Northport Village Notebook: Dangerous Erosion, Pool Enclosures

The Northport Village Board of Trustees met on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Here are some highlights:

Dangerous Erosion

Village Attorney James Matthews assured the Lemke family of Ackerly Terrace that rapid hill erosion behind their property would not increase as a result of new building atop the hill.

The Lemkes expressed concern over a bowing retaining wall, silt buildup around their house, and a wayward boulder that appeared too close for comfort. Matthews replied that approval of a building permit would stipulate an engineering plan to stabilize the hill, and advised the Lemkes to gather evidence of possible code violations on the hill in the meantime.

If code violations are found, the current property owners may be held responsible for installing erosion mitigation systems.

Pool Code: Fence or Auto-Enclosure?

The Lorbers of Northport requested an amendment to Northport's strict pool enclosure law requiring a self-latching fence around the perimeter of a pool, or a hot tub in this case. The Lorbers argued that an automatic safety cover is an equal, if not better, substitute to fencing and cited a comparatively higher government safety rating. The Village Board is considering their proposal and asked for a copies of the safety documentation. 

"It's good to review the situations and the state of the law from time to time," said Trustee Henry Tobin. "I would be opposed to anything which would create a less safe situation, but if there’s another technology which is at least or more safe, then I think we can consider it, but we would need to have the evidence.”

Cow Harbor Day Recap

Chief Bruckenthal said there were no disturbances over the Cow Harbor Day weekend aside from three overturned sailboats.

Tropical Storm Irene

Mayor George Doll said that crews are still busy carting away trees and other large debris left in the wake of Irene, saying that wires were tangled in many downed trees and local personnel often worked quickly to determine which wires were live before LIPA crews arrived.

Doll recently attended a meeting with LIPA representatives and explained that crews must repair substations which supply electricity to large areas before addressing smaller areas like Northport.

"That’s why you don’t see them for a long time and then all of a sudden here they are," he said.

Stormwater Management Plan

Village Advisor Gene Guido had a draft of the for view on his desk, and said that it would be completed by the Sept. 30 EPA deadline.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Oct. 4 at 6 p.m.