HomeMy WebLinkAboutMaul, G 7.2025
Michaelis, Jessica
From:George Cork Maul <gcmaul@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, July 22, 2025 9:31 AM
To:Lanza, Heather
Subject:zoning update comments
George Maul
310 Orchard St., New Suffolk
Thank you to everybody who works in the Planning Dept for this herculean effort.
I would like to focus my comments on the Purpose and Intent page:
§ 280-2. Purpose and Intent A.
This Code and the Official Zoning Map incorporated by reference herein implement the land use goals of the
Comprehensive Plan, which has been adopted for the purposes set forth in Article 16 of the Town Law. This Code in
the interest of the protection and promotion of the public health, safety, and welfare, shall be deemed to specifically
include the following, among others:
Please tell how these goals will be achieved specifically and include a timeline such as “within 5 years" or
similar for implementation.
(1) The facilitation of the efficient and adequate provision of public facilities and services;
Parking garages, parking facilities, waste treatment facilities, public pools, recreational facilities for young
people, youth centers, incentives for day care facilities should be addressed. The possibility of hooking up
golf course irrigation to treated water should be included. Public facilities are essential to promotion of
walkable hamlets. More incentives should be enumerated. Electric vehicle charging stations in public parking
areas and broadband infrastructure to support remote work should be mentioned.
(2) The assurance of adequate sites for residence, industry, commerce, and to promote the economic prosperity of the
Town;
To sustain economically viable and aesthetically compatible commercial districts and support their vital role
within the community, it is necessary to encourage businesses to serve the needs of the year-round
population. Zoning should be slanted in that direction
(3) The creation of greater opportunities for attainable homes;
To enable older community members to retire and remain, and younger generations to stay or return here,
and for all to thrive we need a way to ensure that land use regulations do not induce real estate market
patterns, home prices or rental rates that make it unsustainable for full-time residents or seasonal workforce
to live and work in the Town.
Current trends are displacing existing full time residents. We could mitigate this trend by strongly
incentivizing smaller home size, (more small houses) and promoting multiple dwellings. ADUs should have
lower rental permit rates and allow larger percentages of the existing dwelling to be converted with easy
permit procedures and minimal regulation. Where could zoning incentivize smaller homes?
(4) The provision of quality of life for residents;
Please identify and prioritize resident and community needs to prevent disorderly growth for the sake of
growth. To sustain and strengthen the diversity, cohesion, resilience, and social well-being of the community
we need to ensure that growth does not overwhelm the carrying capacity of human-made infrastructure or
compromise the regenerative capacity of land, waters, and natural systems. Local business owners need to
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be incentivized to engage in year round business practices that sell goods to local residents. Multibusinesses
have shown the way to operate profitably in our Town. I offer the example of “Aldos “ in Greenport who had a
retail operation, a wholesale operation and a mail order business all at the same location. (He put a Starbucks
across the street out of business!) The zoning code should promote and reward creative business solutions
that serve the community. We can ensure the well-being and quality of life of residents and protect enduring
value of private and public property by promoting uses and scale of development that is compatible and
harmonious with rural, natural, historic and resilient land use patterns and with the goals of the
Comprehensive Plan. Multiple uses should be allowed wherever possible.
(5) The prevention and reduction of traffic congestion to promote efficient and safe circulation of vehicles and
pedestrians;
To prevent growth from exceeding the capacity of our infrastructure and natural systems, we need more
housing options for the local workforce—including ADUs and smaller homes that provide full-time residents
with affordable places to live. This approach, combined with supporting year-round businesses that serve the
permanent population, will help reduce traffic congestion and protect our land, water, and natural resources.
(6) The protection of quality of life for residents;
Delete. The same as #4.
(7) The protection of historic areas;
To promote the timely and ongoing identification and protection of the Town's historical, cultural, and
archeological resources and its rich architectural heritage across all eras and to prevent further loss. To
protect the authenticity and preserve the integrity of structures themselves along with the historical
association buildings have with each other, with streetscapes and landscapes by promoting compatible
development and land use patterns.
(8) The gradual elimination of nonconforming uses;
Good
(9) The enhancement of the appearance and character of the Town as a whole, particularly its open and rural
environment;
Please define enhancement. Specifically how does this word translate into something concrete in the zoning
update. The definition of enhancement should include preserving viewsheds, maintaining building scale
compatibility, requiring native landscaping, and protecting open space connectivity.
(10) The encouragement of flexibility in the design and development of land in such a way as to produce the most
appropriate use, to facilitate the adequate and economical provision of streets and utilities, and to preserve the natural
and scenic qualities of open lands;
Good
(11) The fostering and protection of agriculture and fisheries;
Please prioritize protection of working waterfront and maritime-dependent uses from conversion to
incompatible residential development. M1 becoming residences.
(12) The provision for, so far as conditions may permit, the accommodation of solar energy systems and equipment,
and access to sunlight necessary therefor;
Large parking lots should be required to have some solar panels shading the area. Electric vehicle charging
stations in public parking could work off of solar panels.
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(13) The protection of the subsurface water supply and surface waters;
To prioritize the protection of both surface and ground waters, and to promote understanding that both
are linked and integral to sustaining the town. To protect and promote the quality of all surface water and
wetland systems for the enjoyment and well-being of the population, the integrity of natural resources,
and the thriving of fisheries by requiring, sustaining, and, where necessary, restoring a healthful biological
and chemical balance throughout the Town's waters. To secure groundwater recharge, through the
regulation of land use and by other means, to ensure the maximum protection of the Town's aquifer and
other recharge areas, thereby assuring a permanent, sustainable supply of clean water for consumption
and use by the community, as well as the continuing natural balance and integrity of ecosystems. To
sustain the natural hydrological patterns of the land across all properties. To protect and replenish clean
water supply by promoting conservation-oriented use patterns, ensuring the restoration of degraded
surface and ground waters, and promoting the most effective technologies to improve and protect water
quality.
(14) The protection and enhancement of the coastal environment;
To address fully the Town's vulnerability to rising sea level and groundwater, flooding, and coastal and
shoreline erosion and how to prepare for the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather
events. To secure the Town's ability to maintain essential functions and protect critical infrastructure
during, and recover after, significant storm effects. To optimize management and protections of
undeveloped and developed shoreline and coastal areas and waterfront uses, to ensure the protection
and expansion of important natural resources buffers, and to ensure public beach access for recreation
and quiet enjoyment. To promote proactive planning and implementation of adaptation and resilience
strategies for areas with coastal vulnerabilities as well as vulnerable inland areas, to plan for migration of
at-risk coastal assets, and to ensure, where and when necessary, a just transition for residents. To ensure
that the Town's land use policy, regulations and decisions are forward looking and will advance
preparedness, resilience, public safety, and economic viability by judiciously restraining development of
at-risk areas and assets and preventing or minimizing near- and long-term risks to property. Town beaches
overrun by tourism need stricter parking in surrounding areas.
(15) The preparation for natural hazards to assure recovery and resilience;
As a person who has lived through 6 hurricanes living in an AE flood zone in New Suffolk, all I can do when I
read this line is sigh…
(16) The promotion of smart growth principles including the following: (a) Creating opportunities for a mix of walkable
housing options to accommodate a range of demographics; (b) Promoting small-scale, pedestrian-oriented
environments that promote walkability and biking; (c) Preserving historic development patterns without preventing
adaptive reuse; (d) Providing a range of housing options to meet the needs of seasonal and year round residents; (e)
Strengthening development within existing commercial centers; and (f) Enabling planning processes that are
accessible to everyone.
Good!
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