Village considers creating a planning board

The Village of Hewlett Harbor is considering dissolving its Board of Building Design and replacing it with a planning board.

At a public hearing on Sept. 19, trustees said the proposal was made because they believe the Board of Building Design doesn’t have the tools to adequately deal with the complex issues that accompany major renovations. “The current approach as it relates to the BBD is a board that makes suggestions, it has very little teeth,” Mayor Mark Weiss said. “We’ve determined, as a board of trustees, that what we needed was a law… that would give us the teeth that the chair (of the Board of Building Design) has been asking for.”

The mission of the proposed planning board would “seek to promote the welfare and preserve the property values and attractiveness of the village by providing architectural reviews of all external renovations, remodels or additions,” according to village officials. It would also include encouraging designs that match the surrounding houses and preventing designs that may be “offensive [to residents’] visual sensibilities.

The Planning Board would be comprised of five members appointed by the mayor who will serve without compensation. Board members would be residents of Hewlett Harbor and either have experience in architecture, land development, community planning, real estate, landscaping or have been determined to have the civic interest and sound judgment.

Lewis Rosenthal, the chairman of the Board of Building Design thanked the village board for their response to his concerns, including the addition of a “fast path” for minor projects. “At the Board of Building Design we get people who want to put a fence in, people looking to change the siding on their home, simple things,” he said, “typically it doesn’t really impact the neighbors.”

Applications for minor changes would be expedited, as they would be able to be approved without going in front of the Planning Board. Who or what part of village government will decide on minor changes is still being determined.

Another member of the Board of Building design, Elliott Polinsky, was concerned with the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning Board potentially sending mixed messages. “Why can’t we sit down in one meeting to look over plans as a group,?” he asked. “This way the Planning Board doesn’t have to get a plan that’s been approved by the BZA and end up looking at it like what do we do now?”

Charles Casolaro, the village’s attorney, said that the two boards legally aren’t allowed to hold simultaneous public hearings, but most likely would work in tandem.
While board members would serve without compensation the new board will still come at some cost. Lawyers and transcribers are needed to oversee and keep records of all their meeting, but the village board believes the cost will be minimal and worth the benefits.

“Quite honestly, we see this as a pursuit of transparency for the entire review process, which we think was lacking as it was administered in the past,” Weiss sais. “We think all of these things are good. We frankly, after review and after going through conversations with attorneys and villagers and the counsel, we’re hard pressed with reasons why this would not be a good thing to do.”

A final decision is expected be made at the village meeting on Oct. 12 at Village Hall at 449 Pepperidge Road at 7:30 p.m.

Have an opinion on the proposed planning board? Send your letter to the editor to
jbessen@liherald.com.