7.10.17 Sea Cliff Village Board Conference
VILLAGE BOARD LIKELY TO MAKE CLIFF WAY AND THE BOULEVARD ONE WAY YEAR ROUND
![]() July 14, 2017 -- At its conference this past Monday evening, the members of the Sea Cliff Village Board expressed support for making year-round the one-way rule on Cliff Way and the Boulevard that is currently in effect from April to the end of September.
“I would like to see that implemented,” said Mayor Ed Lieberman, who continued that the board ought to hold a public hearing on the proposal this summer so that the new regulation could go into effect on October 1. There seemed to be general support among board members for the change as none expressed opposition when the Mayor asked for comment, but the discussion did focus on other issues related to the roadway. Trustee Deb McDermott said that the Village ought to consider putting speed controls in place on Cliff Way. The width of the road, she explained, leads some to go faster than they ought to down the hill. Mayor Lieberman said that traffic stanchions, like those in the midtown tunnel, could be used to that end. He added that the stanchions marking many of the crosswalks in the village, including the one on Cliff Way, have helped to slow motorists down. Kevin McGilloway suggested that the angle of the parking spaces on the Boulevard be reversed so that people could more easily back in their cars in to enjoy the view, now that they would always be coming from the same direction. Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy said that if the one way regulation is adopted it would allow for 90 degree parking, since the additional width that slanted parking creates for two way traffic would no longer be needed. Mr. Kennedy also said that the two roads are under the jurisdiction of Nassau County, and in a traffic study done a few years ago the County recommended that planters or other devices be used to slow down traffic on the roadways, and that the one way direction of the roads be reversed so that motorists would only be permitted to travel southward on the Boulevard and up Cliff Way. He said he did not necessarily like the recommendation of reversing the one-way direction as it would deprive motorists of the beautiful view of the harbor as they drive down the hill, but that the Board should be aware that it had been made. None of the Trustee’s expressed support for the County’s recommendation. A public hearing on the proposal will likely be held at the Village Board’s public meeting on August 14. TRUSTEE PROPOSES A NEW SEA CLIFF YOUTH COUNCIL![]() At the July 10 Village Board conference, Trustee Deb McDermott, who serves as Board liaison to youth groups, presented to the Mayor and her fellow trustees her vision for a Sea Cliff Youth Council.
“Adolescence is a time when youth need to acquire the attitudes, competencies, values, and social skills that will carry them forward to successful adulthood,” she said. “It is also the time when they need to avoid choices and behaviors that will limit their future potential.” Recent social forces and an increasingly complex and competitive environment, she continued, “have weakened family and community life and the expectations for young people” thus making a vibrant Youth Council more necessary than ever before. The village code, she explained, provides for maintaining a Youth Council, but efforts to do so in the past going back to the 1970s have been relatively short-lived. “To build a lasting and valuable program,” Ms. McDermott explained, “we need a plan based on best practices in the field, that integrates with local resources and expertise, and serves and engages the young people in Sea Cliff.” Among the considerations that should be be addressed with regard to services and programs, she said, are the needs of kids, what programs and activities already exist, what the target age group ought to be and how best to engage young people. As far as how the council would operate, she said the Village Board ought to consider how much control kids should have within the group, whether there would be a mentoring aspect in which older kids provide guidance to younger ones, what the organizational structure would look like, and potential partnerships that could be established with other organizations. Going forward, Ms. McDermott said she would continue to research models for a youth board and meet with youth program leaders in the community and “subject matter experts,” as she and the Board work towards defining a model for the Sea Cliff Youth Council. BACK TO WEEKLY |
BRING YOUR KIDS TO A VILLAGE BOARD MEETING ON MONDAY JULY 17![]() July 15, 2017-- In an effort to promote civic education by offering young people an opportunity to experience democracy first hand, the Sea Cliff Village Trustees and Mayor Ed Lieberman are encouraging parents to bring their children to the Monday July 17 Village Board meeting. Inspector Daniel Flanagan of the Nassau County Police Department’s Third Precinct will be on hand to discuss local policing issues and answer questions. Additionally staff of the North Shore High School Viking View newspaper will be recognized by the Village Board for having won dozens of awards and taking third place in the best high school newspaper category at a competition sponsored by the Long Island Press. The meeting will begin at 7 pm.
TRUSTEE OUTLINES POSSIBLE SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGULATIONSIn response to complaints from residents this past April regarding a property that had been regularly rented out on a short term basis through the online service Air BnB, Trustee Kevin McGilloway reported back to the Board possible regulations he and Village Attorney Brian Stolar had developed and that could ultimately, after public input, become a part of the Village Code.
Trustee McGilloway said that he believed it was appropriate for the Village to consider the regulations because the short-term rentals could potentially “threaten the quality of life as well as the health and safety of residents." The rentals have created problems in Montauk, he has said at previous meetings, as properties are at times used for weekend bachelor parties and other bacchanalian blowouts. The trustee outlined a series of specific regulations for consideration. They include a requirement that a property owner obtain a short term rental permit from the village at least five days prior to the lease start date and that the property could be rented only twice a year. Additionally, the minimum length of time for a rental would be eight days. Any violation of the regulations would disqualify the owner from renting out the property in the future. Regulations adopted by other municipalities, Mr. McGilloway said, vary from seven days to seasonal, but that between eight and 30 days is pretty much standard. He said that he believed it made sense to start near the less restrictive end of the range to see how that worked out. The Board is likely to hold a public hearing on the issue in August. SEA CLIFF TECHNOLOGY TASK FORCE ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS TO VILLAGE BOARDThe Sea Cliff Technology Task Force, established by the Village Board this past spring to provide recommendations on “ways to employ information technology to enhance the Sea Cliff experience for residents and staff,” has issued a set of preliminary proposals, task force member and Village Trustee Kevin McGilloway explained at last Monday’s Village Board conference. The recommendations address three areas - transparency, connectivity, and efficiency.
The proposals, all of which require Board of Trustees approval, would be implemented in two phases, with the first set completed by the end of December. Those initial proposals include live streaming meetings through the Village website; introducing a resident feedback section that asks website visitors a few questions allows for the submission of recommendations; a calendar function that would enable groups to more easily sign up for meeting times at Village Hall; and, experimenting with on-line electronic forms. As for the live-streaming of meetings, recordings would be available for viewing until the next public meeting, with each subsequent one replacing its predecessor. Mr. McGilloway said that that would be the case for the time being until storage space issues are worked out, and then eventually an archive of meeting recordings could possibly be maintained. Trustee McGilloway said he would offer his report on the recommendations at the Village Board meeting this coming Monday, July 17. BACK TO WEEKLY |