Bid For Sag Harbor Impound Lot Approved By Village Board Amid Protesters

The Sag Harbor Village Board voted on Tuesday night to approve funding to create a new police impound lot adjacent to the Long Pond Greenbelt—a plan that has drawn criticism from residents and environmentalists concerned about the impact on the preserve.

The board voted, 4-1, to approve the lot, with Aidan Corish casting the sole vote in opposition to the new yard, which he referred to as an “eyesore” in the area of the greenbelt’s preserved natural lands.

Not a seat was empty in the municipal building second-floor meeting room as residents held up “Vote No To The Impound Lot” signs and posters. More than a dozen residents spoke at the end of the meeting during a public comment portion held after the vote, urging the board members to rethink their decision.

However, as of Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Sandra Schroeder said the impound lot was a “done deal.”

On Monday, approximately 60 protesters had picketed in front of the Municipal Building on Main Street in opposition to the lot.

On June 28, the Southampton Town Planning Board approved a site plan for the impound lot, which is slated to be built on a 4,800-square-foot portion of a 24-acre parcel of land owned by the village, which is surrounded on three sides by the greenbelt.

The village plans to pave and fence off the property to use as a new location for impounded vehicles in order to free up space at its garage on Columbia Street, where impounded cars are currently stored.

Dai Dayton, president of Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, said, “The others, and especially the mayor, are not paying any attention to the letters from the environmental groups or from their own village residents.”

The project was approved Tuesday night and the bid was awarded to DeLalio Coal and Stone Co., in the amount of $99,979. “We’re guessing that being just short of $100,000 has kept it from needing a referendum, but we’re still trying to find out,” Ms. Dayton noted.

“My objections are from the environmental perspective,” Mr. Corish said. “It’s there forever—we can’t undo it … and I don’t believe we’ve exhausted every other opportunity,” he stressed as the audience clapped and cheered.

Last year, 27 cars were impounded in the Village of Sag Harbor. Victoria Sharp of Sag Harbor asked, “We’re talking about minuscule numbers when you look at it. Can’t we find a way to deal with those cars other than impinging on an area that we all have concerns about in terms of preservation?”

In response, the mayor said that the board has looked into every other piece of property owned by the village for the 20-parking space lot but couldn’t find one that worked.

Diana Kolhoff, president of the Sag Harbor Board of Education, represented her board at Tuesday evening’s meeting. During Monday night’s School Board meeting, the impound lot was up for discussion, and the possibility of the village utilizing the district’s parking spaces during the summer, when its parking lots are typically empty, was considered. “We want to work with the village to solve these problems,” Ms. Kolhoff said.

The offer was rejected, as it is necessary to limit access to impounded cars, officials said. “An impounded car is evidence and can’t just be parked at Pierson,” Deputy Mayor Kenneth O’Donnell explained.

In addition, board member James Larocca said an impound lot would need fencing around the lot, around-the-clock security and public safety features, which aren’t practical to add and take down at the school just for use from June to September.

Sharone Einhorn, a member of the Friends of Long Pond Greenbelt Board of Directors, stressed, “I’ve been to four of these meetings, and every meeting 20 or 30 people stand up and read letters from environmental groups … Nobody from the audience has ever stood up in favor of the impound lot—only opposed.”

But according to a letter from Laura Scovazzo, the deputy permit administrator for the State Department of Environmental Conservation, addressed to Mayor Schroeder on October 3, “The referenced parcel is more than 100 feet from DEC regulated freshwater wetlands.” That means no permit is required pursuant to the Freshwater Wetlands Act and its implementing regulations.

The DEC also stated in the letter that the impound lot will not result in harming threatened or endangered species, notably the tiger salamander, which is common near the project location.

The paving is slated to take place within an area of existing clearing that is already being used to store trucks and equipment and is not currently suitable for the salamander population. With that, the DEC stated that no permit was required pursuant of the New York State Endangered Species Act, and the lot wouldn’t create significant environmental impacts.

However, any changes in location, expansion of the footprint of the lot, or modifications of the scope must be identified to the DEC.

According to Mayor Schroeder, the cost of the lot won’t affect taxpayers. She said that three Sag Harbor Village Police officers retired or resigned this past year, and with that extra money was made available for the impound lot.

A letter to the Village Board from the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, signed by Ms. Dayton and the group’s vice president, Sandra Ferguson, on January 7, urged the board to not follow through with the plan.

The Nature Conservancy and The Group for the East End, as well as representatives from Southampton Town and Suffolk County, have offered “to sit down to find a more suitable location for this project and to brainstorm ways in which the subject parcel can be formally recognized as a nature preserve and added to the Long Pond Greenbelt,” the letter read.