East Williston residents looking to work on their home or apply for a building permit should familiarize themselves with updates made to the village’s code during Monday night’s meeting.
While the village passed a handful of local laws and amendments Monday evening, one specifying when residents are allowed to make noisy repairs or take disruptively loud actions caught the most attention from members of the community in the meeting room.
The village code now clearly states that residents are only permitted to carry out loud repairs on their homes or other buildings in the village between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, regardless of whether they are completing the work themselves or hiring a construction company or professional landscaper. No work of this kind is permitted on Sunday.
“These are rules that are going to help us enforce a quieter time for the residents,” said East Williston Mayor Bonnie Parente. “Now we have teeth to enforce them.”
Some members of the public criticized this law, arguing that it unfairly limited the time homeowners had to work on their homes as the law includes things like power washing and loud saws.
Parente defended the board’s decision to pass the law as she, other members of the board and the village clerk emphasized the large number of complaints the village has received about noisy work.
“It’s probably the biggest issue that residents complain about. I get texts from people all the time,” Parente said. “We’re fixing a problem that has come up.”
The board also passed a law altering the building permit application process. Now when an applicant files for a permit, like one to open a new business or do construction, they will have to make a $1,500 deposit into a new village escrow account, similar to other villages.
This money will be used for consulting fees, notice publishing fees and other costs. Any remaining money will be returned to the applicant after the process is over to prevent the village from bearing the burden of these costs.
In another effort to prevent undue financial loss by the village, the board opened a hearing on a local law regarding work done by utility companies in the village. With this amendment, the village could request utility companies that dig up the street to pay a greater amount of the cost to repair it as well as to pay to repave the street, curb to curb, where they do work.
Parente left the hearing on the amendment open because she said the board was still determining its exact wording and provisions. A member of the public suggested adding a provision that the utility company must guarantee the length of time a repair holds up and be held liable if it needs to be fixed within five years, which the board said it would look into.
The board also voted to update the chapter of the code on private wells, clarifying the process that village residents would have to go through to dig a well of their own and be allowed to pump non-potable, or non-drinkable, water.
“We don’t recommend this, but it is allowed,” said Parente, who added that the issue had been top of mind since the recent water rate hike by Williston Park, which provides East Williston with water.
The board also amended a local law regarding the schedule of fees, allowing the board to change it when certain fees are collected by simply voting on a resolution, as well as to post all fee schedules on the village’s website.
Parente ended the meeting by providing an update on the village’s new controversial electric sign at the intersection of Sagamore Avenue and East Williston Avenue near the train station.
The village is planning to finish construction on the stone pillars holding up the sign, she said. While different locations where the electrical sign could be placed are considered, the village may plan to put a wooden sign in its place.
One of the East Williston Fire Department Commissioners, Patrick Theodore, attended the meeting and promoted a department open house on Thurs., June 12, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Firefighters will have a barbecue for the community and plan to provide lessons on what to do when a carbon monoxide alarm goes off in your home.
