Trustees’ Meeting Minutes – March 18, 2023

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Village of Dering Harbor
Trustees Meeting
Minutes

March 18, 2023, 9:00 AM

  • The meeting was called to order at 9:02am
  • Attendance- Karen Kelsey (mayor), Brad Goldfarb, Ari Benacerraf, Sam Ashner; absent- Brandon Rose; Wayne Bruyn (village attorney), Donna Ritzmann (stenographer), Claire Kostow, Mickey Kostow, John Colby, Bridg Hunt.
  • A motion to accept the minutes from the January 7th meeting was made by Ari and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor,
  • A motion for a resolution authorizing payment of the outstanding bills abstract was made by Sam and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor.
  • New Business

a. Preliminary Budget Presentation- As budget officer, Sam Ashner presented the 2023/24 tentative budget. He started off thanking the clerk, Vicki Shields, and Patrick Parcells for their help. He provided copies of the budget anyone to review it. Overall, the village will remain under the tax cap limit set by New York State. There will be roughly a 3% increase in total taxes.

A motion to pass a resolution scheduling a public hearing to hear any and all persons either for or against the Annual Estimated and Tentative Budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024 was made by Brad and seconded by Sam. All Board members present voted in favor.

b. A motion to open the Public Hearing – Amend Local Law 180-9 to provide for emergency removal of trees- was made by Sam and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor. Karen gave a synopsis of what has been discussed in the past related to this proposed amendment and how the law would work.

Board comments:

      1. Sam commented that this law is necessary and important.

Public comments:

      1. Eric commented that he thinks it’s a good idea.

A motion to close the public hearing was moved by Sam and seconded by Brad. All Board members voted in favor.

A motion to adopt the following was made by Sam and seconded by Brad. All Board member present voted in favor.

WHEREAS, Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor have proposed a local law amending Ҥ180-9 of Chapter 180 (Trees and Vegetation) of the Code of the Village of Dering Harbor to add a new subsection D (Emergency removal of trees); and

WHEREAS, a public hearing was held on March 18, 2023; and

WHEREAS, the adoption of said local law is considered to be a Type II action under 6 NYCRR §617.5, SEQRA and will not have a significant adverse impact upon the environment;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Local Law No. 1 of 2023 is hereby adopted as follows:

LOCAL LAW NO. 1 OF 2023

A LOCAL LAW amending §180-9 of Chapter 180 (Trees and Vegetation) of the Code of the Village of Dering Harbor to add a new subsection D (Emergency removal of trees)

BE IT ENACTED by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor as follows:

SECTION 1.  Amendment.  Section 180-9 of Chapter 180 (Trees and Vegetation) of the Code of the Village of Dering Harbor to add a new subsection D (Emergency removal of trees) as follows:

  1. Emergency removal of trees. An application for an emergency removal of a hazardous tree may be reviewed and approved by the Mayor or a member of the Board of Trustees designated by the Mayor under the following procedures:

(1)  An application designated as an emergency removal is to be filed with the Village Clerk in the same manner, including required fees, as required in this section.  The application shall include a statement from a certified arborist or other qualified expert and/or a written explanation of the circumstances and conditions that gave rise to the need for immediate emergency removal and the safety reasons why the tree must be removed before the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees. 

(2)  The application for an emergency removal of a hazardous tree shall be forwarded to the Mayor or the designated Trustee by the Village Clerk and the Mayor or the designated Trustee shall be afforded an opportunity to inspect the property and the tree to be removed.

(3)  A waiting period lasting until the end of the second business day following the receipt of the application by the Village Clerk is required before removal action is taken. This waiting period allows time for the Mayor or the designated Trustee to evaluate the tree and communicate his/her findings and decision to the Village Clerk.  If approved, the Village Clerk will issue a permit.  Failure of the Mayor or the designated Trustee to respond by the end of the waiting period shall result in the automatic approval and issuance of a permit.

(4)  Failure of the applicant to submit a complete application or to provide sufficient justification of the circumstances and conditions that gave rise to the need for immediate emergency removal may be grounds for the Mayor or the designated Trustee to defer the review of the application to the Board of Trustees at their next scheduled meeting.

(5)  The emergency procedures herein may be waived when a tree is determined to be dangerous by a police officer, firefighter, public works official or civil defense official acting in his or her professional capacity during or in the aftermath of catastrophic events or states of emergency, or when tree removal is determined to be necessary by Fire Department personnel actively engaged in fighting a fire.

SECTION 2.  Authority.  The proposed local law is enacted pursuant to §4-412 of the New York State Village Law, as well as Municipal Home Rule Law §§10(1)(i), and 10(1)(ii)(a)(12). 

SECTION 3.  Severability.  If any section or subsection, paragraph, clause, phrase, or provision of this law shall be adjudged invalid or held unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, any judgment made thereby shall not affect the validity of this law as a whole, or any part thereof other than the part or provision so adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional. 

SECTION 4.  Effective Date.  This local law shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Village Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to publish the following Notice of Adoption:

NOTICE OF ADOPTION

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that after a public hearing was held on March 18, 2023, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor at their meeting of March 18, 2023 adopted LOCAL LAW NO. __ OF 2023 as follows:  “A Local Law amending §180-9 of Chapter 180 (Trees and Vegetation) of the Code of the Village of Dering Harbor to add a new subsection D (Emergency removal of trees).”

Copies of the adopted law are on file in the Village Hall, Monday, Wednesday or Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon, or by appointment, and on the Village’s website.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
                                                VILLAGE OF DERING HARBOR, NEW YORK

c. Resolution to schedule a Public Hearing on a Local Law amending §30-3 of Chapter 30 (Planning Board) of the Village Code to designate the Board of Trustees as the Planning Board.

Karen explained the intent behind this proposed amendment. It has been a topic discussed over the years. Assembling Boards in the village is often a challenge because of how small the village is. As the Planning Board has only needed to convene twice in the last 20+ years, this board believes it makes more sense to pass the subdivision responsibilities of the Planning Board onto the Board of Trustees. Karen asked Wayne to comment, as this is an action that other local municipalities have taken.

Wayne explained that it is not uncommon in smaller villages for the village board to retain the powers of the Planning Board, particularly where there is not a lot of activity.

A motion to schedule the aforementioned public hearing was made by Sam and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor,

  • Old Business

a. Historic Guidelines Discussion- Brad gave an update. They continue to revise the document with Patrick Ahearn. A lot of progress has been made and he anticipates that they will have something to present at the April meeting.

Karen mentioned that extension of the moratorium on demolition that was passed September 10th has expired.

b. Birman/Gubert Land Acquisition Public Hearing format. Karen explained that the hearing on this matter is scheduled for April 15th. A visit to the site, so that everyone can look at the property in question and discuss, would be useful. It would be part of the public hearing. Bridgford requested that the formal part of the public hearing happen before the visit to the site. Karen confirmed that is what is planned. The public hearing will be opened at village hall and then it will reconvene back at village hall after the site visit is complete.

  • Legal/Litigation Update- Wayne reported that there is no new litigation. He did spend some time in the last month filing papers regarding Mr. Hogue’s parking lot challenge to the ZBA decision. The attorney for Mr. Hogue was out on medical leave for 10-11 months, which is what contributed to the delay.
  • A motion to go into Executive Session at 9:19am to discuss a personnel issue was made by Sam and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor.
  • A motion to resume the Trustees meeting was made by Karen and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor.
  • Date for next regular Trustees meeting- April 15th, 2023
  • A motion to adjourn was made by Sam and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor.
Category: Minutes