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PV Residents Want Good Neighbor Laws for Dog Walkers and Outdoor Boilers
Oil co-op formation will help PV residents save on fuel
by Edward Paul Greiff
Putnam Valley residents want dog walkers to clean up after their pets. Frustrated homeowners attending the October 8, 2008 Putnam Valley Town Board public hearing on a proposed new "pooper scooper" law say it's time for clean up to be mandatory. Under the present situation, it is illegal to allow a dog to defecate on a neighbor's lawn, but the Town laws do not explicitly say the dog owner must clean it up. The amended law being proposed, under Section 51-7 of the Town Code now "requires dog owners to remove fecal material deposited by their dogs on property other than that of the dog owner."
Supervisor Tendy, the Town Board, and Town Attorney Bill Zutt all agree that it is something a good neighbor should automatically do but it appears that some people just don't get the message. This law is scheduled for adoption at the October 15, 2008 regular Town Board meeting.
Another good neighbor law, but one more complicated and costly, pertains to the installation and use of outdoor wood boilers. Some of the present owners of these units apparently burn whatever they want in them and as a result they send pollutants and obnoxious fumes into the environment. However, it doesn't have to be that way, they said. Several owners of these wood boilers who attended the public hearing and explained the proper way to use these fuel saving devices.
One such owner, Mr. Vinny Goodman said he uses his wood burning boiler all year round to heat hot water as well as, as an alternative to oil. In fact he says he has not used his oil burner since last January. He uses the wood boiler for bathing, laundry and washing dishes. "If used correctly the only smoke you see is some white smoke initially when you first start the fire. That's the water content of the wood escaping as steam but once that is gone all you see is the heat waves coming from the unit." They all agreed clean dry wood provides the best heat.
These units cost approximately $10,000 plus plumbing. These expenses prompted Sam Davis to recommend that the Board not only consider a law to cover the use of these wood boilers, but to also include a permitting process for installing such a unit. This would explain the installation and operation requirements to homeowners before they spend money for a wood boiler.
A key requirement is to have sufficient open space surrounding the outdoor wood boiler so any smoke or fumes dissipate harmlessly into the atmosphere. It is being recommended that these boilers can only be used on properties that are five or more acres, and that are not in congested residential zones such as R1 or R2. But this requirement raised a question of interpretation since one of the present owners of a wood- burning boiler lives on seven acres in an R2 zone. Can he operate his wood burning boiler? This is just one of the several questions being asked of Town Attorney Bill Zutt as he and the Town Board struggle to come up with a law that is effective yet fair to those homeowners who have made, or are about to make, an investment in this alternative energy device.
Another discrepancy in the law comes with this wording, "(the) outdoor wood boiler shall not be installed within 500 feet of an existing dwelling (other than the dwelling for which it provides a heat source) or lot line and not within 1,500 feet of any school, child day-care center, nursery or preschool, house of worship, restaurant or delicatessen, as defined in Chapter 165 of the code of the Town of Putnam Valley. The chimney of each outdoor wood boiler shall be at least two feet higher than the highest point of the ridge of the dwelling it serves, and must be equipped with a spark arrestor."
Councilman Eugene Yetter raised enough questions about the 500-foot measurement that this section is being rewritten and the distance reduced to 300 feet.
The proposed law calls for allowing seasonal operation from October 1 through April 30, but as a member of the audience pointed out earlier, he uses his wood burning boiler year round to heat water.
There are other discrepancies that need revision and Town Attorney Bill Zutt will be working on them. When the law is introduced existing users of wood burning boilers will have sixty days in which to apply for a permit to grandfather in their wood boilers. Failure to do so will result in a violation in which the Respondent has thirty days to respond or face fines up to $500 and a suspension of a permit to operate the boiler.
A revised outdoor wood boiler law" is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 6pm.
Before the meeting ended Councilwoman Wendy Whetsel brought up the formation of an oil co-op which is an idea she has been working on. Residents of Putnam Valley who join this co-op for a fee of about $5 can purchase home heating oil for 30 cents above wholesale cost. Ms. Whetsel is modeling her plan after the co-op plan the Town of Cortlandt has adopted. She is doing this through the Putnam Valley Residents Energy Coalition.
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