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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984 Mrs. John Baiz 400 Shady Avenue Pittsburgh, Pa. 15206 January 30, 1984 Frank Murphy, Town Supervisor Southold Town Hall Main Road Southold, L.I. New York 11971 Dear Mr. Murphy: Word has reached me that there is a plan afoot to rezone our property on Bay Home Road to commercial and resort. This would also include the property of my mother, Mrs. Robert Lang, as well as that of my Texas son, Robert Lang Ba±z. I can't imagine why this would come up. I am very opposed to it, and I have been asked by my mother, Mrs. Lang, by my son and husband to speak on their behalf. The east side of Bay Home Road, i.e., the Willow Point development, is a new and totally residential area. A while ago the contiguous pro- perty came up for rezoning for a boatyard and this was turned down. To the west of Mrs. Lang's property except for a boggy farm field the land is totally residential. In fact, from Paradise Point to Conkling Point the rezoning proposal for our property is the only drastic change based upon current use of all this bayfront. We consider the rezoning proposal to be willful and capricious on the part of the consulting firm and the Town Board. The Lang-Baiz property purchased by my father in 1919 has been lived on by the same family for five generations; and it continues to be lived on and farmed in its original life style. We request that this letter be read carefully by you and that it be given due consideration at Thursday night's meeting. Sincerely yours, Mary Lan~ Baiz (Mrs. John Baiz) CC: Henry Raynor Chairman, Town Planning Board .FEI) 0 ? 1984 410 Homestead Way, Box 417 Greenport, NY 11944 February 4, 1984 ~{r. Henry Raynor, Chairman Town of 8outhold Planning Board Town Hall, 8outhold, NY 11971 Dear F~. Raynor.' ~ wife and I attended your public meeting on the ev~.ning of February 2nd and are t~m_ng advantage of your invitatiou to write to you. We are very much opposed to the proposed widening of Route 48, as it would mean the taking of our home to make room for the highway. We moved here 3 years ago from the village of Elmsford in Westchester County, ironically only a mile or so distant from F~. Turner,s present Tarrytown office. Thirty years ago and continuing for ten years we witnessed the tearing apart of that village by the passage through it of three major highways. We watched as many of our friends and neigh- bors lost their homes to the wrecking hall and the bulldozer. When it was all over, the goal of the planners had been aceoumlisbed. Beautiful new superhighways were available to speed through traffic past the area without affecting or being affected by local traffic. The final destin- ations of a great percentage of the new roods' users were often hundreds of miles away. The new highways could cut hours off their travel times. Now we live in the Town of $outhold, where we thought nothing like that could ever happen because it is a dead end peninsula -- water ou three sides, therefore no through traffic. (In our opinion, a few trucks and oars t~k~,~ the ferry to New London do not constitute "through traffic".) We have poured ~11 our energy, our hopes, our dreams and our money into our new home. We do not want to lose it. We do not believe that Southold needs a dual highway in our neighborhood any more than it needs o~ ever needed the one running through Mattituck, Cutchogue and Peconic. We ca~e here hoping to live in a rural marine area for the rest of our lives. You say that you want to preserve that very aspect. But we fail to see how the construction of a superhighway to move more traffic into not through the town can accomplish that goal. Very t~,ly yours, . Ned J. Deegan Mr. Henry Raynor Ohairman $outnold Town Planning Board Main Road Sout~old, New York 11971 Michael P~arr Distributors Route 48 Southold, New York 11971 Pebrmary 6, 19~4 Dear Mr. P~vnor: I am w~lting as an owner of commercial property bet-g: nominated for upzo~ing under the propose& new master plan. Let me make m~ee£f sleax-: no one would advosate a Jericho Turnpike for thetownof Sou~old. However. the reality of mixe~ use is democratic an& vital for new enterprise,. If all commercial property were centralized in the h~.lets, ~e owners of these properties would deman~ ransom lik~ prices t~nls stif~t~ new enterprises. Distributing commercial properties throughtu~ the town as un, er the present zoning map offers a new enterprise a c~nce to shop fpraffor~a~ie property price~. Tet at leas2 ~ne commercial grouping outside of the hamlets is accepted under ~he new proposal: the development in the area of Albe~tson l~ne and Route 25° Why is this group deemed asceptable and not the groupings along the north side of Route 4e in Southold and the south side in Peconic? Furthermore do these groupings in a~v way impede the agricultural ex~r~en character of this a~ea? As presently deYeloped, no. Just as working farmers, working commereial'prope~2 owners have important ft-~eial and psychological investments in th.~ properties. To enoumoer these Investments aha to lower their value without compensation is a direct a~aek on our constitutional ri~htSo We all cheese to live in Southold teoause of its perceived sharac%eristics. In order to save the ~ do we nee~ such drastic revisions in ~e zoning map. ~h~ no~ leave it as it is. One would imagine that a~y new $~wn plan would accept and start with the exisming~is~ribmtion of development and nom Sly ;o roll ~ack the olosk. ! appeal to the Boar~ no~ ~o punish existing commercial proper~v owners ~y accepting suc~ a drastic o~e in the rules off ~he game. 390 HENRY'S LA. PECONIC, N.Y. 11958 2-12-84 MR, HENRY RAYNOR, CHAIRMAN SOUTHOLD TOWN PLANNING BOARD C/O RAYNOR-SuTER HARDWARE STORE Love LA. MATTITUCK, N.Y. 11935 DEAR MR. RAYNOR; I AM OPPOSED TO THE BUILDING OF A MUNICIPAL AIRPORT IN SOUTHOLD TOWN. MY CONCERN IS FOR THE PEACEw QUIET AND SECURITY OF OUR CITIZENS. AN AIRPORT WILL BENEFIT FEW AND INCONVENIENCE MANY. TODAY OUR NEIGHBORS TO"THE SOUTH IN [ASTHAMPTON~ EXPER- IENCE 30w000 TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS ANNUALLY INCLUDING CORPORATE JETS. A COURT DECISION WENT AGAINST OUR NEIGH- BORS TO THE WEST IN FARMINGDALE WHO PETITIONED THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO CLOSE REPUBLIC AIRPORT AT NIGHT BECAUSE THE NOISE PREVENTED THEM FROM SLEEPING. WHERE IN OUR TOWN IS A '~DESIRABLE SITE~'~ CERTAINLY NOT NEAR MY HOME~ LETS PUT ALID ON THIS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT IDEA AND ENO THIS WASTE OF TAXPAYERS MONEY~ BEFORE IT CAUSES ANY MORE ANXIETY AND AGGRAVATION. TRY TO REMEMBER WHAT ATTRACTION THE NORTH FORK HAS TO PEOPLE, IS THIS THE ATMOSPHERE WE DESIRE IN SOUTHOLD? WHILE I AM IN A LETTER WRITING MOOD, [ WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED SOUNDVIEW AVE EXTENSION. