September Wedding, Other Church Events Occupy Sag Harbor Village Board

It’s not unusual for there to be wedding bells at a church on a Saturday in mid-September, but because that wedding has been planned for The Church, the arts center in Sag Harbor, the Village Board was drawn into a lengthy debate Tuesday on whether it was an appropriate venue for the event.

Spoiler alert: Although board members were clearly miffed at the late notice they received, coming as it did a month after neighbors had already complained about noise from The Church’s events, they eventually voted unanimously to allow two village residents, Blake Nolan and Eliza Woolf, to tie the knot in a 5:30 p.m. ceremony on September 16.

Mayor Tom Gardella said he had met with neighbors and representatives of The Church beforehand to clear the air and make sure the arts center stuck to the conditions of the site plan approval it received from the Planning Board in 2019.

“I was very straight forward with you,” he told North Haven artist April Gornik, who founded The Church with her husband, the artist Eric Fischl, and the organization’s executive director, Sheri Pasquerella. “I also said I would not stop somebody from getting married. I wasn’t about to make that decision, but I couldn’t speak for the other trustees.”

But he warned them not to ask him to approve any more weddings in the future.

Pasquerella said she had tried but was unable to arrange a meeting with neighbors to hear their concerns and outline steps The Church would be taking to limit the impact of its events on them, but she told the board it was not unusual for a nonprofit to rent its facility for an event like a wedding as a way to recoup money it was spending to host other events related to its mission.

Trustee Aidan Corish also voiced his frustration with The Church for having booked the wedding in March and leaving it to the couple to obtain the necessary permit, which was not filed until late July.

“I really do resent that we are being forced to make this decision,” he said. “This is like one minute to midnight.”

The neighbors also appeared to be conflicted. Cathleen Civale, who lives on Main Street, said she and her husband, Joe Fisher, supported many of The Church’s activities, including its plans to hold the four-day Sag Harbor Song Festival the very next week after the wedding, which the board also approved.

“Cultural events that follow the initial mission statement of The Church are wonderful, helpful, joyful events,” she said. She added that she also thought The Church was listening to the concerns being raised by neighbors.

But she said the proposed wedding “puts us all in a very difficult situation” because she worried that allowing it would set a precedent that could be abused if The Church ever changed hands and Gornik and Fischl were no longer involved.

Nolan said he and Woolf had purchased a house in the village three years ago, and they wanted to have a wedding in the village, where their 125 guests, many of whom have already made travel plans, could walk to and from their lodgings. He said there were not many potential venues, and “candidly, permitting was not part of our decision-making process. We’ve never hosted an event.”

Board To Give Up Authority To Review Site Plans

The board will hold a hearing next month on a simple measure that would eliminate its authority to review site plan applications for projects larger than 3,500 square feet in the Waterfront Overlay District.

The board had taken on that responsibility, under former Mayor Jim Larocca, after approving the new zoning district in 2021 when plans to create a new Bay Street Theater in the Water Street Shops complex were being discussed.

But Gardella said he was never comfortable with the change, saying it could have a chilling effect on the village’s other review boards, which should be independent.

“Once we offer our opinion, it will sway the other boards,” he said Tuesday. “It’s just human nature.”

The board also tabled until next month a hearing on a proposed clearing restriction law, which has been revised and renamed to reflect its updated intent to protect mature trees in the village. Originally, the law sought to impose limits on the percentage of a lot that could be cleared. The law will likely see further tweaking before September after Eileen Rosenberg, who had worked with Jayne Young on drafting the original law, questioned a provision that would allow any tree with a diameter of less than 18 inches to be cut down. That provision, she said, was far too lenient.

The board also tabled hearings on new grease trap regulations for village restaurants and a proposed rental registry law the village wants to put in place next year.