After having received the Suffolk County Planning Commission's approval to impose a moratorium until March 1 on commercial redevelopment in Sag Harbor Village's waterfront areas, the village board voted in favor of the proposed law at a meeting on Tuesday.
The law will suspend the village planning board's authority to grant approval of site plans, special permits, and subdivisions while the village undertakes a study of the areas and refines the zoning code to better manage development and protect water views. The moratorium will prevent businesses from redeveloping properties before those code changes are in place. The law will take effect after being filed with New York's secretary of state.
The village plans to work with the Nelson, Pope, and Voorhis engineering firm and the Form-Based Codes Institute, a nonprofit organization that helps municipalities develop regulations that guide the shape and size of buildings.
James Larocca of the village board raised concerns about the way the study would be conducted, and abstained from the vote. He had sought to have the village's waterfront planning committee, a group formed to oversee the study, include a representative from an environmental group and two village residents who would be directly affected by the moratorium and, ultimately, the zoning code changes.
The board instead passed a resolution that will allow each board member to attend the waterfront planning committee's meetings.