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE CONCEPT THAT A DEVELOPER HAS TO BUILD HIS OWN ROADS? THIS ROAD WILL OPEN UP FOR DEVELOPMENT AN AREA OF OUR TOWN WHICH SHOULD BE KEPT AS NATURAL AS POSSIBLE. ET WILL ENCOURAGE AN ENORMOUS INCREASE IN POPULATION AND TRAFFIC AND ALL THE PROBLEMS AND TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE. A SOUND AVE. EXTENSION WILL INTERSECT WiTH MY ROAD AND TURN THIS AND OTHER QUIET DEAD END ROADS INTO BUSTLING THOROUGHFARES. URGE THE PLANNING BOARD TO RESCIND THE SOUNDVlEW AVE. EXTENSION AND PROPOSED MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. VE~URS~ Southold To~m Planning Board Southold, N.Y. 11971 Gentlemen: February 6, 198~ This is in response to your invitation for wrftten com~,ent with respect to the preliminary master plan proposal. I expressed my basic reaction at the February 2, 198d meeting in Peconic, namely that the plan is too complicated. It reminds me of the game of monopoly, with players owning agricultural lands receiving development rights which can be used to build in hamlet areas - even a bank - only no Broadway or Park Place, and no one collects $ 200 for passing "G0". It is a theoretically intersting co~eDt with several basic flaws, and while it may be workable in the outskirts of Washington, D.C., perhaps Southold is not the place to try what still amounts to an experimental concept, at least not until it's proven to work elsewhere. We can wait. I don't know why we are singled out, as in the case of reverse osmosis, to be the guinea pigs. The basic flaws include unfairness to farmland owners; the mandatory nature of the concept; and the imposition of the cost on only one area or group, namely purchasers or owners i~: hamlet receiving areas designated as medium density. If farmland preservation is desirable, why does the cost fall s~ely on the one category? '~hy must it be mandatory? In ancient times, tribes often arranged to mate their unmarried eli~ilil~females by auctioning off the most desirable (whether most beautiful, strongest or most talented) to the highest bidder among the eligible bach- elors. When no one would any longer bid as the desirable ones were taken, the tribe would use the wealth accumulated from auctioning the more desirable to add subsidies, so that less desirable mates would then be auctioned with inducements, like a pig or a cow, accumulated in the course of the earlier bidding. In this way wealth was redistributed and all or almost all eligibles were matched. The person who got the ugliest or least talented mate was guaranteed the most to compensate for the mate's shortcomings. In Southold, what's wrong with the proposed system, is that the person who pays the most also gets the ugliest mate. The proposal calls for you to pay more to end up with higher density. This is supposed to discourage higher density. It merely raises the price and works to the benefit of the developer, putting all the burden on people whose economic status forces them to buy in a receiving area. Since farmland preservation is the desired goal, should not all of society participate in the cost? Since "over-development" is a goal to be avoided, should not everyone, or all development pay the cost, not just development in medium density hamlet areas? A tax on purchases of land in all areas, or on building everywhere, the procesds of which could be used only to purchase farmland development rights, would be fairer. The rate of tax (perhaps 1%) could vary depending on whether there ~ere enough rights offered voluntarily by farmland owners to match the value of the flow of available tax fun~s. The proposed plan puts all rights on the ~arket at one. time. How will the cost of farmland development rights be allocated from the cost of the land if all the rights go on the market at one time? They will be virtually worthless initially. If the plan ~s not mandstory, and farmland owners do not offer to sell their' rights, the fund will grow with interest and annual additions to the point that the market place will dictate to some owners that perhaps it will be wise to offer their rights for sale rather than to develop their property. FEB 10 1984 I think the concept of "public water' is quite misleading to the public. Since it is any common water supply, it is really not a public system, and constitutes hardly any impediment to higher density use. Either tell the public that the word public is not being used in its common meaning, or use it properly, and limit density to a Greenport-like standard, where a real public water supply is available. ~ I recommend that we reject the development right transfer.to hamlet medium density areas for the present until we study its workings elsewhere. Since we seem to need a new plan every 1~ years, perhaps the plans ~re not all that great to begin with, so that patching up the old plan can do just as well. ~spect fully~-~ l~ew suffolk, N.Y, 11956 main road ~ · ' SOuthold, long island,,new york 11971 P.O. Box 590 102 Broad St. Greenport, N.Y. 1194~ February 13, 1984 Planning Board Southold Town Southold, N.Y. Dear Planning Board: I am writing to ask that you make a provision for the development of shellfish hatcheries and nurseries in your Master Land-use Plan. My interest in shellfish hatcheries and nurseries lies in the fact that I sm planning, along with a highly competent team, a venture to culture triploid hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria, to market size. Tri- pl0id 'shellfish have more carbohydrate in their cells than diploids. They, therefore, are larger and are thought to have a better taste and texture. Triploidy describes organisms having cells containing three rather than the normal two sets of chromosomes. It is a condition that can be induced by chemically treating fertilized eggs. Our effort involves the construction and operation of a hatchery and nursery to produce triploid hard clams. The North Fork would be an ideal place for a shellfish hatchery and nursery for many reasons. For one, bay waters are very productive. Since water currents tend to be moderate, shellfish are supplied with unusually large quantities of algae for food. Secondly, Greenport's deep water port makes it possible to harvest cultured clams in the middle of winter. Finally, towns on the North Fork fall right on the route of many shellfish distributors, which makes it easy for anyone with a steady, large supply to market his or her shellfish crop. For the last several months, I have sought to find an appropriate site for a shellfish hatchery and nursery on the North Fork. There are extremely few sites which would be appropriate. Depending on your actions, the sites may or may not be available to me. A site for a shellfish hatchery and nursery must satisfy certain requirements, which include: l) that it be within 500' of shore, 2) that it have access, or a right of way, to a large body of salt-water (preferably bay water), 3) that it be reasonably removed from existing or potential sources of pollution, h) that it be accessible by road, and ~) that it have water from a salt-water well for use to culture shellfish in the hatchery stage. -2- I ask that you consider a policy of land-use that l) establishes shellfish hatcheries and nurseries as agricultural ventures and 2) gives priority to water-dependent use of shore property. Shellfish hatcheries and nurseries are considered agricultural ventures by the federal government. Certainly they represent the kind of development that complements an area's rural character. Moreover, of all agricultural ventures, they probably are the least damaging to the environment. No pesticides or fertilizers are used. Traffic