Sea Cliff Village Board Notes 8.8.16 Meeting
VILLAGE TO BEGIN CLOSING OPEN BUILDING PERMITSAugust 10, 2016 -- In a presentation to the Mayor and Trustees at this past Monday’s Sea Cliff Village Board Meeting, Buildings Superintendent Drew Lawrence said that with 1433 open Building Permits, he would like to begin the process of closing the vast majority of them - those which have technically expired. Under Sea Cliff Village code, building permits are valid for one year during which the work is completed, inspections done, and other requirements fulfilled, with the resident given the opportunity to apply for two six-month extensions. Under state law, Mr. Lawrence said,there must be an opening date and a closing date for the permit. However, he explained that “it has been the friendly nature of the Building Department to keep them in an open condition” as it makes life easier for people when they have to sell their home or get a permit to do additional work.
Of the more than 1400 open permits, only 242 are younger than two years old. He estimated that about 1000 have been open for more than five years. For the bulk of the permits, he said, the work has been done, but the final paperwork indicating that the work passed inspection or that the homeowner fulfilled other requirements was never submitted. He continued that the glut of open permits has created a paperwork and storage problem and as a result he has had to get an additional file cabinet to store them. The Mayor, Trustees, and Mr. Lawrence speculated that there are a variety of reasons why people do not close permits. Some are concerned about the impact that the renovations or work can have on their taxes and others were under the belief that the Contractor would take care of it. Sometimes, Mr. Lawrence said, the projects are small jobs with the contractor finishing the work and never returning to be present or help the homeowner through the inspection. As for one’s tax bill, Mayor Kennedy said that when a homeowner receives a permit it is submitted to the county, and their assessment will be affected regardless of whether the work is done or the permit closed. Mr. Lawrence explained that an open permit becomes a major problem for homeowners when they go to sell their house or when they seek another building permit for additional work to be done. He recommended to the Board that a letter be sent out to those residents who have had open permits for more than a year reminding them of that fact and that a deadline be established for closing them. Mayor Kennedy and the Trustees agreed. Mr. Lawrence said that he would begin drafting a letter and run it by them for their approval before sending it out. BUTTERFLY GARDEN AT MARDEN TRIANGLETrustee Dina Epstein encouraged residents to visit the recently constructed butterfly garden at Marden Triangle. She thanked Sue Giordano, and Billy Laderer as well as Robin Maynard and the rest of the Village Board for their efforts in bringing the garden to fruition.
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EXTERIOR RENOVATIONS TO SEA CLIFF VILLAGE HALL NOW COMPLETE“The Building hasn’t looked this good for a hundred years,” said Mayor Bruce Kennedy at this past Monday’s Village Board Meeting announcing that the exterior renovations of Village Hall and the Library have been completed. Much of the cost of the waterproofing, restoration, and acid washing of the brick facade were covered by a grant from New York State. The Mayor said said that the village is now planning to do interior renovations, that will focus on ceilings, the lighting, and flooring. The Village has just submitted an application to New York State for a grant totaling nearly $400,000 for the work. “We are looking to create a place we can be proud to invite people into,” Mayor Kennedy said.
VILLAGE RECEIVES $35,000 GRANT TO DIGITIZE RECORDS The Village received a $35,000 records management grant from the NYS Archives Local Government Record Improvement Fund to inventory, sequence and store the inactive records currently located in the Village Hall basement. The award will also implement NYS Archives compliant polices and procedures as well as standardized storage to the record series which reaches back to 1883. This is in addition to a $75,000 grant the village received through the same program two years ago to create digital images of the Building Department records. Both grants were awarded through a statewide competitive application. Sea Cliff's award is one of only two in Nassau County this year. CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS DISPOSAL RULES AT DPW YARD Mayor Kennedy stated in his monthly “Mayor’s Report” that use of the Department of Public Works yard on Altamont Avenue for the disposal of debris from large construction projects has increased significantly, with often truckloads coming in. He reminded those present at the meeting that unlike disposal for household items, small amounts of debris, recycled items and yard waste, that there is a fee of $25 to $50 per truckload for the disposal of construction debris. “We are getting resistance from many residents to pay any fee,” he said, and that at times DPW workers have been challenged by residents over the fee, some even having used his name in an effort to get it waived. He asked that residents be cooperative and understand that when DPW workers seek to collect that fee that they are just doing their job, and that residents are required to pay it. |