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Building Moratorium Again the Subject of Discussion at Cold Spring Board Workshop
HV Hospital to rectify some code violations at Butterfield
by Michelle Woods
Cold Spring Village Trustees raised the issue of a building moratorium again at the February 6, 2007 weekly workshop of the Cold Spring Village Board. After discussing the issue the previous week, Trustees Karen Dunn and Ed Mancari attended an informal talk by attorney Bill Florence on "What is a Moratorium?" on February 3rd. Mancari reported that, as a result of the talk, they had a "much clearer understanding" of the role of moratoria, and the Trustees decided that the issue should be put before the newly-appointed "Special Board" that is examining the Village's Master Plan.
The Trustees reported that a moratorium can be used to put a halt to the development of a parcel of land in the Village, in order for the Village to consider that development as it relates to the Village Masterplan. Dunn stated that the use of moratoria was "worth a very serious consideration" and that it was "almost irresponsible not to consider" the use of moratoria. Worried that "we're going too fast," Mayor Phillips thought it a complex legal issue to put to an only-newly-created Special Board, but it was agreed that the Board of Trustees should ask Bill Florence, and possibly others with experience, to talk to members of the Special Board.
Trustee Phillip Heffernan, who announced his candidacy for Mayor last week, was concerned they start the process soon because he felt a delay would make it look as if the idea of a moratorium was "specifically oriented towards a specific project." The Trustees agreed that any moratorium issued should be broad and not reactive to the development of land such as the Butterfield Hospital or Marathon sites, but instead act as part of the Village Masterplan. Trustee Heffernan noted that the Marathon property was now "in foreclosure" and that "ownership is questioned."
After meeting with the Hudson Valley Hospital Center, Mayor Anthony Phillips stated that the HVHC were now "aware" of the fire violations at the Butterfield Hospital site that were reported to the Board recently. He said that HVHC "admitted they were in error," regarding the confidential patient and personnel files left unlocked in the building.
HVHC reported to "have no objection to" the majority of the violations pointed out by the Fire Inspector, Mayor Phillips added, and they will send an official letter to the Village stating how they will address the violations. However, they pointed out that they did not feel it necessary to rectify some of the maintenance issues, such as the peeling paintwork and the leaking roof, as they are in the process of selling the site. Bidding for the Butterfield Hospital site begins on February 15th.
In another ongoing issue, Mayor Phillips had asked Village Attorney Stephen Tomann to explain the meaning of a recent decision from the Federal Court of Appeals, stemming from a lawsuit brought against the Village by Donald Lusk. The lawsuit filed by Lusk stemmed from violations that were issued to him by the Village of Cold Spring Building Inspector on July 19, 2004, charging Lusk with 6 violations of the Village's Zoning Codes: 2 under Chapter 104 of the Code, entitled "Signs and Placards"; 2 under Chapter 134 entitled, "Zoning"; and 2 under Chapter 64 entitled "Historic District."
The court directed the lower court to re-examine the case in light of the Appeals Court's opinions which are lengthy and open to public inspection. The conflict that appears to be at the heart of the matter is the balance between two opposing desires, free speech under the 1st amendment and the Village's desire to maintain the appearance of the historic district.
The question of whether the Village should demand, under its laws, that all signs require a permit, proved a contentious one amongst Trustees. Trustee Seth Gallagher felt it "was not quite right that you need to apply [for a permit] to make a statement," and asked whether it was not "a little bit crazy" to have to do so. Trustees Gallagher and Heffernan thought permit exemptions should be made for "protest signs" or "politically-based" or "religiouslybased" signs, and Gallagher suggested that the whole issue "bears thinking about" further.
The Village Board meets in a weekly workshop every Tuesday at 7:30pm, except on the second Tuesday of the month when they meet at 7:30pm for their monthly meeting.
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