2010 Stormwater Report

The Town of Oyster Bay has published their draft stormwater report, it is available on the Town of Oyster Bay website.

OB/CSH Protection Committee featured in Talk of the Town!

Update on Centre Island Property

On December 27, the Centre Island Zoning Board of Appeals denied the applicants request for several variances that would have allowed for the building of a house on an environmentally sensitive Centre Island Beach.

According to state law, three members of the five-member board have to vote in favor of the variances in order to approve them.  Because one recused himself and another has moved from Centre Island, only three members voted.  Two voted in favor of the variances.  One brave member voted against them to prevent this potentially harmful development. 

The ZBA member that acted to protect the beach said there were several factors in her decision.  She noted that the entire parcel of land is below the 12-foot elevation required by the Village of Centre Island’s building code.  She also pointed out that the proposed septic system would be built on a beach situated between Oyster Bay and a tidal wetland that is regularly flooded. 

This same ZBA member, who has lived on Centre Island for 33 years and served on the board for many years, also pointed to what appear to be inconsistencies between the plot plans that the applicant presented to New York’s Department of Conservation in his application for a wetland permit and those he sent to the Village. 

The Village Attorney noted that the applicants lot did not meet the legal requirements for Centre Island lots when it was created in the 1950s.  The Village Attorney also said he could not find any evidence that a variance was granted at that time.

It is not clear what will happen next.  The applicant has engaged a law firm that prides itself on its ability to use the court system to overcome local opposition to developing controversial projects. During the hearings that came before this week’s decision, the applicant's lawyer made it clear that they were prepared to litigate if the Village did not provide the requested variances.
 This is good news for the moment.  We will keep you apprised of changes if they occur.
 Thank you for your support. 

Christmas Greetings

All of us at Friends of the Bay wish you the best of health and happiness in 2011.  We are looking forward to an exciting and productive year, with new opportunities to protect and preserve our beautiful harbor and upland areas.  Our Watershed Action Plan will be completed in 2011. It will provide a roadmap for on the ground initiatives that will address many of the issues identified in the State of the Watershed Report.  This is a vision for the future that is being developed by the community.

Some of the programs and initiatives we are looking forward to working on include a restoration of Beekman Creek, developing an Information Resource Center, planning a Blueway Trail, fish passage projects and creation of bio-retention basins.  In addition, we will continue to monitor the water in our harbor, ponds and streams, perform beach cleanups and conduct our lecture series.

These projects will all be accomplished in partnership with local municipalities, other organizations and with support from volunteers and residents.  Friends of the Bay believes that when citizens and communities are informed and engaged in local decision making a powerful vision for the future can be developed and environmental issues can be resolved. 

Working on the Watershed Action Plan has been both a humbling and energizing experience.  I am very grateful to all of you who have come to the planning meetings, submitted comments and offered expertise and energy to this project.  You have shown yourselves to be deeply committed to your community and to protecting this beautiful part of the world. 

Concerned Citizens of Centre Island

The Concerned Citizens of Centre Island have asked us to help spread the news regarding the development of an extraordinary and environmentally sensitive property on Centre Island.  A decision on the proposed development is forthcoming from the Centre Island Zoning Board of Appeals. 

The property, located at 223 Beach Road, is a narrow piece of low-lying sandy beach at the base of Eastover Road.  It lies between one of the largest tidal wetlands on Long Island’s North Shore and Oyster Bay itself.  Despite the denial of a building permit, the owner now seeks substantial variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) in order to develop this sensitive site.  The sewage system to this property would be built less than two feet underground and would be below the ten year flood elevation.  It poses a strong risk of sewage spills directly into Oyster Bay and the nearby wetland.    The Village of Centre Island’s own engineer has expressed his reluctance to allow the waiver of state and county sewage requirements.  Coastal sea rise also has to be considered, since this construction will be so close to the shoreline.  

