Sea Cliff Village mulls website, changes to building code

Representatives from the village’s Technology Task Force and Subdivision Committee made recommendations to the Board of Trustees during a public comment meeting on Sept. 11. Both groups were established in 2017 with the intent to bring Sea Cliff into the 21st century.

A new village website
In March, resident Liz Baron was appointed co-chair of the Tech Task Force by Deputy Mayor Kevin McGilloway, who serves as co-chair. Over the summer the task force investigated multiple website packages to improve upon the current site, focusing on three themes: transparency, connectivity and efficiency.
“Our goal is to create a digital hub where people can feel more connected to our Sea Cliff community,” Baron said.

In April Baron proposed the idea of managing the website with a “platform-as-a-service” package versus developing a site in-house. The latter enhances site functionality by building, maintaining and operating a software that addresses most public website needs and is easily refineable for client customization.
Five services were evaluated for consideration. Task force members found that Civic CMS, (platform-as-a-service) was most cost-effective: The one-time licensing fee costs about $4,000, and the annual operating fee is approximately $2,000.
Civic CMS also aligned with the three goals, as the service offers wide-range of features to yield greater productivity and operational use across more devices, such as mobile tablets and cell phones. In keeping with the theme of transparency, the improved website would provide an expansive amount of content — including village forms, meeting minutes and other documents —made more readily available for residents. Further, the village would appoint two “user managers” to provide oversight. These managers would post timely and accurate content to the site, thus encouraging more user involvement.
The Tech Task Force is set to proceed with negotiations with Civic CMS, and will hold a public meeting later this month to update residents and solicit their input. The Board of Trustees will vote to approve the final recommendation on Oct. 1. After approval, the new website would be implemented within six to eight weeks.

Revising village code
The Subdivision Committee was created to review and revise the village’s code to provide clarity and strike a balance between healthy, developmental growth while maintaining Sea Cliff’s charm.
In its formative months, the group, which comprises members from the building department, planning board, zoning board and architectural review board, developed a three-pronged approach, aimed at: simplifying the building code; updating the 40-year-old subdivision code; and representing Sea Cliff in determinations with adjoining municipalities regarding “high-impact . . . projects.”
McGilloway, who chairs the committee, said the group put particular focus on subdivisions to reflect the village’s current experience with “overdevelopment” from the Garvies Point Project in Glen Cove and Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor. According to Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy, there are 30 properties in the village with “impactful subdivision potential.”
Building Department Supervisor Shane Dommin said the changes would “enhance village processes” surrounding planning, zoning and building. He proposed a list of immediate recommendations to be considered for enactment next month (see box).
Trustee Dina Epstein, a former member of the zoning board, was impressed with the plan. “Simplifying provisions of the code is a no-brainer,” she said. “It’s something we’ve been asking for for many years.”
But resident Eugene Alletto raised concern about the group making “historic changes” to the code. “The committee should be able to provide the changes in great detail, and we should be ensured that those making decisions for our beautiful one-square mile are qualified,” he said.
The code proposals will also be subject to public comment, and the board will vote on the recommendations in October.