The Skyscraper Bungalow Do-over
It appears that the outrage expressed on this blog has been acknowledged. As of late this afternoon, a crew was working on dismantling the roof framing of the skyscraper bungalow. I would imagine that they will be lowering the roof rafters to eliminate the knee walls on the highest story, which will lower the overall height of the building by about five feet.
While this will definitely lessen the impact of the height, it will do nothing for the fact that we have now allowed a new building to be built in Bayville that is non-conforming in more ways than we could imagine. It also appears that the footprint of these two buildings have also been increased. All without the benefit of a public hearing in front of the ZBA.
I will be reviewing the building and property file sometime this week to see the differences between what was there, and what is going up.
Stay tuned.
Barry E. Lamb
Bayville
While this will definitely lessen the impact of the height, it will do nothing for the fact that we have now allowed a new building to be built in Bayville that is non-conforming in more ways than we could imagine. It also appears that the footprint of these two buildings have also been increased. All without the benefit of a public hearing in front of the ZBA.
I will be reviewing the building and property file sometime this week to see the differences between what was there, and what is going up.
Stay tuned.
Barry E. Lamb
Bayville
GOOD FOR YOU BARRY!!! And KUDOS FOR EVERYONE WHO WHO WROTE, CALLED OR JUST BOICED THEIR OPINION ON THIS BLOG.
Barry, people need to know and understand this is not over. Another house is slated to be built next to it, exactly the same!!
In addition, when are we as residents going to wake up and stand up for how this village looks. Projects like this add nothing to the aesthetics of our Village and nothing for the futur of our quality of life here and our property values!!!
Good work Barry!
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Good work as usual Barry. I think people will see that this blog empowers them. And more people will get involved in the future of this town.Its a beautiful place but it could be better if done right.Preservation must be strict.
Thanks Barry.
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Aren't architectural planning board meetings like the one held tonight supposed to be public?
I just went to the village hall and it was locked up and dark. Judging from what I saw through a window, the meeting was taking place in one of the office rooms with space for nobody but the board.
I believe I would have been within my rights to go storming in there and force them to make room for me, but I have to choose my battles and decided that tonight - right or wrong - it wasn't worth it.
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John,
Anytime a Board meets to discuss official business it is open to the public and you should by all means assert your rights if you want to listen in. It is fairly rare that people attend meetings that do not have a public hearing regarding a specific case, so the board members may not intend to shut you out - they just aren't expecting you to show up and go where they are comfortable. It would be more condusive to participation if they met in a room with seating for anyone who may show up.
Let's not forget that most of the people who sit on these boards are volunteers with the best of intentions.
Barry
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Barry, I beg to differ. One night (I think it was one of the nights of early meetings on the antenna situation) I tried to go into the side door of village hall where you normally enter for village meetings, thinking htat the meeting going on was the antenna meeting. i was wrong, it was the ARB meeting and i was questioned quite rudely as to who i was and what i was doing there.
it did not seem as open to the public as, say, the monthly village meetings.
so john smith, i don't doubt your experience tonight at all.
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Barry,
You said:
"It would be more condusive to participation if they met in a room with seating for anyone who may show up."
As a former member of the Planning Board and the Architectural Review Board, the meetings have always been held quite comfortably in the conference room on the right of the entrance. I would suppose that if more than one or two people are interested in sitting in on the meeting, the courteous thing to do would be to contact the Board in advance and request a different venue. To expect the Board to meet somewhere else on the chance that somebody might want to drop in, is really not very reasonable.
John Smith said:
"I believe I would have been within my rights to go storming in there and force them to make room for me"
Well then, you must be a very rude and crude individual, Mr. Smith. Arriving before the meeting begins instead of interupting it and requesting a seat to observe what transpires, is usually considered more "civil" behavior than storming the castle. Remember, the people on the Board are volunteers as well as your neighbors.
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Lisa McLoughlin wrote:
"I would suppose that if more than one or two people are interested in sitting in on the meeting, the courteous thing to do would be to contact the Board in advance and request a different venue. To expect the Board to meet somewhere else on the chance that somebody might want to drop in, is really not very reasonable."
I disagree. A public meeting's a public meeting: not public only if you call in advance, not public only if you ask to attend politely, not public only if you show up on time. And I don't think it's unreasonable to think the board could open one door as opposed to another, and flip one lightswitch as opposed to another.
You speak as if attending an ARB meeting or any other public meeting is a privilege. It's not - it's a right.
Lisa McLoughlin wrote:
"Well then, you must be a very rude and crude individual, Mr. Smith."
I like to think so, but that's beside the point.
Lisa McLoughlin wrote:
"Arriving before the meeting begins instead of interupting it and requesting a seat to observe what transpires, is usually considered more "civil" behavior than storming the castle. Remember, the people on the Board are volunteers as well as your neighbors."
By "rights", I was talking legality, not etiquette. (I hadn't thought there way any danger of being taken literally about raising a fuss, since that's clearly what I refrained from doing).
But I was there at 7:30. After failing to get into the hall, I went into the library to see if it was being held in there for some strange reason. I didn't think the small group sitting around the table could be the meeting. Until someone else showed up wanting to attend, I thought the meeting must have been cancelled. Like me, this person decided it wasn't worth the trouble and awkwardness of disrupting things in that little room.
I understand that the people on the board are human, but a public meeting should be about what's convenient for the public, not for the small governing board. People should feel they can slip in on their way home from work or after getting the kids to bed. Every governing body everywhere has probably been accused of a lack of transparency. This board certainly has, and holding meetings 20 feet down the hall would be one way of deflecting those accusations.
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Come on Lisa and Barry, how about just unlocking doors? Taking the people's apathy in what goes on at the ARB is not justification for breaking rules.
Barry, you served on this Village's PB?
There are new memebers on the ARB, I know two and they are great people.
Maybe they are not aware these meetings are suppose to be public? Just unlock doors. If more people show up, switch rooms.
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Barry, scratch that last question, I miss read the entry, it was LIsa who was on the PB.
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Barry, scratch that last question, I miss read the entry, it was LIsa who was on the PB.
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I'm going to add what I'm sure will be considered a very silly point, but I will add it nonetheless. The conference room in the Village Hall has a really nice big conference table which allows a presenter the ability to spread out plans for all of the Board members to see, pass around, and share input.
To the best of my knowledge, that door has never been LOCKED when meetings are in session. I know sometimes the OUTSIDE door gets stuck or locked but all you have to do is knock and someone would open it. I resent the implication that laws are being broken by refusing people admission, and I'm not even a sitting member now.
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Well at the last Village Board meeting, the snow was not even removed at the double doors, now that;s not very inviting is it. The snow had been removed at the door the Village staff use. If the ARB are indeed open to the public they need to be set up properly to receive the public, not have a tax paying resident have to go feel like they are interrupting or asking too much. I have been too MANY meetings that start late, it's a fact of life. AND if the ARB are not forced to volunteer, they still have a responsibility and don't tell me some ARB members don't see any increase in business from people who are trying to build in Bayville.
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What ever happened with this instance? Never saw any follow up. Is it non conforming? Should Bayville place a moratorium on major construction projects until the codes/laws are reviewed, corrected and actually enforced?
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