Government Briefs 03.15.12

East Hampton Town

Accabonac Excavation

    The East Hampton Town Trustees will hold a special meeting today starting at 10 a.m. in their Bluff Road, Amagansett, office. The subject will be the excavation of the entrance to Accabonac Harbor.

Draft New Lighting Law

    Councilwoman Theresa Quigley and members of a lighting code committee presented a new draft of outdoor lighting legislation on Tuesday. The draft will be reviewed by town board members and discussed at a future meeting.

    Key elements reviewed by Ms. Quigley include a provision that light sources not be visible beyond property lines and that light falling onto a neighboring property may not be in excess of a proscribed amount, “unless required for safety and security,” according to the draft. The proposal also calls for all exterior light sources to be energy efficient and to be positioned at an angle of 90 degrees or below, with several exceptions, including uplighting of trees and of historic buildings and museums that are not in a residential zone.

    The proposed law would allow any legally pre-existing outdoor lighting not meeting the new requirement to remain. Those building something new, or renovating more than 50 percent of a property, would be required to comply with the new rules. Others doing work that requires a building permit would be required to comply with the new law only on that portion of the premises that is being improved.

    In order to have time to discuss it and then have a hearing on the new law before adopting it, or a revised version, the majority of the town board agreed Tuesday to extend by 60 days a suspension of enforcement of the current lighting law for commercial properties. It was due to expire at the end of this month. Ms. Quigley and Supervisor Bill Wilkinson voted against the extension.