associated with a hatchery and nursery is low. We plan on having five full-time employees. Successful hatcheries and nurseries benefit local individuals, businesses or public governments through seed sales, and the exchange of technical knowledge. Presently, hatcheries on Long Island could not meet the projected seed demand. Recently, New York State announced plans to finance a demonstration project which would require 500 million clam seed. It is my feeling that if shellfish hatcheries and nurseries are not given some of the same advantages as other agricultural endeavors, and if they are not perceived as having priority over other shore uses due to their water dependency, that they may not exist at all on the North Fork. I hope to be discussing this matter with you further. Sincerely, Cynthia Dietz A WORLD ECONOMIC SERVICE THAT ANTICIPATES PRICE TRENDS AND BUSINESS MOVEMENTS February 13, 1984 The Planning Board Town Hall Town of Southold Southold, NY 11971 Gentlemen: The preliminary land use plan for the Town of Southold calls for a change in use of two properties that I own, the land on the west side of Down's Creek and a parcel on the north side of the Cutchogue Post office. You are proposing to change the Down's Creek property from residential to recreation. I do not believe this would be in the best interests of the town at the present or in the future. The waterfront portion of the property abuts on marshland. With the acknowledged interests of preserving marshlands, it would seem inappropriate to open up this prop- erty for general recreational purposes which could have a devastating effect on the ecology. Much of the balance of the land is heavily wooded with no beach or waterfront and would be of marginal interest for recreational purposes. Please note the following passage from the memorandum of December 15, 1983, from Raymond Parish, Pine & Weiner. "The major emphases of the park and recre- ation element are to assure access to arrange passive and active recreation areas or facilities for persons in all areas of the town and to expand access to the water." Such activities would seem to be completely incompatible with the objective of preserving the sensitive ecology of this particular piece of property. The woods and water view sections in the area of Down's Creek, however, make it ideally suitable for high quality summer and year-round homes. This raises the value of the property well above the average per acre on the North Fork. I believe the cost to the town of acquiring the property would be prohibitive particularly in light of the limited recreational use. On the other hand, the site is highly suitable for res- idential development. The water views in the southerly The Planning Board Town of Southold February 13, 1984 Page two portion of the property will command a premium price. The land is high enough so that homes can be set back sufficiently so as not to interfere with the marshlands. The heavily wooded sections to the north provide a natural link to the Fairway Farms housing complex surrounding the North Fork Country Club. Here again the highlands, the mature stance of trees and the golf club vistas will contribute to a much higher than average value per acre. I'm aware that the Down's property is the site of a former Indian settlement. Our family has controlled this land for over twenty years. We have not, in that time, taken one shovelful of dirt out of the settlement area. I would expect that when it is time to subdivide the property appro- priate portions of it could be set aside to assure that the Indian site was not disturbed. The second property that I have referred to, behind the post office, is scheduled to be changed from business to hamlet density residential. I must say that I have a hard time understanding the reasons for this change. The prop- erty is immediately adjacent to the Cutchogue Post Office. It is situated in very close proximity to the hamlet of Cutchogue. According to the last Southold plan for devel- opment and I quote from page two. ,Neighborhood business is clustered around existing centers of population in an attempt to avoid ribbon development.''' The classification of my property for business development was completely consistent with this recommendation. It has the added benefit of diverting traffic off of Route 25. This will relieve future congestion. It also helps prevent our section of Long Island from be- coming an extension of Jericho Turnpike. On the north side of the property is a garage and a trailer park. It is bounded on the west by land zoned for multiple residents. It is an ideal site in all aspects for business development. The December 15, 1983 Raymond Parish study, under the section "Hamlet Commercial" concludes, The Planning Board Town of Southold February 13, 1984 "Retail commercial uses and commercial services are,in general, recommended only in hamlet centers. Expansion of "strip" retail commercial uses along the town's major corridors, State Route 25 in County Route 48, will be discouraged since this type of development can weaken existing commercial centers which have capac- ity for limited expansion, result in increased traffic congestion, and conflict and undermine the visual and esthetic appeal of the town." I could not have said it better and I trust that you will not change the planned use category of the aforesaid property. Very truly yours, WJB:rs EDUCAT]ONAL CEhq~R LTD TEST PREPARATION SPECIALISTS EST. 1938 Manhattan 535 Madison Avenue, New York 10022 - (212) 832-1400 Brooklyn 1675 East 16th Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11229 - (212) 336-5300 Long llland Roosevelt Field Shopping Ctr., Garden City, N.Y. 11530 - (516) 248-1134 Westchester 10 Mitchell Place, White Plains, N.Y. 10601 - (914) 948-7801 $outhold Town Planning Board Southold, New York February 3, 1984 Dear Sirs, I have recently been sent an article and map from the Suffold Times that discusses the proposed zoning changes in the Town of Southold. The article was unclear as to the possible effects of these changes and I am writing to you to seek clarification. I own a home in the Pipes Cove area. It would appear from the map that the beach which the Cove Circle Association presently owns, as well as part of the surrounding residential land, is to be zoned as wetlands. How would this affect our present use and ownership of the beach and surrounding area? Who would control the use of the beach and the adjacent water, the Town or New York State? If there is to be a change, will the homeowners who are affected be notified individually? I would appreciate an answer to my questions, as well as a calendar of future hearings to be held on this matter. Yours truly, Joan Riegel 360 Longacre Avenue Woodmere, New York 11598 RECEIVED FEB lgB4 Te~m C~ South~ld Po O. Box A-F Greenport, N.Y. 11944 February 18, 1984 Town Planning Board Town of Southold Town Hall Southold, N.Y. 11971 Gentlemen: This is a SI,mm,fy of r~.srks which I made at the public review of the draft of the ne~ Town Master Plan held at the Senior Citizen Center in Peconic last month, relative to the need for more realistic provision for low-income housing in the M~ter Plan, with some amplification on house conversions. The Town of Southold, like