Letter to the Editor: Comprehensive Committee and Car Dealerships

To the Editor:

Residents of the Town of Southeast may soon wake up and find a hotel/motel, motor vehicle dealership in their backyard.

The Town is presently reviewing commercial Amendments to Chapter 138 -Zoning; had a public hearing Thursday, April 9th, with a continuation to April 23rd.

If we examine the zoning codes, the above uses and others are featured as Conditional Uses -approval only by the Planning Board. (BTW - the chances that an applicant would be denied - almost nil) How could this happen?

By the not so invisible hand of the Comprehensive Committee, initiated in 2013 chaired by the Chairman of the Planning Board and composed of officials from the various Town Boards. No residents need to have applied except for the Chair of the Chamber of Commerce whose sporadic attendance and participation should have given us a clue that the fix was in.

In the wisdom of the Town fathers, residents could be seen and heard but having not attained the age of majority, could not be voting members.

And we did speak and write but no avail. Spectators not voters to one of the most essential tasks of a Town Board: to determine the direction of land use development for years to come, impacting our quality of life and the expectations we had when we decided to make the Town of Southeast our home.

The Committee was initially created - or so we were told - in response to persistent complaints from business owners that the nature of the current Gateway Commercial code on Route 6 extending from the border of the Village of Brewster to the Connecticut State Line was too restrictive and an obstacle to business. They were referring specifically to provisions governing outdoor storage, signage, landscaping, non-conforming uses, aesthetic and architectural upgrading of properties.

At TB meetings and later other meetings, I specifically asked that the TB clarify the scope of the Committee’s work since Crossroads 312 was also in their sights and the applicant had submitted project documents. In response, they assured me and those in attendance that the work of the Comprehensive Planning Committee would be limited to the Route 6 corridor; that Crossroads 312 nor any section of 312 would be involved; nor any other portion of the Town.

But actions speak louder than words and under the deft, sly hand and influence of the Chairman of the Committee and complicity with the Town Planner, they were as words thrown to the wind.

The Chairman of the Committee who wears multiple hats as also Chairman of the Planning Board; Chairman of the County’s Economic Development Committee; and - now read carefully - the director of the Commercial and Residential Section of Houlihan Lawrence, guided the agenda and discussion at times, contentious but sought to give business owners a fair hearing.

Many sessions were devoted to the thorny problems enumerated above and some accommodation was reached.

There was, however, one other issue, near and dear to the heart of the Chairman, a change in code to permit the inclusion of motor vehicle dealerships in the Route 6 corridor.

A brief explanation: the Gateway Commercial code was created to limit the presence of these dealerships which if anyone drives, walks along Route 6 to the Village, are an ubiquitous and monotonous sight - a sea of cars, cars and more cars. The code prohibited any further expansion of these types of businesses and sought to encourage others more attractive and diverse. However, there remained a 46-acre parcel - Stateline - a retail project but now reportedly DOA.

Rumor circulated that an up-scale car dealership might be interested but a change in code was required.

Despite howls of protest from resident attendees at the Comprehensive Planning meetings letters and resident surveys, the Chairman along with the Planner was unfazed and maneuvered to have inserted motor vehicle dealerships as a use in the amended code.

Part II - Forthcoming - How a Simple Master Plan Revision Limited to One Area Became a Comprehensive Town-Wide Amendment to Zoning.

Ann Fanizzi

Town of Southeast