When members of the Southold Town Trustees first approached the Southold Town Board in July to propose changes to its wetlands code to better protect the shoreline, their suggestions — to define several innovative, environmentally friendly construction practices and move the setback for pools 10 feet further away from wetlands — were met with enthusiastic support.
Pictured Above: Sunset over Dam Pond in Orient, which has been added to the water bodies on which docks could be prohibited.
But numerous residents who showed up for an Oct. 7 public hearing on the changes raised objections to a section of the updated code that adds new fresh and brackish water bodies to the town’s already long list of areas where new private docks are prohibited.
In addition to protecting public access to waterways, Town Trustees in Southold are charged with administering permits for activities within 100 feet of wetlands, beaches, dunes and bluffs, in accordance with the town’s wetlands code — Chapter 275.
The new waterways where private docks would be prohibited under the proposal are primarily fresh and brackish lakes and ponds, including Laurel Lake, Marion Lake, Marratooka Pond, Husing Pond, Lilly Pond, Great Pond, Inlet Pond and Dam Pond.
The town had already prohibited private docks on Hashamomack Pond and in numerous other local water bodies — including the Peconic Bay — in 2007, but the language of this week’s public hearing notice had broken the language “Hashamomack Creek and Pond” up, listing them as two separate items — Hashamomack Creek and Hashamomack Pond.
Here’s the text of the proposed changes.
Several members of the public who opposed the proposal specifically took issue with the Hashamomack Pond prohibition, even though it is already in effect.
John Pitman, who lives on Rush Lane in Southold adjacent to Hashamomack Pond said there are 61 homes on the lake, and if each house had a dock, it would “cover 1.8 percent of the entire shoreline.
“Following proper dock design, just like improving septic systems, would be a reasonable goal,” he said.
Southold-based land use attorney Patricia Moore, who also owns property on Hashamomack Pond, said she’s found it increasingly difficult to get into a 14-foot motorboat with her grandkids without having a dock.
“That’s the extent of the type of motorboat you see,” she said. “Hashamomack Pond should never have been included” in the dock prohibition.
Former Town Trustee John Bredemeyer said that “non-toxic dock penetrations and open grate decking for very small scaled-back docks” could provide an environmentally friendly alternative to dock prohibitions, allowing the elderly and people in wheelchairs to enjoy the waterfront, as well as providing launching points for small boats like kayaks and canoes.
Kevin Klein, who lives on Laurel Lake, said there are 16 homes on the lake. Twelve have fixed docks, one has a floating platform, two are on bluffs with no access to a dock and his home doesn’t have a dock.
“My home would likely be the only one impacted,” he said, adding that he is in the midst of an Article 78 lawsuit against the town for denying his dock application. He said he believes the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which had granted him a dock permit, should be the agency that oversees the environmental impact of docks.
“Southold Town knows the needs and concerns more intimately than the DEC,” countered Mattituck resident Tami Loeffler, who said she supported the changes. ” No one knows better than Southolders what Southold needs.”
“I think it’s just in the nick of time,” she added. “I went to a Trustee meeting recently and was somewhat aghast at some of the things being proposed for our dear North Fork. This will stop some of that.”
“This didn’t come out of thin air. There’s been a decade of discussion,” said Group for the East End President Bob DeLuca at the public hearing. “The resources are already hammered. They have been beaten on and been degraded by things done around them.”
Mr. DeLuca said the DEC’s “perspective is a state perspective, but the Trustee perspective is from people who live here.”
Glenn Pressler recently purchased property on Great Pond in Southold, and he said that, because of an ongoing drought, the water table in the pond has lowered, and he now has to walk 25 feet through wetland vegetation to bring his kayak into the pond.
“If there was a dock, I wouldn’t be walking through this,” he said, adding that he believes the public access boat ramp on the pond is more likely to cause environmental damage because people bring their boats there from other waterways that may be contaminated.
Other speakers were concerned about a change to the “ordinary and usual maintenance” section of the proposed code, which changed the percentage of the structure that could be repaired without a permit from 75 percent to 25 percent. Speakers asked for clarity on whether that meant 25 percent of the actual structure or the dollar value of the structure, but didn’t challenge the reduction in percentage.
“I’ve been super-proud of the fact that, over the last four years, we have come to the Town Board with our recommendations every time we’re looking at the 30,000-foot view and noticing development trends that are putting an increased burden on our shared land,” said Town Trustee Liz Gillooly. “A Trustee’s job is to steward the land that we’ve been entrusted with, and these recommendations all come from that 30,000-foot view. We have noticed these development trends that are degrading our shared resources and affecting public access.”
“Some of the comments here tonight are referencing ‘a new ban on docks’ that has actually been in place since 2007,” she said, adding that the theory behind the new dock bans are “to preserve small water bodies that are already distressed from increased development pressures.
“Most of the changes I haven’t heard comment on tonight are some of the really important ones,” she added.
There were no public comments on many of the proposals, including the change removing the town’s volunteer Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) from review of wetland permits.
Ms. Gillooly said after the meeting that the Trustees hope removing the Conservation Advisory Council from the review process will give the CAC more time to devote to broader issues, including implementing the town’s Climate Smart Communities strategies and educating the public about environmental issues, including the town’s new irrigation code. The CAC has recently been working with its Town Board Liaison, Councilman Brian Mealy, to update its mission statement to reflect these priorities.
“We see it as the town’s version of the Mega-Civics, a place where they’re trying to deal with all the different environmental pressures for the town,” said Ms. Gillooly, referring to the North Fork Civics coalition of civic groups. “Trustee permits are being reviewed by Trustees, a lot of times by the DEC and sometimes the Army Corps. We have all these agencies looking at everything within 100 feet, and no one looking at anything at 101 feet and up.”