many other Towns, has swept the problem of low-income housing under the carpet for many years. The draft of the he, Master Plan is comendable in recognizing at last that there As a need for such housing, but, as we explain below, it fails to address the need effectively. Since the time that two-acre zoning was debated before the Town Board last year, an article in the Suffolk Times on the scarcity of low-paid labor in Southold demonstrated that farms, ~sh-processing plants, restaurants, and other operations that pay minimumwages or not much above minimum wages, are having great difficulty in obtaining an adequate and reliable body of workers. No doubt the same problem affects hospitals, nursing homes, stores, garages, and other employers. One of the obvious causes of this problem is that the rents for apartments on the North Fork have risen drastically in the last five years so that a family depending on one wage-earner paid at minim~ wage level cannot afford to rent an apartment. Gentrification in Greenpert, and probably elsewhere, has been converting houses that used to be available to low-income families to summer homes of more affluent citizens, and this, of course, by reducing the supply of rental housing drives up the demand and rents for what rental housing remeins. This process can be expected to continue and it Mill drive many Iow- paid workers away from the North Fork or into illegal, overcrowded housing. The Village of Greenport has made some compensation for its loss of low-income housing by planning a sixteen-unit project which is now under negotia- tion with the funding authority, and it has set aside a plot of land in its own new master plan draft (the waterfront revitalization plan) ~or additional low- income housing, but even these steps will not satisfy the Village's own need for such housing. Approximately seventy valid applicants for the sixteen planned units came forth whem the plans were announced. While the Vtllage also has hopes for some expansion of its fish-processing industry, which would reqtuire more low- income workers, its officials feel, rightly, that there is a practical 11mtt as to how much of its residential property can be devoted to iow-income housing, and this is especially true in vie~ of the failure of the Town government to accept its responsibility to provide a reasonable share of the iow-income housing needed. The points made above tell us that we face a crippling of plans to develop fish-processing and other industry on the North Fork as well as a deteri- oration in the supply and quality of ,~-uy services residents require to sustain their lives ,r~less an energetic effort is made to provide a substantial amount of housing that low-paid workers can afford to rent. To: Town Planning Board, Town of Southold February 18, 1984 Page 2 There are social and h,,,,nitarian aspects to housing which need to be considered as well as the economic ones. It is well known that the youth of the North Fork are aware that there is not enough housing available to them to ,llow them to rent an apartment when they get m-~rledo This inevitably generates an impression for them ~.b,t the Town fathers have no ~=pathy for youth, and this helps spur them to abandon the North ~rk as soon as they are able to seek employ- ment elsewhere. NaturAlly, the best of the North Fork's youth is most easily lost in this process, and the result is a weakening of the vitality of all enterprise on the North Fork. Senior citizens who reach the point of no longer being able financially or physically to maintain a one-f-m~ly home are also hurt by the lack of ample rental housing available at reasonable rents. They end up neglecting m-~ntenance of their homes, skimping on food and medical attention, and ultimately may be forced to move away from the North Fork or seek welfare aid when their incomes no longer cover their needs. F-m~lies and indiv/duals on public assistance because of perso_--1 calam- ities or inadequacies must be given housing on the North Fork as elsewhere, and the scarcity of rental housing forces the payment of exorbitant rents which, in the end, come out of ,ll taxpayers~ pockets. It is psychologically and socisl~y unbesttby for any Town to ,1low its youth and its senior citizens to be driven aMayo It is also well known that where there is a shortage of legal housing for essential workers in a mixed community illegal housing will mushroom. This causes overcrowding end social ills, such as crime, violence, incest, etc. It also encourages corruption of public officials who fail to root out the illegal housing, and this breeds cynicism among the eleotorate. The draft for the new Master Plan for the Town of Soutbeld proposes plots for low-income housing in the b,ml ets and sets a max~,,m density of six units per acre. Unless speci~c plots are set aside in the Master Plan, the ongoing develo~ent of the b-inlets may soon eliminate likely plots sc ~t the cost of condem~-g sites for projects in the future ~ould be excessive end pro- bably entail considerable litigation. Sites should be designated DOw in locations that are within reasonable distance of shopping, since low-income citizens are not likely to own cars. The density of six units per acre is unrealistic, and, indeed, is even lower than the density of eight units per acre which other Towns established years age. Eight ,~ts per acre would allow eight single-f~m~ly houses with fifty- foot lots, which is the present density of existing housing in parts of the ham- lets. However, the present cost of constructing a single-f-rally house is rea/ly prohibitive for a Iow-income home, end, indeed, even if such a house were given free to some low-income r~sidents, they could not afford its heat, utilities, upkeep, insurance, taxes, etc. Also, a single-f-rally house is not what senior citizens need~. The only economically practical solution for low-income housing today is apa~-~ents, because they require less land per ,,~t, ha~e less surface per unit for loss of heat to the exterior, end afford a number of eco~.,,~es in con- struction compared with single-f--~ly houses. There are apar~eut complexes now in the Town of Southold that demonstrate that apartments need not be ar~hitectur- 2 To: To~n Planning Board, Town of Southold February 18, 1984 Page 3 ally objectionable. It wottld also be well worth the while of the members of your board to visit the To~m of Huntington to examine the apartments built there fow low- and moderate-income families, including the facilities for the care of children of working parents and the services and controls set up to maintain an acceptable level of living standards. One feature there especially ~orth investi- gating is the use of low down paymant cooperative o~nership of apartments, which contributes to better care of the premises by the tenants. Naturally, apartments can and should be built at a much higher densit~y than s~x units per acre. For that reason, the new Master Plan should not fix a maximum for the density of low-income housing, but leave it open ~or negatiation when actual proposals are being worked on. It is also possible to increase the a~ount of low- and moderate-income housing by permitting conversion of large one-family houses into t~o-f,~ly or even a~rtment