New house boats and floating homes are prohibited on Riverhead town waterways under a town code revision approved last night by the Riverhead Town Board.
The new legislation is intended to “prevent pollution, fire hazards, interference with navigable waters and overcrowding of within the waters adjacent to and within the jurisdiction of the Town of Riverhead, according to “legislative findings” stated in the measure.
The ban does not apply to house boats, floating homes or barges “existing and legally berthed, moored or anchored and continuously occupied for a period of three months within the waters of the Town of Riverhead as of the date of the passage of this article.”
However, existing vessels will be required to get an annual permit from the Riverhead Conservation Advisory Council, and they will be required to be equipped with a waste water disposal system and waste water holding tank.
Transient rentals ban proposed
Riverhead is considering a code amendment that will clearly prohibit transient rentals within the town, except for any legally operating commercial hotel/motel business or bed and breakfast establishment.
A public hearing on the ban has been set for Sept. 17 at 7:15 p.m.
Aquebogue resident Ron Hariri met with town board members July 18 to complain about a house in his neighborhood that he said was being used as a “rooming house,” accommodating multiple groups of individuals for one-night stays.
The situation presents a noise and security issue and is a burden to neighbors and the town in general.
“This is a plague on our town,” Hariri said.
Town attorney Robert Kozakiewicz told the board transient rentals are becoming a “bigger and bigger issue” with his office receiving “more and more complaints.”
Former Riverhead Town investigator Kevin Maccabbee told the town board in August 2011 that the code enforcement office had complaints about more than 50 single-family homes in the town being rented by the week, by the weekend or even by the night. Maccabbee told the board he believed it was illegal under current code to rent a single-family house out for less than 30 days. The short-term rentals did not have rental permits, he said.
The town board at the time discussed ways the town might legalize and regulate short-term rentals — and tax them as commercial properties to support increased levels of municipal services, such as garbage disposal.
“Allowing people to do this helps people pay their mortgages and taxes,” Supervisor Sean Walter said at the Aug. 11, 2011 work session. He said he thought the town should make provision for this practice in its code, and begin issuing permits for the use.
The Vacation Rentals by Owner website currently lists dozens of “vacation rentals” available by the day, weekend or week in the Town of Riverhead: 12 in Aquebogue; eight in Baiting Hollow; 25 in Jamesport; five in Riverhead; 14 in South Jamesport; and 16 in Wading River. Asking prices range from $250 to $1,500 per night, or up to $4,500 a week.
Many of the homes are advertised as having the capacity to “sleep” up to a dozen people.
Highway department storage units repair sought
The town is looking to replace the tattered fabric sheathing of the highway department’s sand and salt storage units which were ripped apart by Hurricane Sandy last fall. The board last night approved a bid notice for the purchase and installation of two “tension membranes” for the highway department’s salt storage buildings on Osborn Avenue.
Highway Superintendent George Woodson said he asked the town board last week to replace the sheathing before the winter.
“I’m going to be getting salt delivered and I don’t want to have to be taking a tarp on and off all winter again,” Woodson said.
The two hoop-house style storage units were erected in May 2011 at a total cost of about $720,000, including new drainage and paving. They replaced dilapidated storage structures that had been built in the 1950s. Stormwater runoff issues impacting adjacent wetlands had gotten the town into trouble with the state DEC.
When Sandy left the fabric sheathing in shreds, Woodson said he wanted the covering replaced right away, to protect the contents of the units from the weather. His crews had to keep sand and salt covered with tarps all last winter.
The units are under warranty, according to the town. But the contractors have failed to comply with the town’s demand that they replace the fabric sheathing, so the town board in June authorized the town attorney to sue Clear Span Fabric Structures, L.I. Building Systems and DeLalio-South Fork Asphalt Inc.
Submission deadline for downtown security camera bids extended
The time for submitting bids for a proposed downtown security camera system has been extended until Oct. 21. Numerous prospective bidders requested a pre-bid site inspection meeting and additional technical data, according to town officials, making the previous deadline of Aug. 26 impractical.
Bow hunting lottery date set
A Sept. 16 lottery for bow-hunting permits to take deer at the Calverton Enterprise Park will begin at 7 p.m. at Riverhead Town Hall, Councilman George Gabrielsen announced at last night’s meeting.
The bow season this year runs from Oct. 7 through Dec. 1, Gabrielsen said.
Adventure Race donations
The coordinators of L.I. Adventure Race, which staged two mud-run races at the Calverton Enterprise Park this year, presented town board members with two checks last night: a donation of $3,000 to the town and $1,000 to the Riverhead Police Athletic League.
Adventure Race founders Chris Witt, of Jamesport, and Bill Borges, of Calverton, said they were handing out a total of $13,000 to local charities, including the North Fork Breast Coalition, the Riverhed Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch, Heidi’s Helping Angels, and Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, as well as to local ambulance and fire departments .
Life guards cited for saving men in capsized boat
Reeves Beach lifeguards Paul Iannacchino, 20, and Charles Kollmer, 18, rescued three men whose small boat had capsized about 100 yards off shore on July 22. Riverhead Recreation Superintendent Raymond Coyne and town board members presented Iannacchino and Kollmer with proclamations honoring them for their lifesaving actions.
This wasn’t Iannacchino’s first save as a town lifeguard.
The 2012 Shoreham-Wading River High School graduate saved a 50-year-old Reeves Park man whose kayak had capsized on July 4, 2012.
Manorville residents complain about police and EMS response time
Residents in the southwestern corner of Riverhead Town appeared before the town board last night to voice complaints again about the long response time of police and Riverhead ambulance to their neighborhood. A glitch with the enhanced 911 system causes their homes to be reported as in Brookhaven town or in other parts of Riverhead, such as Calverton or Wading River, causing confusion an long emergency response times. See separate story.
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