Munsey Park board OKs permit fee amendments

Bill San Antonio

Munsey Park trustees approved a local law on Wednesday that allows the board to amend the village’s permit fees through resolution, rather than through a legislative process which requires hearings prior to a board vote. 

Under the law, resolutions approved by the board pertaining to fee changes would be made available to the public by the village clerk upon request. 

The legislation was introduced in December. 

Village of Munsey Park Mayor Frank DeMento said at the time it was one of the first pieces of legislation the board worked on after he, Deputy Mayor Sean Haggerty and Trustee Patrick Hance were elected in 2013. 

Residents and the village committees and departments were consulted prior to the introduction of the local law, he said.

DeMento said last month the law was necessary to modernize outdated permit fees. The board has also been in the process of designing new criteria by which permit fees for projects would be defined.

The legislation comes one month after Munsey Park trustees approved local laws to add a $30 fee to traffic violations and give the board the ability to set a 2015-16 budget that exceeds the state-mandated tax cap if necessary.

Haggerty last month said he was concerned with how the village would make up for potential revenue losses resulting from a new fee structure, adding he would not want the village to have to raise taxes as a result. 

“Overall, we want the fees to go down,” he said.

Trustee John Lippmann, who along with Trustee Jennifer Noone was elected last March, said last month the permit law was “a step in the right direction” in making sure residents were not charged exorbitant fees for minor projects.

In other developments:

• A subdivision application for a residence within the Village of Flower Hill will be required to come before the Munsey Park planning board because the property is located within 200 feet of Munsey Park land. 

Munsey Park’s planning board consists of the village’s board of trustees.

Trustees set the hearing to take place during the board’s February meeting, tentatively scheduled on Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. 

In June, the planning board denied the village’s first subdivision application in 30 years. The subdivision would have split a half-acre lot on Bellows Lane owned by the trust of a former village mayor that sought to sell the property. 

• Haggerty said the board would look to amend the village’s laws regarding the installation of satellite dishes on homes after residents raised concerns about village dish laws, which date back to the 1980s.

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