occupency. This ~ould require a Town zoning ordinance and possibly additional ordinances if the idea is to be properly worked out. The alteration of large one-f-m~ly houses for multiple occupancy may require fire~Rlls, fire escapes, etc. for safety. It would be best to require the registration of all such conversions, with stiff penalties for 2ailure to obey, and to have the con- ~ersions inspected for health and safety at, the time of reg~tio~: and at least annually thenafter. A fee paid by the owner of such a property would pay the cost of inspection. Houses already converted illegally could be legalized if health and safety requirements are met. Houses with multiple occupancy that pre- exists zoning should also be required to comply with the new standards, with due allowance for specific situations. A side aspect to the point made directly above is the need to crack do~n on illegal occupancy that has developed in summer rentals, often causing deterioration in the tranquility and safety of year around residents. Firm and reasonable standards should be set for sum~er rentals to a~_low a s,,mmer influx without sacrificing the rights of regular tsxpaying residents. Your board should reco~nf ze that, if it does not address the needs for low- and moderate-income rental housing as recomended above, and as recommended we are sure by your p]~n~ing consultants, ~he North Fork will, like various other communities, be turning its back on its historical acco~maodation of a m~ of economic activities that requires the employment and housing of a substantial body of low-paid workers. This is usually the result of the snobbishness and racial prejudices of newcomers to an area who desire an enclave of middle- and upper-class residences and illogically assume that the low-paid workers who ren- der the services they desire will somehow be whisked away somewhere else at 5:00 P.M. every day. Eventually, if local government accepts this philosophy, the social disruption is liable to lead to lawsuits against it or the intervention of higher authority, causing tragic splits in the community. It would be far easier to a~tend to the North Fork's housing needs today than to insert provisions in the M~ter Plan which actually negate the chances of doing so, and have' nasty confrontations in the future. We enclose a copy of a letter from the Hon. Joseph Sawicki that promises support for progressive housing action~ and we believe that the sort of Federal program being tapped by the Village of Greenport is a possibility to be loo~d into. Incl: Ltr THE ASSEMBLY StAtE OF NEW YORK ALBANY February 6, 1984 Mr. Frederick S. Lightfoot P.O. Box A-F Greenport, New York 11944 Dear Mr. Lightfoot: Thank you for your recent cbmments concerning the housing situation on the East End. I certainly agree that it's becoming more and more difficult for middle and lower income families, especially young marrieds to find affordable housing. Communities must encourage the creation of attractive affordable housing and I will support state programs to assist in this area. I don't believe that this position is in any way inconsistant with my opposition to the Governor's plan for welfare housing increases. It is the hard working members of the middle class who can bearly afford their own housing who are being made to pay increased housing allowences for those who are on welfare. Welfare costs are getting out of hand, and will continue to go up, under the present administration in Albany. I appreciate your concern for the plight of the working people in our community. mbcerel~' e~, Jr. er of the Assembly JS:pr Planning Board Town of Southold Main Road Southold, N. Y. 11971 .,, TOWN OF SOU/HOLD February 19, 1984 Re: Preliminary Master Plan Gentlemen: At the public hearing on the Master Plan held February 2 in Peconic, I mentioned that I would prefer to write my comments rather than to present them at that meeting. And having said that, I do feel an obligation to follow through. But I should make it clear from the outset that I do not take this whole process seriously. It is a political process and the result ~ill be a political document. I hold out no hope whatever that I can influence directly any of the political decisions. So rather than to focus my attention on the details of the Plan, I am going to focus it on the process. Perhaps in this way I can have a positive influence on the outcome. Without any question, we are the most adaptive creatures on earth, and yet we have allowed ourselves to become its most endangered species. For we are poised at the brink of a nuclear holocaust that threatens to destroy the very civilization that our nuclear weapons are intended to preserve. What is it in the nature of man that allows such a possibility? The most fundamental drive of all intelligent creatures is to attain the perception that they are competent to meet their own needs. Most of the animals with which we are familiar live in relative isolation and so have developed little dependence on others. But an animal that has been raised in captivity has learned to depend on others and thus may be incapable of surviving alone in the wild. He has become a social animal just as we have. But man is unique in having become al~nost totally dependent on others to meet his own needs. In part this is biological, for he is born at an earlier stage of fetal development and faces a much longer childhood. In part it is technological, for he needs to acquire so much more knowledge from others in order to adapt to his environment. And, certainly, it is economic, for he must depend on others to supply the skills and the goods that he lacks. So it should come as no surprise that man exhibits an overwhelming desire to gain control over others as a means of attaining this perception that he is competent to meet his own needs. Government is simply the means by which one group gains control over another. So each of us will view his government either as extending his power to control others or as extending the power of others to control him, depending on his success in the political process. For example, we see our government as the means by which we can control the Russians, and we see their government as threatening to control us. That our stockpiles of nuclear weapons ultimately will destroy both societies is simply overlooked because we have become so preoccupied with the perception of being in control. -1 - As we demand more and more control over others through our government, we will be forced to adapt to lives of ever-increasing complexity ourselves. Consequently, there will be a growing number in our society who find it very difficult if not impossible to adapt and who will lose ttmt precious perception of being able to meet their own needs. Many of these economically displaced persons will look to ~h2t same government to restore their perception of competence by creating a new program to assist them, say subsidized housing. The t~.xes required to support that new program will increase the burden on those who had adapted previously thereby adding still another group to those who require a subsidy to live in our society. Ultimately, we will have created a society of such order and complexity ttmt communism will remain as the only viable solution. In