Village of Roslyn trustees on Tuesday voted to abolish the village’s planning board.
The planning board has been used sparingly in the last few decades, Village of Roslyn Mayor John Durkin said, and its role has diminished to advising the board of trustees on ruling on applications.
Getting rid of the planning board would streamline the application process, Durkin said, as the board of trustees will now take on its responsibilities.
Applications approved by the planning board were previously sent to the board of trustees for further approval, according to the village’s code.
“It’s one of the vestiges of the board that we just don’t need anymore,” Durkin said.
The board voted 5-0 in favor of eliminating the planning board. Durkin said a resident had written a letter to the board in opposition to the proposed law.
In other developments:
• The board unanimously rejected a proposal to place a permanent sign for the Roslyn Pines Pool and Tennis Club on either the north or south side of the Roslyn Pines community development.
Trustees said they were concerned about the potential for too many signs throughout the village and that the privacy of residents would be jeopardized.
Deputy Mayor Marshall Bernstein said he did not feel comfortable voting in favor of the application until discussing the issue with residents who live near the pool.
“This came as kind of a surprise to me,” he said. “I didn’t know this was being proposed seriously.”
Francine Young, a Roslyn Pines pool board member, said the pool’s board had not notified residents in the development of the application but wanted to put up the sign as a way of advertising the pool to the local community.
Durkin said he has had conversations with Roslyn Pines board member Gabriel Gould about alternative solutions to spread word that the pool was open for the summer.
• The board approved a special-use permit for Hendrick’s Tavern to convert 15 parking spaces into 80 outdoor seats.
Trustees in May tabled a decision on whether to approve the application after questioning where parking would be relocated. But on Tuesday, the board approved the permit request after Hendrick’s co-owner Gillis Poll said additional parking would be available along Lumber Road.
Poll said Hendrick’s would also eliminate 80 seats from its dining rooms to even out the tavern’s allowable seating.
