Orient Association October 2022 Newsletter

Town Board Votes to Protect Community Character by Limiting House Size

On Tuesday, October 18, the Town Board voted unanimously to approve Code Amendments to limit house size in Southold.

Six years ago, the Orient Community voted on nine propositions, and overwhelmingly chose limiting house size as a principal concern. This prompted several members of the Orient Association to begin a dialog with the Town Board about how house size could be limited to maintain cohesive neighborhood scale.  A town-wide concern, the Southold Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2020, proposed developing restrictions on house size to keep houses in proportion with neighboring homes.

In late 2020, the Orient Association together with other Southold Civic groups all agreed that amending the zoning code to limit house size was a priority issue within the Comprehensive Plan.  As a group, the civics brought the Town a concrete proposal for code changes limiting house size.  The basic ideas were formulated into a draft code limiting house size based on lot size, further restricting overall height and introducing a “pyramid law” to limit the height of houses close to property lines. 

The Town took this proposal as a foundation for the code that was ultimately drafted by the Town during multiple Town Board Work Sessions and Code Committee meetings that included the Town Board, Town Attorney, members of the ZBA, Building Department and Planning Department.  It took a great deal of dedication to continuously consider and revise every aspect of this code. Scott Russell and the Town Board should be applauded for their dedication to this endeavor.

Water Quality Advisory

On Monday October 17th the Orient Association held a Zoom Information Session for the community to learn more about PFAS contaminants and the Water Quality survey that is being performed by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS).  Jason Hime, the Principal Public Health Engineer of the SCDHS Office of Water Resources shared a short presentation covering the following:

• What are PFAS contaminants and where do they come from?
• What are the health effects?
• What are the regulations on PFAS levels?
• The Orient Village Survey- scope of water testing and follow up. 

The PowerPoint and some more information have been posted on the Orient Association website.  If you have any questions that we can help answer, please use the Orient Association website “contact us” portal.

Southold Town and Hamlet Survey
Join us for a Discussion of Community Issues and Priorities
Poquatuck Hall on November 12^th at 9:30 am.

The Orient Association collaborated with the other civic groups on the North Fork to compile a survey about the priorities for each hamlet and the Town as a whole.  We received 168 responses from Orient residents – one of the highest hamlet response rates.  The top five areas of concern for Orient were: Cleanliness of the Bays and Long Island Sound; Drinking Water Quality and Quantity; Overdevelopment (Commercial and Residential); Sea level Rise and Climate Change and Proliferation of Tick-Borne Diseases.  The complete survey results can be found on the North Fork Civics of Southold website.

On November 12^th the Orient Association is hosting a discussion of the results.

• What are the results?
• What do they mean?
• How are the topics related?
• How are they being addressed now?
• What should the next steps be for areas of concern?

Please share your thoughts and join us for this informative program- cider and cider donuts will be served!