Town of Huntington, NY - News Details

At its September 17 meeting, the Huntington Town Board fulfilled provisions of a 2017 agreement with the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) to establish a “Green Zone” for the maintenance of the grounds at Heckscher Park and Huntington Town Hall by approving the purchase of electric-charged equipment to reduce noise and emissions pollution; approved up to $175,000 in Open Space funding to establish a butterfly park at Burr Road Park; and scheduled various public hearings including resolutions considering changes to the C-6 Zoning Code to ensure appropriate development in Huntington Village.

The Town Board approved up to $100,000 in Open Space (EOSPA) Park Improvement funding and $75,000 in Open Space (EOSPA) Neighborhood Parks funding to establish a butterfly park at Burr Road Park, a project that will be overseen by Town’s Department of Engineering Services, the concept derived with input from the Commack School District and plantings recommended by the Town’s Department of Planning and Environment, consisting of an ADA-accessible concrete pathway, large butterfly garden, berry garden, flowering trees, a new gateway to link to the adjoining Burr Intermediate School, flagpole and picnic tables, with the school partnering to help with plantings and use of the site for educational programs.

“Preserving and fortifying our green space in the Town of Huntington is a priority of my administration, in addition to the educational opportunities this future butterfly park will offer our local students, the beautiful recreational aspect of this park will add to the world-class attractions Huntington offers,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci, whose staff has been working closely with the Town Departments and the Commack School District to see this project to fruition.

The Town Board fulfilled provisions of a 2017 agreement with the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) to establish a “Green Zone” for the maintenance of the grounds at Heckscher Park and Huntington Town Hall with electric-charged equipment to reduce noise and emissions pollution, approving a nomination from the Department of General Services to purchase up to $40,000 in battery-powered equipment including blowers, trimmers, hedge trimmers, edgers, and a lawn tractor with related batteries and charging station, with Open Space (EOSPA) Land and Park Improvement funding approved by the EOSPA and ACEERS Committees, that will enable certification of these Town properties as AGZA-recognized Green Zones.

As laid out in measures proposed by Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci, Councilman Eugene Cook and Councilman Ed Smyth in a September 12 press conference, the Town Board voted to schedule public hearings for the Wednesday, October 16, 2019 Town Board meeting at 7:00 PM to consider:

• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 198 (Zoning), Article IV (Commercial Districts) and Article VII (Off-Street Parking); regulating the size and scale of C-6 zoned development for mixed-use buildings: establishing a 38-foot height limit on all new mixed-use buildings (excluding the Huntington Station Overlay District, which will remain at 45 feet); establishing a Floor-Area Ratio (FAR) requirement to control building density (excluding the Huntington Station Overlay District), which is the ratio of square footage in the building to lot size, for both existing buildings (2.5 FAR) and for new construction (1.5 FAR), with more restrictive density requirements for new construction; to promote economic activity and eliminate mixed-use projects that are essentially residential buildings in disguise, the new requirements limit storage or community space to no more than 15% of the ground floor, which was intended to be reserved for commercial activity; for aesthetic purposes, the establishment of parking in the front of existing buildings converting to mixed-use will be prohibited.
• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter A202 (Subdivision and Site Plan Regulations); establishing new requirements for Planning Board site plan review in the Huntington Village Hamlet Center: requiring traffic impact analysis; requiring sewer and system capacity impact analysis in the Huntington Sewer District, requiring the Departments of Environmental Waste Management and the Department of Planning and Environment to review the project’s sanitary use projections prior to the submission of the site plan, where if the joint review determines it will have a detrimental impact, the application will not be entertained by the Town; requiring compliance with the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, requiring applications to comply with drainage system requirements and if the requirement cannot be satisfied by the applicant, payment must be made to the Town to fund the required drainage, storm water runoff, and water quality improvements, deposited in the Drainage Impact Fee Account for improvements to be installed by the Huntington Highway Department; requiring the Historic Preservation Commission to advise the Planning Board with architectural review on new buildings, front facades, exterior additions or alterations above 1,000 sq. ft., and any type of demolition; architectural guidelines to ensure a building's design is consistent with its location; requiring the height and setback of the building to be similar to that of surrounding buildings, designed to complement existing neighborhood aesthetics.
• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 198 (Zoning), Article VII (Off Street Parking); eliminating the ability to use the Town's newly acquired municipal parking lots in the Huntington Village Hamlet Center, which has been identified as the area in the Town which has the greatest need for additional parking, to satisfy parking requirements for new development, reserving any property acquired on or after September 1, 2019 for municipal parking, such as the former Chase Bank property at 295 New York Avenue, for the purpose of supporting existing businesses and residents; Special Use Permit rules would not be changed for existing municipal parking lots, so the existing rights of property owners would not be changed.

