By Claire Walla
North Haven Village Board members are considering raising the fee associated with obtaining a certificate of occupancy in the village from $100 to $150.
At a village board meeting on Tuesday, June 5, Village Clerk Georgia Welch explained that the last time the board raised this fee was in 2007, at which point the cost had been $25.
“I thought if there’s anything that should be increased it’s this,” Welch said. “It generates a large number, and the mayor didn’t want to increase any of the building permit fees.”
Mayor Laura Nolan explained that a Certificate of Occupancy (COO) would be required anytime a house is bought, sold, re-mortgaged, or any time there’s a renovation. This would apply to any structure added to the property, even a shed, but would not be necessary for minor construction to existing property.
“If you have a small project, I don’t think there should be a dollar amount,” Trustee Jeff Sander said. He suggested using a sliding scale for COOs, so that large construction projects would be charged $150, but someone putting a shed in his backyard, for example, would pay significantly less.
“I think there’s a serious problem with what people have to pay for small projects,” he added.
Welch said the permitting process could not be applied on a sliding scale.
The board did not take any action on this proposal Tuesday night, but agreed to continue discussions at an upcoming work session.
In other news…
Noting the high volume of trucks continuing to park along Route 114 to suck water up from the water mains that run through North Haven, Mayor Laura Nolan said the village has composed a letter of complaint to the Suffolk County Water Authority.
“The trucks are not serving village residents,” Nolan said at a Village Board meeting Tuesday, June 5. “They’re loading up on water and delivering it elsewhere.”
Nolan continued to explain that she and other trustees have noticed these large water trucks filling up on Route 114 then taking the ferry to Shelter Island, where, she added, the water is not public.
“It’s all day long!” she exclaimed.
Trustee George Butts added that the crux of the issue is that it’s a traffic hazard.
And Village Clerk Georgia Welch complained that the trucks “can take up an entire lane.”
