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A quick recap of Tuesday night’s Planning Board meeting.

The Planning Board passed part of Bob Miller’s density reduction proposal, the part that applied a new formula for the minimum square footage for lot size.

R-2 9,000 for 1 unit; 8,000 for each additional unit*
R-3 8,000 for 1 unit; 7,000 for each additional unit*
MU 6,000 for 1 unit; 5,000 for each additional unit*
MU-1 6,000 for 1 unit; 5,000 for each additional unit*

Instead of the 5,000/3,000 standard now in place, which allows 14 units per acre in most of town, this would reduce density to 5 per acre on the R2 lots, 6 per acre in the R3 and 8 per acre in the MU and MU1 lots.

This was aimed at reducing condo and town home building in town, but one unintended consequence of this proposal, as it now stands, and as was realized after Tuesday night, might be that the single family homes in the R2 neighborhoods which make up much of the Old Village would also need a minimum 9,000 square feet of land as opposed to the current 5,000 square feet.

The Planning Board sent its proposal to the Town Board and it’s possible that the Town Board could refine the proposal so that it stipulated that those new densities were intended for multi-unit (attached) projects only and that people could still build single family homes on 5,000 square foot lots.

That would be wise as the problem had not been single family homes on 5,000 square foot lots — indeed small homes on humble lots are part of the character of the Old Village. Instead the problem was the rapid rise in condo projects allowed by the lenient 5,000 for the first unit/3,000 square feet for the subsequent unit formula in much of town.

Density reduction would go a long way toward guiding growth in Oriental so that we don’t look like any other condo-ized coastal town. As it would be a change in the GMO, a public hearing would be required tof this proposal — or a modified version of it — to become the new standard. When the Town Board meets this Tuesday September 5 at 7pm at Town Hall it could set a public hearing on density reduction for the October Town Board meeting.

In other action at the Planning Board’s August 29th meeting, Knute Bysheim presented his proposal for a 12 unit condo project at Whittaker Creek Marina. The board declined to recommend a Special Use Permit and move it to the Town Board, because of several issue. For one, there were some questions about parking and whether a firefighting ladder could be leaned against the mansard roof eave of the third story of the building. One board member noted that a firefighter would have to climb a 70 degree incline up that mansard to reach the flat roof above

Roadblock Ahead? Knute Bysheim’s proposal calls for building his condos over what is now the private road in to the marina. Turns out that the Whittaker Creek Yacht Owners Association has rights to an easement on that road and a 2/3 majority of the slip owners would be needed to release those rights to Knute Bysheim. The future of the project could well rest with the ballots that have been sent out the the Whittaker Creek Yacht Owners Association members.

Planning Board Chairman Don Mau has resigned from the Planning Board. No reason was given for Chairman Mau’s resignation, though in making the announcement at the beginning of the meeting, Vice Chair Dee Sage spoke of “rough waters” in recent months. The Town Board will now have to pick a 5th person for the Planning Board.

More to come….

Posted Friday September 1, 2006 by Melinda Penkava

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