During the village’s most recent public work session, the village board adopted a new local law that limits the hours that are allowed for construction throughout the village.
“The purpose of this local law is that people [within the village] may have some peace and quiet in the morning and after dinner hours in regards to construction work,” said village attorney John Gibbons.
The new law is under Chapter 376 of the village’s municipal code, which is titled “Peace and Good Order.” The law was created under a new section titled 376-17A “Hours for Construction Work and Repair.”
“For purposes of this section, work shall be defined as excavation, demolition or construction work, repairs, installation of equipment, electrical work or plumbing work, or any work similar…either to the interior of or the exterior of any structure or its premises,” said Gibbons, who read the law aloud to the village board.
Except for emergency repairs, it is now unlawful in all residential zoning districts within the village for any person to do construction work before 8 a.m. from Monday through Friday, before 9 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays and after 6 p.m. from Monday through Sunday. The same rules apply to the village’s business and industrial zoning districts with the exception of starting construction work before 7 a.m. Monday through Friday.
“We have heard many times over the years from residents about being woken up early in the morning from people being bothered by others working on building their house or improving their homes or businesses, which we certainly encourage. However, we don’t want you woken up at 6 o’clock in the morning,” said Mayor Scott Strauss. “There was nothing on the books, so now we’re going to put it on the books.”
Strauss said that the board thinks it’s a fair time frame for construction work to begin and end in the village.
“There are, as it was mentioned in the law, conditions for emergencies,” explained Strauss. “That will be worked out with the building department. When someone comes in with an application, the applicant will be provided with these hours and hopefully they’ll be adhered to otherwise they’ll have to deal with us and the court.”
Deputy Mayor Paul Pereira said that the law was pretty straightforward while trustee George Durham inquired about the enforcement of the law.
“The complainant will have to fill out a form, sign an affidavit attesting that they [contractors] started working at 6:30 [a.m.] and then I believe the summons will be issued. They’ll be brought before court,” said Strauss.
“I think [the law] is a good idea,” said trustee Dennis Walsh. “People like it quiet in the morning.”
The village board also passed a parking resolution that bans parking from 3 to 5 a.m. in parking fields 1, 3, 7 and 7A, which are for commuter parking only, with the exception of Sundays and holidays.
“In our commuter lots, there’s been conversations over the years and certainly this year about abuse of the system,” said Strauss. “For $55, you can purchase a year-long commuter pass that allows you to park your vehicle in a commuter lot on a first-come, first-served basis. There are areas and people who abuse that privilege and it’s extremely inexpensive. It’s probably the best deal on the island. This [resolution] will prevent a lot of that.”
The resolution, according to Strauss, can be tweaked as time goes along.
“As it stands, I think this will free up many of the spots that are taken overnight by people who are not commuting,” said Strauss.
Lastly, the board approved another resolution where for the next two weekends, between Christmas and New Year’s, the village will not enforce parking restrictions in metered areas to encourage residents to shop and support local businesses.
