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Overwhelming Crowd Turns Out for First Putnam Valley Building Moratorium Public Hearing
by Edward Paul Greiff
A standing-room-only crowd turned out to hear and be heard on the proposed moratorium
The Putnam Valley Firehouse was filled to an overflowing capacity of over 150 residents on May 17, 2006. So much so that the Fire Department Safety Officer, Joe "Pie" had to shut the doors and not allow anyone to enter until someone left the meeting. Those who did get in were treated to an evening of drama that ranged from loud shouts to a jingle titled "D-E-V-E-L-O-P" sung to a banjo accompaniment, to a battery of attorneys who articulated all the reasons why the proposed all-encompassing building moratorium is illegal, would result in a deluge of law suits against the Town, and that the Town is doing this all backwards.
In between all this were Putnam Valley committee chairpersons expressing their support for the proposed moratorium because it was needed in order to address the Town's development problems, inconsistencies and ambiguities in its Building Code and Zoning Laws.
Forty-five minutes was allotted for the public hearing but after two and a half hours and some twenty people expressing their opinions, the public hearing was terminated and adjourned until June 7, 2006. That meeting will start at 6:30 pm and take place at a larger facility at the Firehouse and continue for as long as it takes.
Although each speaker said it a little differently, essentially they reiterated comments that have been made before but not adopted for various reasons by Supervisor Davis and the Town Board. The comments made by attorney David Steinmetz sums up the feelings of most of the speakers opposing the moratorium. He said, "I am not here tonight to say that moratoria across the board are unlawful, improper, or shouldn't be examined. They are legitimate land use tools but they have to be used appropriately, they have to have a rational basis, there has to be a valid purpose for it, there's got to be a legitimate durational time, there's got to be a good faith basis for doing it, and they are not supposed to be utilized simply for dilatory tactics."
Attorney Steinmetz went on to talk about specific types of properties that could be targeted and that the Town needs to know exactly what type of property and projects they are really aiming at. He was still not clear about the purpose of the moratorium and encouraged the Board to clarify and articulate their goals at the next public hearing.
All those opposed to the moratorium felt that most single houses and developments of four homes or less that are already in the pipeline should be allowed to continue to final approval. Those projects that are larger should be allowed to continue at their own risk up to final approval. All commercial projects should be exempt from the moratorium. Marie Zarcone made a point about commercial development when she said that the school budget was turned down because we don't have enough commercial base to support it and the taxpayers are being hit very hard.
Planning Board Chairman Billy Lee Crowder made a point of recommending that the moratorium should focus on three areas: inconsistencies and ambiguities, sub-divisions, and the establishment of a Biodiversity district. He recommended the Town Board immediately adopt all of the previous work and recommendations made by the previous Master Plan Committee and implement the revised laws that attorney Bill Zutt and Chazin Planner Jan Johansen worked on to eliminate inconsistencies and ambiguities in existing Zoning laws.
Subsequent to the public hearing, Supervisor Davis has said the Town Board has already begun revising the proposed moratorium based upon the comments made at the public hearing. He said he was surprised and glad that so many people showed up for the hearing and he hopes they show up again at the next public hearing scheduled for June 7 at 6:30 at the Firehouse.
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