Roslyn Harbor’s Board of Trustees unanimously passed a law Tuesday regulating the use of storage containers and dumpsters on personal property and scheduled a public hearing for a lot coverage law.
The board also set a hearing on the tentative 2019-20 budget, which currently totals $1.14 million, for its next public meeting on April 23.
The storage containers and dumpster law requires residents to obtain a permit in order to use such facilities without a building permit.
The new permit allows for 30 days of dumpster or storage container use, with the potential for a 30-day extension.
The law regulates how large the containers can be and allows the village’s government to require screening on a case-by-case basis. The law amends the “Property Maintenance” section of the village code.
Village building permits last a year and allow for storage containers and dumpsters to remain on the property throughout. The intention of the new law is to ensure that residents without a building permit do not keep the containers on their lawns too long, said Deputy Mayor and Trustee Sandy Quentzel.
“We don’t want people to have a dumpster in their backyard forever,” she said. “You don’t want to drive by your neighbor that has a dumpster. If they’re doing work then they’re regulated to have it for a year.”
The board plans to vote next month on a law that amends how hardscape is regulated on private property.
Village code currently defines lot coverage as the “percentage of the total lot area covered by impervious surfaces,” but excludes surfaces such as gravel from being considered impervious.
That allows residents to use such materials to create driveways without having the surface contribute to the maximum allowed lot coverage.
In addition to redefining what qualifies as lot coverage, the amended law would limit how much hardscape is allowed on the front lawn specifically.
A public hearing will precede the vote.
There will also be a hearing on the budget, which must be passed by the end of April.
The tentative budget total is about $1,000 above the current year’s.
“We’re trying to stay close to where we ended up at the year-end,” said village Clerk Marla Wolfson.
The board authorized village counsel Peter P. MacKinnon to draft legislation to regulate private companies that hold events in the village.
The root issue is liability, said Mayor Louis Badolato. The law should require companies to provide an identification agreement and insurance certificates that the village will keep on record.
“To me the most important thing is covering the village in case something happens,” the mayor said.
The topic arose in tandem with a company’s request to hold an auto auction at the Nassau County Museum of Art in October.
The village has a covenant with the museum that allows it to regulate its events, but since the private enterprise Rand Luxury is seeking to hold the auction, the village does not currently have a standard application for the company to file, Badolato said.
“When you’re dealing with an outsider like the company doing it on museum property and we’re also potentially dealing with stuff with Engineers [Country Club] or the Swan Club, we should have a law in the books,” Badolato said.
