALING 656". Present: Absent: Supervisor Jean W. Cochran Justice Louisa P. Evans Councilman William D. Moore Councilman John M. Romanelli Councilman Craig A. Richter Town Clerk Elizabeth A. Neville Town Attorney Gregory A. Yakaboski Councilman Brian G. Murphy SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: If I may, the proposed Local Law will be read by Councilman Moore, the public notice. COUNCILMAN MOORE: This is the 7:30 hearing. "NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that there has been presented to the Town Board of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, on the 27th day of March 2001, a Local law entitled "A Local Law To Amend the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56." and, NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the Town Board of the Town of Southold will hold a public hearing on the aforesaid Local Law at the Southold Town Hall, 53095 Main Road, Southold, New York, and hereby sets 7:30 I~.m., Tuesday, May 8, 2001, as the time and place for a public hearing at which time all interested persons will be heard. The proposed "A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56." which includes the following: LOCAL LAW NO. 2001 A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56. BE IT ENACTED by Town Board of the Town of Southold as follows: Section 1. The Code of the Town of Southold is hereby amended by deleting and repealing §56- to {}56-. Section 2. Effective Date. This local law shall become effective upon filing with the Secretary of State. ph amend Landmark Pres 2 By order of the Southold Town Board of the Town of Southold. March 27, 2001. Elizabeth A. Neville, Southold Town Clerk." I have proof ofpublication in The Suffolk Times, and a notice that it was on the Town Clerk's Bulletin Board, and there is not correspondence in the file. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: Thank you, Mr. Moore, for reading the first one, which is a "Local Law to Amend the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, which is deleting and appealing that section of the Code. The next heating I am going to tell this, the next heating that is set is a Local Law to Establish a Historic Preservation Law in the Town of Southold. So, this is to delete and repeal. Is there anyone that would like to address the Board either pro or con in this section? EARL CARTER: First of all I hope the Board doesn't take anything I say personally. It is advertsarial. Okay? My name is Earl Carter, and I have a house on Village Lane in Orient. Someone once created a very profound phrase to describe the proposed law for historic districts in the Town of Southold. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The overview as I see it. With all due respect to the decent people of Orient who want to see this law pass, it's ail about money. The Township of Southold will receive Federal grants, or Federal monies through the State, for every new historic district. This money will be used for every other purpose but the historic district. In essence, the rights of property owners in Orient, unlike the rest of the township will be taken away. The outside of every house in the historic district will be basically subject to Federal law because of the grants. Passing of the law will mean an automatic easement on your property without just compensation. Your property physically invaded by government and third parties. One law applicable for all will not apply to residents of historic districts. A committee will tel1 you if your roof needs fixing or your house is subject to be fined because of deterioration of exterior walls, chimneys, or stucco. The empty shell of ownership one private property rights organization called it. Of course, as I heard one supporter of the law say, well, you still own the inside of your house. Thanks a lot. The town council has no authority without the consent of the property owners. The National Historic Preservation Act as amended to 1992, section 101 (a) paragraph 6, plainly states, if the owner or owners of such property or a majority of owners of the properties within the district in the case of an historic district, shall be given the opportunity, including a reasonable period of time, to concur in, or object to the nomination of the property or district for such inclusion or designation. If the owner or owners of any privately owned property, or a majority of the owners of such properties within the district in the case of an historic district, object to such inclusion or designation, such property shall not be included on the National Register or designated as National Historic Landmark. Further, any historic district designation that existed before 1980 is subject to the requirements of this paragraph and that includes historic designations by any state accepting federal funds. The use of police powers. The use of heavy fines is perhaps the most insidious part of the law before us. Nowhere in the National Historical Preservation Act are such extreme measure mentioned. Basically if enough fines are levied against you, under the powers given the state and local governments, your property can be taken away from you for failure to pay the fines. Little chance of a day in court, before an injustice against you under the proposed law can be heard in Federal District Court, property owners must exhaust all administrative remedies. Which means dealing with the local government and state who have ruled against you in the first place. According to a Congressional Report, it takes an average of 9 years for a Taking Claim to reach a Federal Court. Not to mention the thousands of dollars it will cost you to go to court. Because of so many cases throughout the country of private property rights being taken away by regulations imposed by laws like the Historic Preservation Law of Southold Town, the House of Representative passed the Private Property Rights Implementation