The Right Thing

Rare is applause at a Sag Harbor Village regulatory board hearing — they are typically dry affairs focused on setbacks and variances, bogged down in code and blueprints. But something truly important happened recently that prompted an acknowledgment at the time, and it deserves to be emphasized.

Back on February 6, Sara Colleton was before the village’s Harbor Committee, discussing her desire for a saltwater pool at her John Street house, on Upper Sag Harbor Cove, which required a wetlands permit. But another issue was a request by the committee that she consider installing an “innovative/alternative,” or I/A, septic system, designed to reduce nitrogen discharge — important for a property so close to the cove.

Her attorney, Joseph Burke, noted that she actually is exempt from a village law, enacted in 2019, requiring I/A technology for new septic installations, since she had obtained a permit from Suffolk County for a conventional system. It was less about cost than timing: There was a concern that installing an I/A system would take much longer and slow the project down.

That’s when the Harbor Committee’s chair, Mary Ann Eddy, took it on herself to call out not just the attorney but the property owner. She noted a recent study talking about the role of septics in the declining condition of the cove, and wondered if a delay is really reason enough to take advantage of a loophole at the cost of the environment.

Then something remarkable happened: Common sense prevailed. Ms. Colleton was put on the spot, certainly, but she stepped up: She made the choice, over her attorney’s arguments, to do the right thing and install the I/A system after all. Cue the applause.

There are two crucial lessons here that should be noted. First and foremost, it’s that all the studies and laws in the world are no match for residents who are truly invested in the health of their community, and are willing to do whatever it takes to protect it. That requires some self-sacrifice at times, and it might mean more time and money in others. But, in the end, the only way the village — or any community — improves is because individuals are willing to show the courage to step up and truly choose the right thing, even when they don’t have to. Especially when they don’t have to.

Also, there’s no question that Ms. Eddy’s prodding was crucial. Likewise, Harbor Committee members noted that it was an opportunity for the applicant “to be a great steward of our community and our water,” encouraging her to “step up to the plate.” Which she did.

It shows that both elected and appointed officials are not required to “stay in their lane” — they must articulate these opportunities when they arise, and they should encourage a greater responsibility, beyond what’s laid out in the code. The right thing is something that must be underscored, sometimes, even if it’s outside what the law allows. And, as this incident shows, it can have a powerful impact.