Sag Harbor Mayor Seeks To Allay Concerns Over Review Of Affordable Housing, Theater And Parking

Sag Harbor Village Mayor Jim Larocca this week responded to an open letter posted last week by the group Concerned Members of Our Community, which asked the Village Board to adopt a transparent and comprehensive approach to three potential major development projects slated for the heart of the village.

The initial letter, submitted by April Gornik, Susan Mead, Kathryn Levy and Maziar Behrooz, calls for the village to review together Adam Potter’s proposal for 79 affordable apartments and about 30,000 square feet of commercial space, Bay Street Theater’s expected plans for a new facility, and a rumored plan to build a tiered parking garage on the former gas ball parking lot. They also requested that the Village Board actively engage public input on the proposals.

A total of 277 people had signed on by Tuesday afternoon, August 9.

On Tuesday, Larocca said of the letter writers and those who added signatures to it, “I think we are more on the same page as they may think.”

In his response, Larocca pointed out that as of now, only Potter’s proposed housing and commercial complex, under the Conifer Realty LLC name, has been submitted as a formal application.

He noted that Bay Street Theater has yet to file an application, and its representatives had turned down several invitations to discuss their plans with the Village Board. He noted that Bay Street would be invited to appear before the board again in September.

Larocca added that while there have been rumors that a parking garage will be proposed on the gas ball lot, he said the village had not received any plans for such a facility and had no intention of building one itself now that it is on the cusp of regaining control of the property.

The mayor concluded by assuring the Concerned Members of Our Community that the concerns they had raised about the possible impacts of the proposed developments would be addressed through the review process as part of a village law adopted earlier this year aimed at encouraging more affordable housing in the village.

He added that the village could not commit to “simultaneous formal examination of the three subjects you have raised — affordable housing, Bay Street Parking and tiered parking — primarily because only one application is before us.”

He said the board would “assure that the scope of the environmental review and analysis and processes under the State Environmental Quality Review Act that are applied to such proposals are sufficiently broad enough to take full account of all relevant significant developments adjacent or nearby” to the Potter Conifer Realty affordable housing and commercial proposal.

He included in his letter a copy of a memo from Nelson, Pope & Voorhis, the village’s planning consultant, which requested a slew of additional information from Conifer Realty before that application can be considered complete and ready for review.