The Village of Sands Point approved a law Tuesday to extend the time covered by building permits from nine months to a year.
Village Trustee Lynn Najman said the reason for the change was to bring the village up to date.
“What this one does is it basically aligns Sands Point with most of the neighborhoods, most of the areas around here,” Najman said at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting. “We have found that most projects in the village, which are not just generators or small things like, are taking a year.”
The village board approved a law to increase the fee structure for building permits.
“Once again what we’re trying to do here is align the village of Sands Point’s fees, building fees more closely with our neighboring villages,” Najman said. “Basically we have not increased the dollar amount for about 20 years and this brings us up into the 21st century.”
The new law calls for a building permit fee of $100 for the first $1,000 of the estimated cost of construction and $15 for each additional $1,000 — an increase of $5. The law also reduced the time covered for the first extension of a building permit from six months to three months. The cost of the first extension remains at $250, but a second extension was increased to $500 and a third extension to $850 — increases of $250 for both.
The village will hold a public hearing at the next board of trustee meeting on April 21 at 8 p.m. on a proposal to require construction fencing around a construction site.
Officials said the reason for this requirement is to keep people and children from entering a construction site.
“This is just a safety measure,” Najman said.
Sands Point Village Mayor Edward Adler said the building commissioner expressed concern about the lack of fencing on construction sites and they expect to have more information available at the next meeting.
Also at the meeting, trustees approved an agreement with Verizon to allow the company to collect soil samples on South Road near the village’s water tank.
Trustee Peter Forman said he has concerns about Verizon’s service and dropped calls.
“I have seen a drastic deterioration of Verizon services at the north end of the village,” Forman said. “When you go past Sands Point Road going north approaching Vanderbilt, every single call gets dropped and if you make a right on Vanderbilt, which I have the most experience with, you don’t resume signal until you probably pick up Connecticut again when you’re coming down and that is a dramatic change from what it once was.”
Adler said this is something they will look into to try and get resolved.
“We just need to keep pushing it,” Adler said. “If it’s as bad as it is they are potentially losing customers.”
Adler also noted that Village Justice Alyson Adler’s position will be up for election on June 21.
Adler said Alyson, who is his sister, was appointed to fill Justice Jerome Bosos’ term after his death. He said that even though she had not served a full, four-year term.
“So even though she hasn’t been justice for four years the way the state law operates she must now run for her first full term of her own,” he said.
Seats open for election on June 21 include the village justice and two trustees running for two-year terms.