my observation, we have become so preoccupied with using our local government to gain control over our neighbors ttmt we have overlooked the fact that we are destroying our society in the process. For example, when zoning was adopted in 1957 the approved lot size was 10,000 square feet or one-quarter of an acre. Apparently tl~t size was chosen to provide for the practical layout of the house on the lot based on the then Suffolk County Health Department standard for the spacing between a well and any cesspools. As we became more concerned about polluting the water supply, that standard was increased and the lot size was increased to 20,000 square feet or one-half acre, then to 40,000 square feet or one acre and recently to 80,000 square feet or two acres. In the meantime we adopted an official policy of deliberately doing nothing about providing for public water or public sewers on the basis that to do nothing would effectively limit the overall development of the Town. We. had already become so preoccupied with controlling our neighbors that we were willing to overlook the only rational solution to our real problem. The effect of this planning was to encourage the wholesale development of the very open space that we intended to protect. For such large house lots required the development of inexpensive land far from the hamlet centers in order for the price to be competitive with ttmt of the smaller lots that remained unsold in the older developments. And this repeated upzoning together with the continual threat of further upzoning greatly accelerated such development within the Town, far beyond any rate that could be justified economically. And yet, in spite of such an abundance of house lots, this plan to restrict the supply and thus to increase the price of house lots has placed home ownership well beyond the means of most of the young people who are growing up in the Town and, also, of many of the elderly who wish to remain here. So now we find ourselves having to accept subsidized housing as a means of maintaining our perception of being in control. One official policy we adopted was to encourage tourism and seasonal occupancy within the Town. The argument put forth at the time was that part-time residents would lower our tax rate since they would not add to our school-age population. On the other hand, we adopted a wetlands preservation plan designed to halt all development along the coastline and thus deny access to the very asset that attracted these seasonal residents. It is one of the miracles of the political process that both the local business community and the so-called environmentalists could be satisfied simultaneously but each had the perception of being in control of the other. -2 - Another official policy we adopted was to preserve farming as a major economic base for the Town. Every government seems determined to gain control over the farmers for one reason or another and yet I know of no government that h~s ever had any success. Farming is just too dependent on the weather and on the markets to be controlled by any government, however well-meaning. And so, in spite of this official policy, farming as we knew it then has virtually disappeared in just one generation. We now have more truck gardening and some new vineyards and nurseries, but much of the farmland is already in. the hands of speculators awaiting development. It is interesting to note that the prime argument used to promote the adoption of this official policy was that maintaining the land in farming would protect our water supply from pollution. And yet, just the opposite has occurred, for the pesticides and fertilizer essential to modern farming have polluted our water supply to an alarming extent already. Now we are being presented with a new Master Plan that seeks to sustain our perception of being in control by simply ignoring these very facts. Perhaps you have observed, as I have, that the public has a great fear of any Master Plan that attempts to zone for the future needs of the Town. Clearly, they want to use the government as a. means of maintaining direct control over their neighbors. And if each new business activity requires a zoning application, it enhances their perception of being in control. It is for this reason that I refuse take this Master Plan seriously. Nor do I believe that any of the public who demanded that it be undertaken ever intended it to be anything more than a crudely disguised attempt to gain more control over their neighbors. For they now openly oppose every aspect of the Plan that attempts to anticipate future needs, whether it is a site for a new airport or a new business area in their hamlet. This new Master Plan does address the need to encourage higher density contiguous development in and around the existing hamlets in order to protect the farmland and open space areas. In that respect, it represents an entirely new and, I must say, refreshing approach to the orderly development of the Town. Had we had such a plan twenty years ago, much of our open land would still be preserved. Or perhaps we have finally recognized that public water and public sewers are going to be necessary eventually and that such high density development is essential to make t~em economically feasible. On the other hand, this new Master Plan totally ignores the need to secure a source of water to supply not only such new development but, more importantly, the existing areas of higher density and coastal area development. It proposes instead the sale and purchase of development rights as a means of compensating the farmers for the loss of development rights sustained as a consequence of the rezoning. Certainly we must have learned by now that farmland cannot be depended on as a source of potable water in the future. Nor is there any logical reason why the cost of preserving this open space or that source of water, whichever way one chooses to perceive it, should be borne entirely by the owners of the undeveloped land for the sole benefit of the owners of the developed land. Are we still living in that dream world in which open space and potable water are synonymous? Or are we now ready to accept the reality that we must acquire not just the development rights but the controlling ownership of any land we will need for a source of potable water -3 - and the reality that it must be acquired quickly before the water suffers any more pollution from pesticides and fertilizer. 