The Village of Plandome Heights Board of Trustees held a public hearing Monday to discuss restricting parking on Plandome Court South.
Paul and Mary Jane Whalen of Plandome Road were the only two residents at the hearing and were concerned the parking restrictions would mean their guests would have to back out of their driveway onto Plandome Road instead of parking around the corner on Plandome Court South.
Plandome Heights Mayor Ken Riscica said a resident complained to the village about parking along Plandome Court South, which Riscica said is narrow.
“Plandome Court happens to be one of our narrower roads in the village. It’s about 18 feet wide and most roads are 21 to 24 feet wide, so two cars parked opposite each other will block the street completely so a car can’t get through,” Riscica said.
Two neighboring homes at 761 and 777 Plandome Road are for sale at the end of Plandome Road South, and Paul Whalen said the combination of open houses and nearby minor construction work has created temporary issues that don’t need village regulation.
There is a no parking sign on Plandome Court North, but he said the sign is about 75 feet from the curb of Plandome Road instead of the 150 feet mandated by the village code.
A fire hydrant sits on the south side of Plandome Court South about 15 feet from Plandome Road, effectively blocking parking at least 30 feet from the curb since New York mandates parking at least 15 feet from a hydrant.
Mary Jane Whalen said the couple has lived there for more than a decade and has had few problems with people parking and blocking the road.
“I really have not seen a problem there,” Mary Jane said. “I haven’t seen it as an issue.”
“I’m not looking to be argumentative, but I agree with my wife,” Paul Whalen said. “I don’t think it’s necessary. Right now is different than most of the time. I think this is all coming together to be the perfect storm. We’ve lived there an awfully long time and I haven’t seen it as a problem that needed a sign.”
Trustees Aida Ferman and Dianne Sheehan agreed with the Whalens that a no parking sign is unnecessary.
“I wouldn’t put anything up,” Ferman said. “The houses are going to be sold, and I think we are doing too many restrictions.”
Riscica closed the public hearing without taking any action on the proposed changes and said he and Trustee Norman Taylor would look at the site and come back to the board with a recommendation for the next board meeting.