   

  The Town Board scheduled additional public hearings for the Wednesday, October 16, 2019 Town Board meeting at 7:00 PM to consider:

   

• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 156 (Property Maintenance; Nuisances), Article III (Miscellaneous Nuisances); to strengthen enforcement against unlawful disposal of water from swimming pools, man-made ponds, basements, washing machines, pumps and other sources upon private or public lands, abutting streets, sidewalks or roadways.
• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 170 (Stormwater Management), Article I (Illicit Discharges and Connections); to prohibit the connection of any pipe, hose, or equipment to the Town of Huntington’s stormwater management system, its drains, catch basins, leaching pools, recharge basins, sumps or other component part thereof and strengthen the Town’s enforcement activity against such acts.
• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 159 (Recreational Facilities), Article II (Use Regulations and Restrictions), §159-22 (Merchandising, Advertising and Signs); to allow the Town to enter into agreements for third-party advertising on Town property for the purposes of participating in a Suffok County Shared Services bike share program and for naming rights or sponsorship agreements at Town recreational facilities to generate new revenue streams for the Town.
• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 198 (Zoning), Article I (General Provisions), §198-2 (Definitions and Word Usage), Article XIV (Signs and Advertising Devices), §198-92 (Permitted Signs), §198-93 (Prohibited Signs); to allow the Town to enter into agreements for third-party advertising on Town property supporting proposed changes to Chapter 159.
• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 93 (Civil Remedies) and Chapters 50 (Public Nuisances), 73 (Advertising; Distribution of Circulars), 74 (Affordable Housing), 76 (Alcoholic Beverages), 78 (Animals), 91 (Carnivals, Circuses, Fairs and Amusement Events), 92 (Clothes Drop-Off Bins), 97 (Consumer Protection), 99 (Dix Hills Water District), 104 (Electrical Standards and Regulations), 108 (Film Permits), 109 (Firearms), 111 (Fire Prevention Code), 115 (Games of Chance), 117 (Solid Waste Management; Collection, Recycling and Disposal), 119 (Graffiti), 120 (Harbors and Waterways), 124 (Housing Standards and Property Maintenance), 130 (Junkyards), 133 (Littering and Dumping), 134 (Local Waterfront Consistency Review), 135 (Loitering, Parking and Congregating), 137 (Marine Conservation and Regulation of Marine Structures), 141 (Noise), 143 (Outdoor Lighting), 145 (Parades and Public Assemblages), 149 (Peddlers and Solicitors), 150 (Christmas Trees), 151 (Petroleum and Other Fuel Products, Sale of), 153 (Plumbing Regulations), 156 (Property Maintenance; Nuisances), 156A (Bamboo), 157 (Public Benefit Incentives), 159 (Recreational Facilities), 160 (Registration and Permitting of Property), 164 (Sewer Use Management), 168 (Floodplain Management), 169 (Coastal Erosion Management), 170 (Stormwater Management), 171 (Streams, Watercourses and Wetlands), 172 (Land Conservation), 173 (Streets and Sidewalks), 180 (Taxicabs and Vehicles for Hire), 183 (Tow Trucks and Towing for Hire), 184 (Trapping), 186 (Tree Preservation and Protection), 189 (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), 191 (Unsafe and Damaged Buildings and Structures), 193 (Recreational Vehicles), 195 (Waste Management), 196 (Wood Burning and Coal Appliances), and 198 (Zoning); to establish a Bureau of Administrative Adjudication to hear cases of Town Code violations that threaten public health, safety and welfare, except for violations of the Building Code (Chapter 87).
• Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 196 (Wood and Coal Burning Appliances), §196-2 (Definitions), §196-9 (Prohibited Acts), and §196-11 (Requirements after January 1, 2010); to exclude chimeneas from the definition of prohibited outdoor wood burning or coal burning devices.
• Authorizing various actions be taken upon certain properties designated as blighted in accordance with Chapter 156, Article VII, §156-60 (Blighted Property).