Act, which allows property owners to bypass local and state governments. However, ph amend Landmark Pres 3 the law is currently being tied up in the Senate. The myth of higher prices for property in historic districts, being part of an historic district means there's an easement against the outside of your house. You don't own it. The outside of your home is owned by the local, state and federal govenunents. If you owned it you could do what you wanted with it within reason. To quote common law, property refers not simply to the underlying estate but to all the uses that can be made of that estate, and under the historic designation, you don't own the outside of your house. While some prospective property owners may like that idea, many won't. Who wants to deal with a committee telling you what you can do with the outside of your house? What's more, the PR baloney going around about prices being higher for homes in historic districts is not based on qualitative research. The troth is many real estate associations t~ave been pressing Congress for tax deductions for residents of historic districts because they know it will make their job easier. Simply stated easements reduce property values. Finally who wants more regulation in our lives? Do we really want committees telling us their standards are better than our standards, checking our homes every season to see if they pass muster for the new tourist season? Remember, for every historic district there will be a new bureaucracy to make someone's life in this town miserable. Thank you. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: I really would ask that there be no demonstrations. Anyone else in the center that would address the Board either pro or con? CYRIL LUKEMAN: Madam Supervisor, I am concerned about the first law before we go to the second law. If we eliminate the present law then we will be in limbo with no law. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: We have vote on it. CYRIL LUKEMAN: Let's vote now. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: We probably won't be voting on it. COUNCILMAN MOORE: We are not going to vote on any of these public heatings tonight. We want comments made. CYRIL LUKEMAN: Let's not eliminate the law that we really need. COUNCILMAN MOORE: Understood. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: Anyone over here like to address the Town Board? COURTNEY BURNS: Good evening. My name is Courtney Bums and I live in the historic district in Orient. I am also the Director of the Oysterponds Historical Society and am here tonight on behalf of that organization to express our enthusiastic endorsement of the proposed legislation regarding historic preservation and certified local government. As an historical society we are committed, of course, to the preservation of any form of material culture ranging from the fragments from local archaeological discoveries to the historic artifacts with known provenance and documented histories, to the manuscripts and photographs that so readily convey their information, speaking directly to us of past experience. It is our belief that buildings also convey historic information and speak directly of past experience. Individually and collectively as a group or a district, buildings provide a context for ph amend Landmark Pres 4 understanding and appreciating the lives of past residents, and they directly influence and shape the lives of residents today and in the future. They express community and its inherent values and they symbolize a continuity of the past and the present that is eroding steadily in many areas of the country. I know that much of the argument against preservation centers around concerns for individual property rights and the argument in favor tends to focus on property values. However, both of these arguments are somewhat shortsighted, superficial, and self-serving, and fly in the very face of the meaning of community. We are all endowed with certain inalienable rights, but citizenship transcends individual autonomy and entails a complex of interrelationships, responsibilities and collective choices. A principal duty of government is balancing the rights of the individual with the needs of the community as a whole. We feel this law does that. At a time when critics and theorists are bemoaning the deterioration of values, social relationships, and the loss of regional and local culture through mass consumption and the transient nature of much of today's society, historic preservation provides stability and can help us to manage the change in other areas of our life. By preserving the structure of a community, we can help to preserve that community. Thank you. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: Thank you. Anyone else like to address the Board from any part of the room on the rescinding of this law? JAY APPLEGATE: I would just like to reiterate. My name is Jay Applegate. I would just like to reiterate what the gentleman from the back, who did stand up said, and that is that repealing the current law there is no provision in the proposed law for similar protection, and therefore in a intermittent period of time which would be the transition period there is no law. There is no protection for any building because there is no designation of any building being historic. