The moratorium against construction on the waterfront business district in Port Washington will be extended until October, according to Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Mariann Dalimonte.
Since 2017, the moratorium has been in place in order for the Steering Committee, made of representatives of numerous residential and business organizations, to discuss proposed changes to the town’s code.
The changes would affect the so-called BW district, which covers the private commercial properties extending from Sunset Park to Manhasset Bay Yacht Club and the area south of the Town Dock.
After three years and five extensions, two of which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the moratorium was scheduled to end on Sept. 14, and a public hearing on the matter had been scheduled for the meeting of the North Hempstead Town Board on Sept. 3.
“Dating back to 2017, there have been 19 meetings where changes to the BW zone code have been discussed,” Dalimonte said in an email sent Wednesday. “In fact, we’ve hosted a dozen meetings in 2020, including Steering Committee meetings, public meetings and Town Board Meetings where the code or moratorium have been discussed. Since taking office on January 1, 2020 I have made it a top priority to ensure that this process is as open and transparent as possible. To that end, I believe that it is important to extend the moratorium to allow for two more additional public meetings.”
Dalimonte said that Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the property owners in the BW district had agreed to extend the moratorium.
“While there may often be opposing interests of residents and property owners, the Steering Committee has done their very best to balance those needs,” Dalimonte said. “The goal from the start was to incorporate input from the public and property owners to help craft a code that was a balance between the two.”
The Town Board will hold a special meeting in order to add an official board meeting on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. for the public hearing to extend the building moratorium in the BW zone until Oct. 30. The public hearing regarding the changes to the code, previously scheduled for Sept. 3, will now be held at the Oct. 22 town board meeting.
Dalimonte added that prior to Oct. 22, she will host two public meetings, “at which we will review the proposed changes to the code and allow for all residents to voice their opinions.”
