Thursday, October 1, 2026
A proposal for codification services to review the Village of Bayville’s codes was introduced by the Board of Trustees at the Feb. 24 meeting, an effort to begin a lengthy process that could update the codes for the entire village. General Code, a company in Rochester that has worked with municipalities for decades, has been hired to conduct the initial study. Mayor Bob De Natale has estimated that to redo the codes it would cost roughly $100,000.
“The codes are redundant and antiquated,” he said. “Codes like that we can’t have a blacksmith shop in the village are ridiculous. That’s how old these codes are.”
De Natale said the village is not looking to make drastic changes. It is hoping to update existing codes to make them current with what is typical in other municipalities. After General Code completes its study it will make recommendations that the village can consider, De Natale said.
Trustee Bob Nigro said it’s also important to take a look at the codes to be certain that they are consistent with each other. “People need to know what the law is and it needs to be comprehensible and applied,” he said. “If there are provisions in the code that are inconsistent they need to be changed.”
And new issues may be found that will need to also be considered. “This is a way to maintain confidence among our residents,” Nigro said. “If we ignore this it’s irresponsible on our part.”
22 Bayville Ave.
Richard Mohring shared his frustrations with the board regarding 22 Bayville Ave., which is where the Pig ‘N Whistle restaurant was once located. Mohring, the developer and owner of the property, had planned for luxury apartments upstairs and a commercial endeavor downstairs. But after two years he said he has had no interest from commercial businesses and is having trouble obtaining financing.
After Subway conducted a drive-by study during the summer, Mohring said he was notified that his location didn’t meet the number of people required for the store to open there. He told the board that he’s asked for assistance from a broker as well as advertised. Mohring even asked the Bayville Library if it was interested in renting some of the space. It wasn’t.
“We were going to rent to individual offices in the downstairs which is 500 square feet,” Mohring said, “but that didn’t take off either.”
Saying that he had run out of ideas, Mohring asked the village to reconsider the requirements for the downstairs and allow for four townhouses.
When Nigro asked Mohring if he could sell the townhouses he said that people have already made offers.
“This has come as a complete surprise,” said De Natale, offering to do a study. “We are sympathetic. It’s difficult to attract anyone down there or retail anywhere. We do have our share here of empty stores.”
There have been recent business closures on Bayville Avenue, including a certified public accountant, and a hair salon, which De Natale said had been in Bayville for decades.
Nigro said after the meeting that renting commercial space in smaller villages is a problem. “We aren’t even a pass through village, we are the end of the line,” he said. “We lost a pharmacy recently too.”
Bayville is a summer destination and it is hard for any business to operate in the winter, he said. “We do what we can to encourage businesses but it’s hard to find people willing to put money and effort into a business in a small village,” Nigro said.
The Arts Council, he said, is considering occupying vacant spaces and encouraging artists to rent space in these buildings too.
As for whether Mohring’s request for townhouses would be considered, Nigro said that the village would need to first receive a proposal.