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: May I say that this is a public hearing. It is not a resolution that has come to the Board for us to vote to rescind or do away with. Until the time that the Board puts on their agenda to vote on it the old law is still there. JAY APPLEGATE: I do understand that, but you asked about the comments regarding the repeal of the old law, and that is my comment regarding the repeal of the old law, and the reflection of the two proposed law, which I would also like to speak to. Thank you. SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: Thank you. Anyone in the room like to speak now? JOE TOWNSEND: In regard to the appeal of the old law, the new district law would be applied to more than those districts that are approved by the districts. The existing law applies townwide regardless of districts. If you have landmark and you want to designate it as such you can designate that building, landmark, no matter where you are whether you are in a district or not. The new law relates to the districts. COUNCILMAN MOORE: There is also individual designations as well. JOE TOWNSEND: That is great. SUZANNE HAHN: Is the question now about repealing, or do I have a chance to make a statement about the new proposed law? ph amend Landmark Pres 5 SUPERVISOR COCHRAN: The repeal. If there is no one else that would like to speak at this particular moment in relation to the first hearing we will open the second hearing, we will read the public notice. We will open the hearing on the Local Law to establish the new Historic Preservation Law, and then I think that is where everyone goes to for the record. If no one else wants to speak, I will keep it open. Elizabeth A. Neville Southold Town Clerk LEGAL NOTICE ~:i, ~ Cottony, New York, on ~e 27~ ~y of ~ ~1, a ~al ~w entitled "A Ame~ ~e C~e ~ ~ ~ of NO~CE ~ ~R~ G~EN t~t the To~ ~d ~ ~e TO~ of Sou~d w~l hold a ~ the ~oms~d ~ ~w at Southold Town H~I, 5~5 Ma~ Road, S0uthold, New York, and & ~1, ~ the ~e ~ ~ for a pubfic he~g at ~ ~ a~ ~ter- thc foHo~g: ' A ~AL ~W ~ C~e of the To~ ~ ~utho~ ~apter 56, ther~f entitled ~d re~a~g ~ ~. ~ ~ ~NA~ ~ To~ ~d of the T~ of ~ STATE OF NEW Y~JRK) )SS: CO~UN ,TY OF SUFFQLK) ~('~,~.~ O,c~,2CC~ of Ma.ituck, in ~id ~n~, ~in~ duly s~m, ~ys ~at ~s~ is pfinci~l de~ of THE SUFF~KTIMES, a ~ near, pu~ lish~ at Ma~, in ~e T~n of ~, ~ of S~k a~ S~te of New Yo~, ~ ~at ~e N~ of ~ich · e an~x~ is a pfint~ ~y, ~s ~n ~ula~ pu~ lished in said Newspa~r once each week for I w~ s~iyely, ~me~ing the ~ day OR ~ z~, ~t day of LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that there has been presented to the Town Board of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, on the 27th day of March 2001, a Local law entitled "A Local Law To Amend the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56." and, NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the Town Board of the Town of Southold will hold a public heating on the aforesaid Local Law at the Southold Town Hall, 53095 Main Road, Southold, New York, and hereby sets 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 8, 2001, as the time and place for a public heating at which time all interested persons will be heard. The proposed "A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56." which includes the following: LOCAL LAW NO. 2001 A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56. BE IT ENACTED by Town Board of the Town of Southold as follows: Section 1. The Code of the Town of Southold is hereby amended by deleting and repealing §56- to §56-. Section 2. Effective Date. This local law shall become effective upon filing with the Secretary of State. BY ORDER OF THE SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF SOUTHOLD, MARCH 27, 2001. ELIZABETH A. NEVILLE SOUTHOLD TOWN CLERK PLEASE PUBLISH ON APRIL 5, 2001, AND FORWARD ONE (1) AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION TO ELIZABETH NEVILLE, TOWN CLERK, TOWN HALL, PO BOX 1179, SOUTHOLD, NY 11971. Copies to the following: The Suffolk Times Town Board Members Town Attorney Landmark Preservation Commission John Cushman Town Clerk's Bulletin Board STATE OF NEW YORK ) SS: COUNTY OF SUFFOLK) ELIZABETH A. NEVILLE, Town Clerk of the Town of Southold, New York being duly sworn, says that on the 29th day of March ,2001, she affixed a notice of which the annexed printed notice is a tree copy, in a proper and substantial manner, in a most public place in the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, to wit: Town Clerk's Bulletin Board, 53095 Main Road, Southold, New York. NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING: A Local Law To Amend the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56 May 8, 2001, 7:30 pm · Neville Southold Town Clerk Sworn before me this ~c~'~'t day of 1'~ a,o..~ ,2001. LYNDA M. BOHN NOTARY PUBLIC, State of ~ YO~ No. 01 B06020932 l~ified in Suffolk County ELIZABETH A. NEVILLE TOWN CLERK REGIST~ OF VITAL STATISTICS MARRIAGE OFFICER RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICER Town Hall, 53095 Main Road P.O. Box 1179 Southold, New York 11971 Fax (631) 765-6145 Telephone (631) 765-1800 OFFICE OF THE TOWN CLERK TOWN OF SOUTHOLD THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION NO. 292 OF 2001 WAS ADOPTED AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD ON MARCH 27, 2001: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that there has been presented to the Town Board of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, on the 27th day of March 2001, a Local law entitled "A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56." and, NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the Town Board of the Town of Southold will hold a public heating on the aforesaid Local Law at the Southold Town Hall, 53095 Main Road, Southold, New York, and hereby sets 7:30 I~.m., Tuesday, May 8, 2001, as the time and I~lace for a public hearin~ at which time all interested persons will be heard. The proposed "A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56." which includes the following: LOCAL LAW NO. 2001 A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND the Code of the Town of Southold, Chapter 56, thereof entitled Landmark Preservation, by deleting and repealing § 56. BE IT ENACTED by Town Board of the Town of Southold as follows: Section 1. Section 2. The Code of the Town of Southold is hereby amended by deleting and repealing 256- to §56- . Effective Date. This local law shall become effective Elizabeth A. Neville Southold Town Clerk