Eyes On The Prize

Sag Harbor Village Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy last week announced that a committee charged with protecting the village waterfront from rampant development wisely had decided to reconsider a planned office district on the periphery of Main Street from a Waterfront Overlay District that is expected to be part of a proposed zoning code revision.

Specifically, it has recommended abandoning plans to increase the number of allowed uses in the office district — an aspect of the code revision that was opposed by the boards of the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce and the Sag Harbor Partnership.

The decision has less to do with the opposition and more to do with an effort to expand the reach of the village’s wastewater treatment plant into that neighborhood, which is plagued with drainage issues and has been shown to be at or below sea level.

For multitude of reasons, including the two listed above, the board and its committee deserve credit for hearing and responding to criticism, but also for not panning the entire effort. This code revision includes solid tools that the village regulatory boards — those tasked with reviewing and approving or denying projects based on codes enacted by trustees — can use to protect Sag Harbor’s character and waterfront access, while also allowing the village to evolve.