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Town of Huntington, NY - News Details

7/15/2021 - Lupinacci Introduces Measure to Fill Abandoned Homes and Vacant Storefronts, Huntington Town Board Reschedules August Meeting
The Huntington Town Board held its July 13, 2021 meeting, its first in-person meeting at Town Hall in sixteen months, where they scheduled a hearing on a measure intended to fill vacant properties and rescheduled the August meeting.

 

The Town Board rescheduled the previously-scheduled Tuesday, August 17, 2021 Town Board meeting at 7:00 PM to the new date and time of Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 2:00 PM.

 

The Town Board scheduled a public hearing, sponsored by Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci for the Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Town Board meeting at 2:00 PM to consider adopting Local Law Introductory No.   46 -2021 to amend the Code of the Town of Huntington Chapter 160 (Registration and Permitting of Property), Article II Vacant Building Registration; increasing fees for properties that persistently remain on the Vacant Building Registration year after year.

 

“We want to fill abandoned homes and vacant storefronts to help revitalize our local downtown economies and improve quality of life for residents across the Town, some of whom have dealt with serious public safety issues surrounding abandoned properties and absentee owners for decades,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci. “The idea is if the current owner of the vacant property can’t fill the space, this gives them the incentive to sell to someone who will.”

 

The proposed measure would increase vacant building registration fees from $250 annually to: $250 per residential property and $500 per commercial property for the first year, $500 per residential property and $1,000 per commercial property for the second year, $750 per residential property and $1,500 per commercial property for the third year, and $1,000 per residential property and $2,000 per commercial property for any additional years beyond the first three; impose a monthly late fee of $25 per residential property and $50 per commercial property for each month payment is late; and increase the vacant building registration requirement deadline from 120 to 180 consecutive days. Religious organizations will continue to be exempt from paying the vacant building registration fee.

 

The Town Board scheduled additional public hearings for the Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Town Board meeting at 2:00 PM to consider:

 

  • Authorizing various actions be taken upon certain properties designated as blighted in accordance with Chapter 156, Article VII, §156-60 (Blighted Property).
  • Adopting Local Law Introductory No.43 -2021 amending the Uniform Traffic Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter TC4 (Parking Fields); Schedule L (Town Parking Fields); to allow for overnight parking in the lot located at the corner of Washington Drive and Fleets Cove Road in Centerport and to add the recently purchased parking lot on the corner of Pulaski Road and New York Avenue in Huntington Station to the official list of Town parking fields to allow for parking enforcement by the Department of Public Safety.
  • Adopting Local Law Introductory No.44-2021 amending the Uniform Traffic Code of the Town of Huntington, Article III of Chapter TC1 (General Provisions), Articles I and III of Chapter TC3 (Parking Regulations), and Article II of Chapter TC6 (Miscellaneous Provisions); to impose penalties upon those who fail to appear and traffic court conferences and hearings, to impose penalties upon those who fail to pay the fines imposed following traffic court conferences and hearings, to clear up inconsistencies in the code concerning the condition for the release of an immobilization device, and to add a provision for tampering with an immobilization device.
  • Adopting Local Law Introductory No.45 -2021 to amend the Code of the Town of Huntington Chapters 141 (Noise) and 193 (Recreational Vehicles); to prohibit the use of recreational vehicles and ATVs on private, residential property during the following days and hours: Monday through Friday prior to 8:00 AM or after 6:00 PM, Saturday prior to 9:00 AM or after 5:00 PM, and Sunday or holidays, exempting snow removal activities.
  • Adopting Local Law Introductory No.        47-2021, repealing Local Law 40 Of 2020 and amending The Code Of The Town Of Huntington, Chapters 73 (Advertising; Distribution Of Circulars), 74 (Affordable Housing), 76 (Alcoholic Beverages), 78 (Animals), 87 (Building Construction), 92 (Clothes Drop-Off Bins), 99 (Dix Hills Water District), 109 (Firearms), 111 (Fire Prevention Code), 117 (Solid Waste Management: Collection, Recycling and Disposal), 119 (Graffiti), 120 (Harbors and Waterways), 124 (Housing Standards and Property Maintenance), 132 (Landscaping), 133 (Littering and Dumping), 134 (Local Waterfront Consistency Review), 135 (Loitering, Parking and Congregating), 141 (Noise), 150 (Christmas Trees), 151 (Petroleum and Other Fuel Products, Sale Of), 153 (Plumbing Regulations), 160 (Registration and Permitting of Property), 164 (Sewer Use Management), 168 (Floodplain Management), 169 (Coastal Erosion Management), 170 (Stormwater Management), 171 (Streams, Watercourses and Wetlands), 180 (Taxicabs and Vehicles for Hire), 183 (Tow Trucks and Towing for Hire), 194 (Wireless Telecommunications Facilities), 196 (Wood Burning and Coal Appliances), and 198 (Zoning); to make a correction to the code.

 

In other action, the Town Board:

 

  • Approved a contract for a preliminary sediment sampling, preliminary dredging feasibility study, and related services intended to improve conditions in Northport Harbor, a critical natural resource of great recreational and economic importance, with Nelson, Pope, & Voorhis, LLC, the most qualified firmoffering the best value.
  • Approved an agreement with Community Food Council, Inc. for the use of a portion of the John J. Flanagan Center to operate a food pantry for a period of five (5) years at no cost to the Community Food Council, Inc.
  • Approved a measure allowing Town employees to donate accrued sick, vacation or personal time from their accounts to the account of two fellow employees who have exhausted their accumulated sick leave due to medical illnesses.
  • Appointed David Junkins, representative of the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society and a former Conservation Board member, as a member of the Huntington Greenway Trails Committee.
  • Appointed Kieran Johnson, Director of Community Partnerships and Development at the Huntington Arts Council, and Katheryn Laible, writer and photographer, as members of the Public Art Advisory Committee.
  • Appointed Karen Steinhaus and Angela Williams and reappointed Nancy and Ronald Gossow as Volunteer Park Stewards.
  • Approved and endorsed the Trust for Public Land's application to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) to fund the completion of the design and engineering work for the Long Island Greenway, an extension of the Empire State Trail.
  • Accepted donations from Hummel-Hummel Bakery and King Kullen to the Town of Huntington for the annual Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony.
  • Appointed James J. Ahrens, P.E. as Interim Director of the Department of Engineering Services for the Town of Huntington in a unanimous vote. A Professional Engineer, Mr. Ahrens served as the Department's Deputy Director since his appointment in June 2019.

 

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