Village Board Notes: Westhampton Beach Looks to Demolish Unsafe Structure

During Wednesday night’s work session, village board members talked about demolishing a house at 9 Griffing Avenue that they say is unsafe.

The home, which was subject to a fire nearly three years ago, has become a safety hazard, said village planning director Paul Houlihan, the village’s building and zoning administrator.

“It has been left exposed to the elements for too long now,” said Houlihan. 

Though the home is boarded up, Houlihan says many of the boards have been ripped off and there are now holes in the roof.

“It has become an attractive nuisance for kids,” said Houlihan.

Trustees agreed that the village should move forward with a Chapter 71, which allows the them to take action to demolish unsafe structures.

The only issue, however, is the home’s ownership. At this time, Town Attorney Richard Haefeli said it is unclear who owns the property; however, he said he would look to do a title search.

Once the ownership of the property is determined, Haefeli said the village could go forward with a required public hearing.

ENERGY AUDIT

While village hall is a green building, Village Clerk Rebecca Molinaro said an outside firm has contacted the village about conducting an energy audit that could potentially save the village money.

The cost for the audit is free, said Molinaro; however if money is recouped, the company would charge 45 percent of the money saved through the audit.

Village board members said the idea is a win-win for the village and agreed to move forward.

PERMITS FOR CARS FOR SALE

With an increased number of cars for sale sitting in parking lots around the village, village board members have decided to revisit its two-decade-old permitting code as it relates to cars that are for sale.

Under the current code, car owners looking to sell their cars must obtain a permit from the village. The free permit is good for seven days and can be renewed for another seven. After that, owners must wait 30 days to apply for another permit.

According to Mayor Contrad Teller, the code was enacted in an effort to clean up the village.

The village is currently considering adding a fee for the permit for commercial properties that have cars that are for sale parked in their lots. In addition, trustees discussed tweaking the code to impose stiffer penalties for those who do not obtain permits.

NEW EVENT PERMITS

In an effort to streamline its permitting procedure for events taking place on village property, such as the great lawn, Village Clerk Rebecca Molinaro asked trustees to reform the permitting process.

Molinaro said with so many events being proposed, it has become more difficult to stay on top of all of the information needed to complete permit applications. She requested that the procedure be changed to require applicants to submit site plans with their applications.

Trustees agreed with the Molinaro’s proposal.