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Suffolk Times Article November 29th – Wetlands hearing Tuesday SoutholdVOICE rallying around changes to Ch. 275
By Eileen Duffy
A public hearing on changes to the town’s wetlands code will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Southold Town Hall at 7:35 p.m.
The hearing on Chapter 275, as the wetlands code is officially designated, is expected to be well attended due to the efforts of SoutholdVOICE, an organization of waterfront property owners that is barely six months old.
SoutholdVOICE is led by John Kramer, who, with fellow Southolder resident Les Gazzola, issued a press release last August stating their intention to start a group called the Waterfront Property Owners Conservancy Association. In May, an organizational meeting attracted more than 150 people. Since then, the group has changed its name, set up an active Web site and organized members to attend trustee meetings and to learn more about the local laws that affect waterfront property owners.
“So many people wanted a support group,” Mr. Kramer said by phone this week, adding that the sense, when applying for a wetlands permit, is that you go “naked and alone.”
SoutholdVOICE sent a mass e-mail to its members regarding the upcoming public hearing, complete with talking points and specific questions about the changes.
But their concerns are misplaced in this instance, town trustees say.
“These are minor changes,” said trustee Peggy Dickerson. “Some add a prefix or changes the order of words. [SoutholdVOICE’s] concerns are larger and need to be addressed down the road.”
On Monday night, three representatives of SouthodVOICE, all five trustees and Supervisor Scott Russell met to discuss mutual concerns. And while trustee Dave Bergen (who also is a member of SoutholdVOICE) said misunderstandings were overcome, Mr. Kramer said nothing has changed.
“We’re concerned about property rights,” said Mr. Kramer, “and they basically said your property rights have already been taken away from you a long time ago.”
In an interview last week, Mr. Kramer said the proposed changes still leave many areas of the law unclear. “There are no actionable requirements,” he said. “We don’t know what to do.”
The group’s main concerns involve the need for, and the process of applying for, a wetlands permit to do work on homes or docks. In Southold, the trustees have jurisdiction over the 100 feet upland from any body of water. Thus, any construction in that zone requires both a wetlands permit in and a building permit.
One of the changes up for public hearing is the added definition of “functional.” This concerns dock owners because a permit is needed to repair a nonfunctional dock, but not a functional dock. The problem with the definition, said Mr. Kramer, is that it includes the phrase “as determined by the Board of Trustees.”
“I only repair things around my house when they’re not functional,” said Mr. Kramer. “Who’s to say it’s not functional? It’s like saying, ‘Please, may I have this dock?’ That’s crazy.”
He went on to say that if repairs include replacing a two-by-eight plank, which might cost $12 and take 20 minutes, the cost of a permit would be closer to $1,800 to $2,400 with notices, surveys, redraws and expediting costs. “It’s nuts,” he said.
In a phone interview, Mr. Bergen said trustee discretion is needed. “We have people who have two pilings left or the entire dock is on land in pieces and they think they don’t need a permit,” he said. “We can’t use black-letter law on these things.”
He added that many of the problems stem from a lack of understanding of the Town Code. “For the average property owner, it’s a lot of legal jargon,” he said.
SoutholdVOICE believes all existing structures should be grandfathered. “What’s existing is existing,” said Mr. Kramer. “What I bought I should be able to sell.”
Grandfathering all structures would be impossible, said Ms. Dickerson. “The code changes as we learn more about best management practices,” she said.
Mr. Bergen said, “Ten years ago, there were no such things as non-turf buffers and now we know CCA [treated wood] leaches into the water. Our goal is not to take away property rights, it’s to balance them with the needs of the environment.”
The code changes also include a new definition of what is a non-disturbance buffer. What used to be “typically 50 feet wide” is now “a minimum of 30 feet wide as designated by the Board of Trustees.”
“What does that mean?” asked Mr. Kramer. “Will 30 feet go to 100 feet? Now it’s a minimum and we don’t know the maximum. And if I lose the use of that land, how will it affect my taxes? It also doesn’t define activities. Can I put a lawn chair there?”
The Board of Trustees believes Chapter 275 is a living document, said Ms. Dickerson, and expects it will undergo revisions nearly every year.
“Who’s to know who’s right and who’s wrong?” said Mr. Kramer. “We’ll see how it plays out.”
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For background information, meeting details and to read a copy of the proposed legislation, click “Chapter 275” in the category list.
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