In other action, the Town Board:

• Established Free Fare Day on Friday, September 20, 2019 for Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART) bus fixed route passengers to promote sustainable commuting for Car Free Day.
• Approved the use of $32,120 in Government Access Television Grant funding for Michael J. Guido Jr. Architect P.C., who possesses unique experience and knowledge with this project having previously worked on the design of the Town Board Room in 2015, to provide professional engineering services for design of the Town Hall Media Room to facilitate more efficient communication of information to the residents of the Town of Huntington.
• Approved up to $18,000 in Open Space (EOPSA) Park Improvement funding to re-establish 104 trees lost from storm damage from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 through the June 30, 2019 storm at Crab Meadow Golf Course.
• In recognition of National Pit Bull Awareness Month, is waiving the adoption fee for pit bulls and pit bull mixes and approved an agreement with the North Shore Veterinary Hospital and Little Shelter Animal Rescue a free spaying and neutering program for pit bulls and pit bull mixes in recognition of National Pit Bull Awareness Month beginning October 1, 2019 and ending October 31, 2019, where the Town.
• Renamed East 10th Street, from New York Avenue to 1st Avenue, in Huntington Station as East 10th Street/Dr. Agnes Hiller Way, after Rev. Agnes Hiller, or “Mother Hiller,” an early member and pastor of the Mt. Calvary Holy Church who dedicated her life to serving the Huntington Station community, taking in dozens of children and organizing various programs to address the issues of hunger, drug abuse, teen pregnancy and families in need. A date for the street dedication ceremony has yet to be announced.
• Opposed New York State Assembly Bill A8201, which, if passed, would result in the loss of tax revenue paid to the Town by telecommunications companies and expose the Town to potential property tax refunds, by removing telecommunications property, including fiber optic cables and equipment used to provide wireless services, installed in the Town’s private rights-of-way from the Town’s tax assessment rolls.
• Urged Governor Cuomo to sign into law legislation extending the statute of limitations for public water suppliers and wholesale water suppliers to commence an action for injury to property.
• Amended the Town of Huntington Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment and Compliant Procedure and the Town’s Sexual Harassment Policy in order to be in compliance with recent updates to New York State law protecting against discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
• Appointed Indranie Sanichar as Director of the Department of Information Technology for the Town of Huntington. Sanichar, an information technology leader with over 30 years’ experience in the IT field, had been serving as Deputy Director since December 10, 2018, after being appointed at the December 4, 2018 meeting in anticipation of the pending retirement of the former Director of Information Technology.
• Appointed Roger Ramme, who retired from his role as Assessor on September 16, as Acting Assessor for the Town of Huntington until a successor is appointed and trained.
• Appointed Huntington resident and architectural historian Megan Gomez as a member of the Historic Preservation Commission for a term expiring March 12, 2022 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of member Jennifer Casey.
• Appointed members to the Commercial Fishing Advisory Council to terms concurrent with the appointing Town Board member: Charles Murphy, Robert Wemyss, William Wieck, George Doll, Michael Doall, Dan Froehlich, and Greg Kline to terms ending 12/31/2021; Daniel Crowe, Peter Lauda, Tor Vincent, and Tim O’Brien to terms ending 12/31/2019.
• Appointed Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci as a Marriage Officer for the Town of Huntington for a term from October 1, 2019 through December 1, 2019, for the purpose of solemnizing a marriage.
• Donated a Brother Electronic typewriter to the Northport Historical Society from the Department of the Town Clerk.

In the photo: Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci presents Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia with proclamation promoting Archives Month. To celebrate Archives Month 2019, the Huntington Town Clerk’s Archives will hold an open house for the month of October, on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1:30 – 4:30pm. Visitors will have a chance to review the current exhibit that highlights the “History of Shellfishing in the Town of Huntington” and see the manuscript collection housed in the repository.

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