'Viewed from this perspective, the proposed Master Plan is nothing more than a politically inspired plan to redistribute the wealth. How can we take it seriously when it completely ignores the whole problem of the pollution of our water supply by farming, the very crisis it was supposed to address? Here again we have become so preoccupied with using the government to control our neighbors that we have completely overlooked our real problems. Is it any wonder that we have become the most endangered species on earth? There was a time when our experts predicted that we would run out of water so let's examine that possibility. Based on an average annual rainfall of about 40 inches, each acre receives over a million gallons of water per year. If only half of that were pumped, it would supply $0 gallons per day to each of 30 residents of the Town. On that basis one square mile or 640 acres would supply enough water for 20,000 year-around residents. Clearly there is an adequate supply of water to support any practical level of residential development. If we were to purchase the land necessary at a price of $$,000 per acre, the cost would be 3.2 million dollars or $160 per resident to guarantee a supply of potable water in perpetuity. So neither the adequacy of the supply nor the cost of the land is the problem. The real problem is to secure and maintain a pure source. If we werentt so preoccupied with controlling our neighbors and redistributing their wealth, this Master Plan might have offered a solution to our problem. Our consultants, Raymond, Parish, Pine & Weiner, Inc., are true professionals so I am confident they have produced just the political document we asked for. The fact that it doesntt address our real needs suggests that we didn't ask them the right questions. I feel certain they can provide us with a plan that does address our needs if we can find the courage to ask them. S2fl~erely. ~ William W. Schriever Box 128 Orient, N. Y. 11957 -4- MAT ]~ O LETTUNIOH 1984 The Town Supervisor, Southold Town, :i Southold, NY 11971 Dear Mr Murphy, '. ':: . I write as :a'"concerned property owner in Souihold the January'issues of The Suffolk Times and come across the pla~ now, I assume, being considered, but not.yet 'in final One quickly looks to see how bne's own property Bay~Home Road, on the water (known formerly as the Collison"house my water-side neighbor across~he.~zoad the in view of the fact that so.m.a~y half.acre.!ots.~ere sold 'those' fields wer~ made into~a subdivision'about t But on Mrs ,Lang's.side, the designation is alarming:~esorW~C~o~erci~ And this also includes the land to,the West of the Lang propel as far as I know, belongs to Grace Nichols Lewis;..A~, Mrs Lewis son are realtors I can imagine that they would be in ?~av0~ ~ nation, but it is alarming to someone who has lived residential area, along a .quiet beach water I write, therefore, to express my Sincere not become final, and to voice my objecti( larger, is now residentially used, and th~ but has it already been transferred to I would hope that no such change could take place surely be a wide majority view of property owners in the are maintain residences there and had never thought .t motel or hotel complex might be considered. I will appreciate hearing' fro~ yo~/and am 165 EAST 72~ STREET, NEW YORE 87 Inlet Drive Mattituck, N. Y. 11952 February 23, 1984 Mr. Frank i~urphy Southold Town ~upervisor Southold Town Planning Board Southold Town Hall Main Road Southold, N. Y. 11971 Dear Mr. Murphy: We wish to go on record as opposing the preliminary Master Plan as it relates to the following issues on the Long Island Sound side of M attituck: No, to residential development of the Cooper farmlands. No, to intensive marine commercial activities. No, to increasing housing densities per acre. For details to supoort the above answ, rs, please refer to the piece entitled "Alert--Your Future Is At Stake" mailed by Cleo Tsounis, President of the Captain Kidd Civic Association to each resident. I Catherine Napier, am a representative f~$m the Suffolk County Girl Scout Council to the Coalition For The Proteciion of Long Island ~round Water, and while I am not speaking officially for the Girl Scouts at this time, I cannot emphasize too strongly how devastating I believe the implementation of these proposals could be to Long Island's most precious resource--Water. Catherine Napier RECEIVED FEB P. 4 1984 Town Clerk Southold LTD FEBRUARY 22ND, 1984 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SOUTHOLD TOWN, MAIN ROAD SOUTHOLD, N.Y. 11971 GENTLEMEN, FOR TWENTY FIVE YEARS I HAVE ENJOYED SPENDING AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE IN SOUTHOLD AT MY HOUSE ON BAY HOME ROAD. I WAS DISMAYED AND ANGERED TO LEARN THAT THE MASTER PLAN AS COMMISSIONED BY THE TOWN FROM RAYMOND, PARISH, PINE AND WEINER, INCLUDES A PARCEL OF RESORT COMMERCIAL [.AND ADJOINING BAY HOME ROAD, ON THE WATER. THIS PROPERTY IS, I BELIEVE, OWNED BY MRS. ROBERT LANG AND MRS. GRACE LEWIS. THE FORMER, I KNOW, WAS UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO HEAR OF THIS PROPOSAL. MRS LEWIS IS, OF COURSE, IN REAL ESTATE AND HER APPROACH IS BOUND TO BE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF A NON-COMMERCIAL RESIDENT OF THE AREA. IS THIS RE-CLASSIFICATION CONTEMPLATED SERIOUSLY BY THE BOARD? OR HAS IT ALREADY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED? I WANT TO REGISTER MY STRENUOUS OBJECTIVE TO THIS CHANGE CONCERNING LAND HITHERTO IN THE MIDDLE OF A QUIET RESI- DENTIAL AREA WHICH WE ALL VALUE FOR THAT VERY QUALITY. SOUTHOLD IS STILL A PEACFUL HAVEN ON LONG ISLAND, AND ALREADY A PROSPEROUS ONE. SURELY THERE IS A DUTY ON ALL OUR PARTS, TO FUTURE GENERATIONS AS WELL AS TO OURSELVES, THAT IT NOT BE TRANSFORMED INTO A COMMERCIAL MOTEL-RESORT AREA SIMPLY BECAUSE THAT WOULD BRING INCREASED PROFITS TO A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE NOT PRIMARILY CONCERNED FOR THE VILLAGE, BUT FOR THEMSELVES. SINCERELY, KARL SPRINGER RECEIVED &lO~.Youngs ~venue Southold, New York February 25, 1984 Southold Town Board Town Hall MainRoad Somtheld, New York Gentlemen: Ye would like to express our opinimm.~ing certain aspects of th~ proposed Master Plan for ~outhold T~Wm. We feel that the Land. Bank plan as discussed puts an unfair burden on farm owners; not only does it restrAc~ severely the use of the land, it lowers its value, creating ~ situation whereby the land could have a much lower value than similar land on the opposite ~'~ide of the_street. While we agree with the concept of preservation ~ open space wherever possible, we do not feel that it should be at the expemse of the farm owner. Ne ~lieve that the two-acre zoning ordinance is excessive, restrictive and discriminating, making it difficult for those people (young or old) who can not afford the purchase and upkeep of a dwellinM on two acres. We would like to see this withdrawn. In contrast to the sometimes hysterical sounding reactions to the proposed a~rport, we would be in favor of a small, limit*d-use facility on the North Fork. With.