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Sag Harbor Express / Editorials / 2188186

It Takes a Village

Editorial Board on Aug 15, 2023

Sag Harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella and the Village Board will hold a hearing next month on a plan to eliminate the trustees’ role in reviewing site plan applications for larger projects within the Waterfront Overlay District.

If approved, as expected, the board will reverse the provision that gave them the authority to look at projects larger than 3,500 square feet — authority put in place under former Mayor Jim Larocca after the board approved the new zoning district in 2021, amid discussions about a potential new Bay Street Theater.

The ability for an elected village board to review large development projects was never a good idea. The trustees’ involvement could sway the independent regulatory boards, like the village’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. Also, in deciding to give itself the authority to step in and review these projects, village leadership was effectively telling its volunteer regulatory board members that they were not fully trusted to do the job right, even while the village’s various regulatory boards are staffed with some of the most qualified members in years.

The provision also had the potential to lead to mischief. What is to prevent a developer with deep pockets from donating to political campaigns in the hope of currying favor? Politics would sully the process even if a single dollar never changed hands. It would be forever tainted.

There is a reason no other village board on the East End has this kind of power. The best system is when it’s up to the trustees to chart a path forward for development through legislation and code, and up to the regulatory boards and Building Department — under guidance from the village attorney — to use that framework to assess the pros and cons of projects.

It takes a village. And by wisely reversing course, the current Village Board is letting its volunteers know that it has faith in its own ability to lead, but also in their ability to serve.

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