Town Attorney Stephen F. Kiely used the ‘bundle of sticks’ metaphor to brief the Town Board on TDRs — Transfer of Development Rights. And he said the proposed addition to Town Code could take months to enact.
First up during the work session, Supervisor Amber Brach-William provided a COVID-19 update, noting that Shelter Island has reported 142 cases since the start of the pandemic. That’s two patients more than a week ago. In addition, Suffolk County’s positivity rate is 3.3 percent on a seven-day rolling average, down 2 percent from a week ago.
“So we continue to trend in a good direction,” she said.
Mask mandates have been lifted, with individual businesses operating according to their preferences. For example, fully-vaccinated patrons can go without masks at the FIT Center.
“If you are unvaccinated, you’re still required to wear a mask,” she said.
She said that senior programs are again in person, with masks required except when eating. The Town has free test kits available; you can pick them up at Town Hall or the Shelter Island Public Library.
TDRs and the ‘bundle of sticks’ metaphor
Next, the Town Board heard from Kiely about steps to enact proposed Transfer of Development Rights legislation.
Code amendments would enable the Town to bank development rights when preserving open space. These “banked” rights could be transferred to other properties to increase allowable density for specific projects, such as affordable housing.
“We’ve had the ability to do this since 2006,” said Supervisor Gerry Siller, “but for whatever reason, the Town chose not to do it. So we’re putting this in place, now.”
Kiely reached back to what he called Law School 101 to explain how TDRs work, using the example of a bundle of sticks to represent a property owner’s collection of rights.
“Each stick reflects a right,” he said. “So, for example, you have the right to sell the
property. You have the right to clear trees. You have the right to keep people off the property. You have the right to use the property in ways that conform with zoning.”
“You’re allowed to build structures that conform with zoning, and you have the right to discharge wastewater onto that property,” he said.
The transfer of development rights occurs when an authorized entity — such as a municipality — obtains one or more of those rights, typically through a purchase. The right is then extinguished forever on that property, but the Town can transfer it to another parcel.
“The property that the right is sold from is called the sending parcel, and the property that the right is being used on is the receiving parcel,” he said.
State law enables a Town to set up a bank to hold the rights stripped from sending parcels before conveying them to receiving lots.
For example, former Town Attorney Bob DeStefano had prepared a draft local law to enable the Town to use septic allowances from one preserved parcel to support additional sanitary flow to support affordable housing.
A long process
But Kiely said there’s much more to it than simply enacting a local law.
To set up a TDR bank, the Town has to follow a long process that includes preparing a generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Kiely described this as a study to “systematically consider significant adverse environmental impacts, alternatives, and mitigation.”
The Town needs to hire a consultant who will first prepare a TDR Program Planning Report, which commences with a scoping process to determine specific areas of study — “getting rid of the ancillary stuff and focusing the study,” Kiely said.
The scoping process will take at least 60 days. The Town should allow another 45 days for the consultant to prepare the draft GEIS, with a mandatory public review period of 60 days. He said the Town can hold a public hearing but doesn’t have to.
Once the GEIS is deemed final, there is a 10-day waiting period before the Town Board can adopt it. After that, the Town can set a hearing for the requisite amendments to Town Code. In short, the process will take at least 175 days to complete.
The immediate next step is for the Town to seek a qualified consultant by issuing a request for proposals. Kiely will work with the Town Engineer to draft an RFP for the Town Board to approve.
Bride’s family requests brief road closure
The board also heard from the father of a bride planning a traditional Indian wedding ceremony with 50 to 60 guests at The Ram’s Head Inn next August. The ceremony includes the groom arriving astride a white horse amid a procession known as a Baraat.
The family asked that the second Ram Island causeway be closed to accommodate the Friday, August 26 morning procession. Shelter Island Police Chief James J. Read Jr. said the police and highway departments could work together to close one lane for the requested 90-minute period.
Once the family submits specific details, Read said he’d come up with an estimate for personnel costs so the Town Board could set the appropriate assembly permit fee.
Rajan Mehndiratta, the bride’s father, said he anticipated little need for additional parking. Most guests will stay at The Ram’s Head or arrive from nearby accommodations by bus the family has hired. A professional manager will handle and clean up after the specially-trained horse. Amplified music and drumming will be provided but will travel along with the procession, ending on the inn’s beach.
Councilman Jim Colligan said the Town might want to require extra parking in case Islanders want to “come up and with their cameras and take pictures and see something that culturally they’ve never witnessed before.”
Mehndiratta said that while the family understands this may be first for Shelter Island, the procession is part of the wedding celebration and isn’t generally open to the public.