~rivate air travel likel~ to~ increase in the future, it seems.regressive tb close the dOO~ on'~ this opportunity, if an appropriate site can be arranged. Sincerely, Parker E. Dickerson Betsey B. Dickerson RECEIVED FEB 4 lg84 Town Clerk Southold February 23, 1984 Gentlemen: I would like to acknowledge the tremendous effort put forth by the Town Board, Town Planning Commission, Consulting Firm and others in preparing an updated Master Plan for Southold Town. My oersonal picture of Southold Town is a peninsula including several outlying islands. The Town is about twenty-five miles long, east to west, and from one quarter of a mile to four miles wide, plus or minus. In traveling north, south or east, you come upon Peconic Bay, Long Island Sound, Plum Gut and the Atlantic Ocean. To travel any distance north, south or east requires the use of a boat, a plane or a swim. Access is very limited. To travel west is to arrive at high density, congested, suburban areas. Mobility in Southold Town is very restricted. The above reason coupled with the present scarcity of drinking water and sewage disposal availability does not lend itself to suburban development. The best land use for Southold Town is to remain agricultural-rural. The shoreline and creeks are already ina Deteriorated condition caused by overUtilization. Many water areas are contaminated with a proven deterioration of fish and shellfish life. There is a serious erosion problem caused by abuse of the use of the land. In short, I think the Master Plan should be revised to support Southold Town for agricultural and rural development. Studies should be made by Federal, State, County, Town and local groups to promote agricultural expansion. A maximum of 1% residential growth per year in Southold Town should be adequate. People who prefer higher density development can settle almost anywhere west for three thousand miles. I would like to see Southold Town become a well planned agricultural- rural community. Let us not abuse further what we inherited, but preserve it for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Sincerely yours, / Martin W. KruSe P.O. Box 1054 Mattituck- NY 11952 ANDRE'~/V E. GOODALE February 27, 1984 Mr. Francis Murphy, Chairman; Board of Supervisors Southold Town Hall, Southold, New York 11971 Master Plan, Informational Dear Sir: At the invi'tation of the Board and League of Women Voters to meet for discussion with the public on the propose~-adoption of the Mastez~'Plan,- I attended the February 23, 1984 meeting at Cutchogue. We generally now have four basic zones for property use in Southold Town. Admittedly, the pressures by increased population and economic growth present a problem in complexities to future available water, sewerage and waste disposal problems, all of which are unmanageable. Since police powers are delegated t~ the.community to regulate health, safety~..and welfare, in my. opiniom-the ~Town Supervisors should strictl~=onv stz~e~n=t only the existing, but also-any proposed statute. Why attempt further expansion and demarcations in zoning to accommodate h~m!et density, shopping centers and development rights, for example, when snfficient lend use is present within the existing peramenters? Our big need is to supply potable water and effective disposal of waste by intelligent planning. TherefOre, ~.-a~voc~t~._wc~king-withinour present z~ning~l&s~lfi~one~ To consider any new Master Plan appears to invite "administrative'gri41ook". Fremwhat I can understand about farm preservation, open space and whatever, it recalls the story of the Indians who owned the land,the the stranger who had the "beads". It was not long before the Indian had the "beads" and the stranger the "land? Whether the pr6posed Master Plan with all of its ram- ifications will work in Southold Town is debateable. Bureacracy has a tend-' enoy to expand in inverse proportion to need. The common man or wo~anwill be called upon to pick up the increased cost. Rather than confront the administrative maze, the better choice may be to quietly move away. Sincerely yours, Andrew E. Goodale MI. "' ISLAND VINEYARDS P.O. Box 552 Laurel, New York 11848 FEB 29 1984 (516) 298-5335 FebruAry 28, 1984 Southold Town Planning Board Soutbold Town Hall Main Road, Route 25 Southold, New York 11971 Dear Board Members, Although I was unable to attend the town meeting concerning the proposed Master Plan, I would like to express the views of Island Vineyards in regard to several items. First, we applaud the decision to retain a farmland preser- vation program, and feel that your method of sale of development rights to hamlet developers is a well advised proposal. Everyone agrees that agriculture is a must if we are to retain our rural character. The proposed TDR system, we feel, would be the best way to accomplish this objective. Island Vineyards currently owns producing vineyards in the town of Cutohogue, with eventual plans for a winery facility. In the very near future, we will be hi,lng employees to fill a variety of positions. We feel there is a lack of adequate low- income housing to deal with the influx of new employees which will be the mainstay of the agricultural industries on the north Fork. There are currently several wineries in operation in the Town, and already over 30 vineyards on the North Fork. If this growth continues, and there is no reason to think otherwise, the amount of housing available to newcomers to our area in a low to medium income group is seriously lacking. Our industry will be a shot in the arm to the Job market situation in Southold Town. Let's make sure adequate provisions are made to allow these people to live comfortably and successfully in our area. Another concern to many of the vineyard owners with winery plans, is the need for additional accomodations for patrons of the wineries. I can recall several instances when summer visitors had a difficult time finding a simple overnight accomodations in the town. During peak summer months, many motels require a weekend stay of two nights, or are already booked far in advance. l~ow that we have a deepwater port in Greenport, as well as additional ferry service from Connecticut, the problem of motel and restaurant space will be compounded. We would like to propose the inclusion of bed&breakfast type accomodations within or adjacent to our proposed winery buildings as a possible alternative to the overbooked motels and restaurants. We are not talking about a large hotel, but Just a few rooms with possible limited kitchen facilities ISLAND VINEYARDS P.O. Box 552 Laurel, New York 11948 (516) 298-5335 to ensure that those patrons of ours who may arrive late or have difficulty finding rooms at the last minute can be~made welcome. To keep the number of units within reason, perhaps using acreage of vineyard as a basis for the number of units allowed would be a successful method. It is our feeling that the wine industry will be a big stim- ulus to the economy of the Town, and we want to be certain that our patrons are allowed adequate aocomodatlons to assure they will return to the area again to further boost the economy. A provision for a limited aoccmcdation such as this has been highly successful in the Napa Valley in California, which has very similar geographic restrictions as the North Fork. In the Napa Valley, very few of the bed&breakfast type places have more than 12 units, and they have successfully taken up the overflow which motels could not handle. If the number of units is kept small enough, this system would not compete heavily with existing motels and restaurants, but it would allow optimum availability of aocomodations both during the peak of the s~mmer season when many area motels and restaurants are full, and also allow facilities for our patrons in winter months when few motels and restaurants are open. Again, we fully support the efforts of the Town in their attempts to conceive a Master Plan. This highly responsible action will serve everyone involved in both residential and the commercial aspects of Southold Town living. It is our hope that the Board will view our industry as a vital part of the future of the Town economy and farmland preservation effort, and will provide for our needs in its considerations. Daniel Kleck Managing Director