Southold Town Trustee President Glenn Goldsmith and Ms. Gillooly had given an overview of several of their proposed changes at the Town Board’s July 22 work session.
Chief among their requests were to change the setback from wetlands for pools from 50 to 60 feet and to add clear definitions for several items that are now a regular part of Trustee applications, including “open grate decking”, “innovative/alternative septic systems” and “vegetated non-turf buffer.”
“We all know everyone is trying to push the limit as close as they can get,” said Mr. Goldsmith of the pool setback at the July 22 work session. “It would be prudent, at this time, to start a little bit of coastal retreat.”
“Our goal is to make it easier for the public to understand what it means,” said Ms. Gillooly of the added definitions. “We say these words, at every meeting, and the public doesn’t know what it means.”
Under the proposal, open-grate decking would refer to decking material that allows at least 50 percent of light to filter through, in order to preserve aquatic vegetation and protect the underwater environment. Innovative/Alternative Septic System would refer to nitrogen-reducing septic systems approved by the Suffolk County Board of Health. Vegetated non-turf buffers would be defined as areas maintained to be at least 50 percent covered with non-invasive native vegetation “chosen for their deep root systems to enhance soil stability and water infiltration,” according to a planting plan approved based on site-specific needs.
At the Oct. 7 public hearing, CAC Chair Carol Brown read a letter from the CAC calling the proposal “exceptional.”
“We greatly appreciate the close look, the clear definitions and the attempt to move the town forward with intentional environmental considerations,” she said, adding that the definitions help educate homeowners, builders and realtors.
“We recognize there are environmental changes happening, and to see it reflected in code is very beneficial in moving these concepts into the vernacular,” she read.
She added that reducing the percentage for ordinary maintenance will do a great deal to protect the shoreline from overdevelopment, and the CAC strongly agrees that the current pool setback “is not sufficient to protect homes and property over the next 10 to 25 years. Pushing to 60 feet is a stopgap that will not be sustainable over that time period.”
She said the CAC recommends upping the pool setback to somewhere between 75 and 100 feet.
Ms. Brown said after the meeting that she’s excited about the CAC’s new focus on homeowner education, and the group is also working to organize youth ambassadors to spread the word about the town’s environmental initiatives.
Town Trustee Eric Sepenoski said at the hearing that he’d just come back from a day of Trustee field inspections for wetland permits.
He said his family had once owned a piece of waterfront property on Hallocks Bay, “when Polish farmers had enough money to get together to buy some land,” but New York State had taken the property by eminent domain.
“And thank god they did,” he said. “Because now we have a water body that is one of the most beautiful and pristine water bodies in our township. There’s only a few docks on it, close to the harbor. The rest is something you can kayak, boat, hike, swim and count your blessings that you live here and can access the water in Southold.”
“That’s the kind of spirit I come to you with this evening,” he added. “These water bodies that we’re talking about … are under incredible pressure from development. The money is coming from the South Fork to the North Fork and has for some time, and we regularly engage with applicants, follow our code, and administer that code fairly and efficiently. I ask you to think about weighing the right to a dock versus the public good that all Southolders should be able to enjoy when they navigate the shorelines or ride past these water bodies and see them in their undiminished state.”
Mr. DeLuca, from Group for the East End, said he had seen a similar debate on the South Fork 25 years ago.
The town “is going to be sued by people who don’t like the outcome,” he said. “I encourage you to not give up, so you can put your strongest foot forward.”
“All of these amendments are important, and they reflect what the Comp Plan wanted you to do,” he added, referring to Southold’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan, which took 10 years to draft but has only just begun to be implemented. “Get the buffer language in. Get the language in to allow permits to be reviewed with more clarity. I can’t tell you enough that the sooner you get going on this, the better it is going to be. They’ve suffered mightily on the South Fork, because there’s always a reason to not do anything. Let’s get the Comp Plan moving. It’s been 15 years, and the longer we wait, the harder this is going to be.”
Town Supervisor Al Krupski thanked Mr. Bredemeyer, the former Trustee, for his work on water quality issues in Southold, which spurred the town to remove stormwater outfalls.
“Hashamomack Pond — John Bredemeyer said ‘you gotta do something about stormwater’ and as a result you can swim there and you can shellfish there,” he said.
“There’s a lot of good that has happened here,” he added. “There is a lot of pressure on the waterfront. There was in the mid-80s. Remember the Wall Street money that came out here? It’s sort of the same thing that’s going on today, and it’s terribly complicated. But there’s a lot of people here who’ve lived here for a long time who appreciate it, and a lot of people who just moved here recently who appreciate it just as much.”
Mr. Krupski said, while he wasn’t opposed in theory to closing the public hearing and voting on the legislation that evening, he wanted the board to take some time to address the comments.
“This really is about finding a balance between the public good and the private good,” agreed Councilman Greg Doroski. “We need to find a delicate balance, which has brought us to where we are today. We have amazing resources that we all share together.”
Councilwoman Jill Doherty, a former Trustee, agreed.
“We’ve made changes along the way,” she added. “I would like to take a look at the changes again and move forward with it.”
Ms. Gillooly recommended the board “separate out any concerning parts and make those a separate issue,” suggesting they vote on just the non-controversial portions of the proposal.
“The community is not worried about definitions,” she said.
The Town Board held the public hearing open for written comments only through its Nov. 5 meeting. Comments may be emailed to Town Clerk Denis Noncarrow at denisn@southoldtownny.gov.
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