Calling All Stakeholders

Residents and business owners in Sag Harbor would be wise to attend a virtual work session of the Village Board on Wednesday, March 24. At that gathering, the board will review in detail proposed changes to the zoning rules along the village’s waterfront, aimed at protecting one of Sag Harbor’s most valuable assets. The Village Board also is expected to see preliminary plans for a proposed permanent home for Bay Street Theater, which earlier this year announced that an arm of the nonprofit theater had purchased the Long Island Avenue parcel that currently houses 7-Eleven and a handful of other small businesses. It will be the new permanent home of the theater, which has leased space throughout its life.

Anyone interested in how Sag Harbor Village is going to look in the near future, how it will evolve, should attend this 6 p.m. session. Most important, anyone with development plans should be “in the room,” at least virtually. As Village Board members craft a new zoning code governing the waterfront, it is critical to hear from stakeholders, including those without a horse already in the race.

The ambitious effort behind the proposed waterfront overlay district began in earnest last September. Board members hope to adopt a form-based code, one that looks at building forms and uses, rather than just specifically laying out the kind of dimensional regulations that make up most zoning codes. It’s a change promising many benefits, but also one with some risks.

Preserving public views and access to the waterfront, and regulating the scale of development in Sag Harbor Village, were two stated goals of this process, as was ensuring a pedestrian-friendly village. Sag Harbor has enjoyed a walkability and diversity of uses that board members worked tirelessly to preserve during the last major zoning code revision completed in 2009, which focused on commercial uses, and that revision has been largely successful: It resisted freezing the village in a moment in time, allowing for a natural evolution of the business district.

Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy stressed this week that the process remains fluid, and proposed revisions are up for discussion. That said, while the board did extend a moratorium on waterfront development in February, for another six months, it does hope to adopt code changes sooner rather than later. But it needs stakeholder feedback — and not just from those involved in waterfront development — if it is going to adopt a code that has the necessary support of the community in general.

In fairness, there is a lot of good in what has been discussed so far, including greater height restrictions and setbacks that the board hopes will help prevent overdevelopment, which potentially could restrict water views and access. Reducing the minimum required square footage of stores also continues to support the concept of small, independent businesses, which has long defined Sag Harbor.

Of course, not everything aligns with the village’s planning strategies. The 2009 code revision designated a number of parcels that make up the office district, which was created to give professional services a place to call home a short distance from Main Street, after a move to restrict first-floor offices in the heart of the village business district. Now, the board is considering expanding the uses allowed in the office district to include uses like retail and restaurants — and we would encourage them to tread lightly. It is critical that professional services are not nudged out of the office district, particularly since they are largely unwelcome — and with good reason — on Main and Bay streets.

We also remain unconvinced that the village has the infrastructure to support this expansion of retail and restaurant uses into the office district — outside of the ability to connect to wastewater treatment. “If you build it, they will come,” and in a village that continues to discuss how to finally address parking and traffic, expanding these uses could be problematic without a road map in place that finally tackles those pressing issues comprehensively.

Parking, and whether to continue to require developers to provide on-site parking, has been one of the more debated aspects of the proposed code revision. It appears that the board may be moving away from the concept of requiring developers to submit a traffic demand management plan, and that is wise decision. It invites mischief, and anyone who has followed any review of a large development knows it is generally possible to find a consultant who will support your goals, even if your goals are in direct conflict with the rest of the community.

It’s a pivotal moment for Sag Harbor, and next week’s virtual discussion will be an important one for the village’s future. Don’t miss it.