Colligan replied, “I’m just telling you, human nature is what it is. That you will get some spectators that want to witness it.”
Several Ram Island neighbors weighed in, expressing concerns about parking, traffic tie-ups, and emergency service access. Others objected, generally, to allowing a private event — hosted at The Ram’s Head Inn, a for-profit company — to spill over onto a public road.
Siller tasked the Town Attorney with writing up a permit that includes necessary stipulations for Town Board review at a future work session.
History Center parking
The Shelter Island Historical Society has asked to use the town-owned lot adjacent to the History Center for parking in 2022. Events include the Havens Farmers Market, which runs Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In addition, the SIHS is planning another musical, a summer youth program, and a 100th-anniversary celebration.
“This is a kind of a rubber stamp that we do every year,” Siller said. Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar said she’d prepare a resolution for the next Town Board meeting.
RFPs for beach businesses?
The board also debated how to handle multiple applications from entities wanting to provide similar services on Town Beaches. For example, the Town typically permits four businesses at Crescent Beach: a food truck, a massage therapist, a paddleboard rental service, and a launch to fetch people from boats anchored near the beach.
But already this year, three companies have applied to run a launch service. As a result, the board decided to follow the Town Attorney’s advice and advertise a request for proposals for the launch service.
In response to concerns about having to select the highest bidder, Kiely said, “You don’t have to exclusively look at the highest bidder. There are other criteria that you could use.”
For example, he said a business with a proven track record of providing service in the location might be preferable to a startup. Kiely said he would work with the Town Clerk’s office to develop the RFP. The board agreed to set an application deadline of March 31.
Other business
Kiely will also work on regulations for amendments to town permits, as requests have become more frequent to change plans after permission is in place. He said he’ll clarify parameters governing when a project has so materially altered that a new permit is needed.
Siller said the Taylor’s Island Foundation is requesting permission to seek a grant to enable virtual tours of the Island and the historic Smith-Taylor cabin. A board resolution is needed to allow the work, which the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation would fund.
Lastly, the board considered a proposal to divvy up the remaining budgeted salary for Craig Wood, who resigned from his post as Town Assessor in December. A portion of the remaining salary, $5,000, would cover part-time consulting support by former Assessor Al Hammond.
The remainder would support additional hours for the other two Town Assessors, tasked with doing the work of three while preparing the new assessment roll by the end of April. Brach-Williams said she’d supply figures to the Town Clerk to draw up a resolution.
In a related matter, the Town Board will schedule a discussion on whether to continue with elected assessors (only 4 percent of NYS towns do so) or appoint a professional.
On behalf of the Recreation Committee, Colligan requested a reduction from seven to five members in keeping with the current roster. “We feel very comfortable that we have a good working group,” Colligan said. The Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and Green Options Committee have also requested resolutions re-setting membership levels to match current rosters.
Brach-Williams said the Happy Ground Hog LLC had dropped a rebate request for one of two I/A systems anticipated during the construction of a new house and cottages on Manwaring Road. As a result, the Town Board must amend the resolution approving the rebates to reflect the change.
The Town Clerk said the board would also have to adopt resolutions to appoint certain committee members who have failed to show up to take their respective oaths of office, despite her efforts to contact them by multiple means.
Board member reports
Colligan noted that the Conservation Advisory Council could not meet as planned for lack of a quorum. Still, he could bring new committee members up to speed regarding ongoing projects. In addition, he said he’d brief the Town Board at a future meeting about the goings-on at the Peconic Estuary Partnership, where he is Shelter Island liaison and chair of the local government committee.
Councilwoman Meg Larsen reported on the Comprehensive Plan Update; the citizens advisory committee is reviewing a vision statement and plan outline and will have a public report at its February 28 meeting.
Brach-Williams updated the board on the highway department plan to purchase a new loader and how a change in the Town’s IT department means less reliance on outside vendors for certain services.
Also, she said the Zoning Board of Appeals would soon be asking the Town Board to tweak Town Code to require 30-day advance notice to nearby neighbors of any action before the ZBA, not just variance requests.
Councilwoman BJ Ianfolla said she and Larsen toured the Sylvester Manor property with Executive Director Stephen Searl and Sara Gordon, the Manor’s planning consultant. The nonprofit is embarking on a restoration project for the 1735 Manor House.
“It was nice to get that tour and also a lot of reading materials,” Ianfolla said. “And to see what their hopes and dreams are.”
Regarding the project, Ianfolla said, “it’s significant because they want to do it right, according to good preservation standards. And that’s going to be expensive. But, that being said, it needs attention.”
Siller noted that the Town’s new code enforcement officer is “digging deep” into the short-term rental software. “There’s a lot of potential there that we never really took advantage of.”