As environmental caretakers and stewards, Friends of the Bay is deeply concerned regarding this property.   For over 20 years, Friends of the Bay has zealously protected the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary.   The estuary is the cleanest of all the 13 embayments on the north shore of Long Island.  Residents and visitors can safely swim, fish and boat in these waters.  The possibility of having sewage discharges into the harbor is one which we take very seriously.    Our waters are home to an economically significant and environmentally sustainable shellfishing industry, as well as being a recreational resource for swimmers and fishermen.  The Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a home for thousands of migratory waterfowl, and has been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. 

The Town of Oyster Bay and Nassau County are making a substantial investment in connecting an inadequate sewage treatment facility in Locust Valley (the Birches) to the sewage treatment facility in Glen Cove in order to remediate sewage discharages.  To allow another sewage overflow situation to possibly develop does not seem to be a wise course for the Village of Centre Island.  Friends of the Bay is not anti-development, provided that projects address environmental concerns.  Some proposals, such as the one at 223 Beach Road, are so environmentally sensitive that these concerns cannot be alleviated.  This property should be considered for acquisition and preservation.

The Concerned Citizens for Centre Island have created an online petition which can be found at www.karma411.com/concernedcitizens.   The petition, as well as more information regarding the site, can be found there. 

Mill Pond Overlook

Members of the Oyster Bay community came together in the Friends of the Bay office on the evening of November 18 to review conceptual plans prepared by Cameron Engineering for the Mill Pond Overlook property.   The plans were developed in consultation with an advisory committee which consisted of representatives from the Town Of Oyster Bay, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the North Shore Land Alliance and Friends of the Bay.    

Cameron Engineering considered the topography and ecology of the site in developing their plans.  There are some magnificent beech, tulip and black walnut trees, as well as some remnant ornamental species.   Invasive species, like Norway Maples, Asian bittersweet, and English Ivy would need to be removed.  Many bird species utilize the woods, especially during the spring and fall migrations. 

There are interesting man-made features on the property.  One of them, an old concrete pad on the lower part of the wetland may have been a cow barn at one time.  I remember seeing a picture of cows grazing on the property in the early 1900s.  If anyone has knowledge of this, or has any information on this concrete pad, your assistance would be appreciated in clarifying what purpose this served.  There is also an old chimney which has toppled over. 

There are challenges and opportunities in developing a conceptual plan.  There are steep slopes between the upper meadow and the lower edge of the property bordering the Mill Pond, as well as erosion and illegal dumping activity.  There are multiple opportunities for educational activities, and passive recreation. 

There were two conceptual plans presented by Cameron Engineering.   Both plans call for signage and educational materials which will be used to highlight ecological and historical features.  The signage would be vandal resistant, and possibly podcasts or audio walking tours could be developed to further inform visitors to the site.  A split rail fence along the lower property edge was proposed to form a boundary with the Refuge property and protect habitat, as well as a fence along the slope at the hill top for safety.  Some trees (Norway Maples) would be removed and others limbed up to allow open views to the pond and encourage understory growth.  Sufficient tree cover would be retained to prevent erosion.  The major differences in the plans are the way in which parking is designed, and the manner in which the upper meadow area is utilized.  The complete presentation, including the draft conceptual plans, can be viewed on the Friends of the Bay website at www.friendsofthebay.org.

After the presentation, attendees divided into three groups to consider the conceptual plans, comment upon them and make suggestions.  The general consensus of the group present seemed to be that the best use of the space would be for passive recreational activities and education and that “less is more.”  If you wish to submit a comment, or make a suggestion about the way in which the Mill Pond Overlook could be utilized, you may do so at Friends of the Bay’s blog, which can be reached from our website. 

Barry Lamb, President of the Board of Friends of the Bay said “It was evident that the conceptual plans presented were already very in tune with what the community had in mind for this property; low impact access that allows for the enjoyment of this beautiful area. The community members who attended offered some very insightful ideas, many of which will likely be incorporated into the final plan.”

The next step in the process is to incorporate the public comments into the draft final plan.  Comments on the Mill Pond Overlook Plan can be submitted until December 10.