The Sands Point Board of Trustees opted against passing a temporary moratorium on pickleball courts during its public meeting Tuesday night, July 22, instead choosing to continue evaluating each proposal on a case-by-case basis.
Mayor Peter Forman opened the public hearing by confirming that the board had surveyed regulations from municipalities across the New York metropolitan area and compiled a list of best practices. He said the board of zoning appeals will retain full discretion over future pickleball court applications.
“We are not approving a moratorium tonight,” Forman said. “The BZA remains a legally independent body, and they will consider a range of factors for each application individually.”
The decision followed concerns voiced by resident Maryann Ressa of Harbor Acres, who said she felt blindsided by the hearing notice and that her pickleball court application had seemingly triggered community and board opposition.
“I kind of feel like I’m being discriminated against,” Ressa said. “We submitted everything and paid the fees, and then suddenly there’s a parade of people showing up, but nothing was said.”
Forman reiterated that the process for reviewing her application would be consistent with how other proposals have been handled, and that public opposition would be taken into account by the BZA, which the mayor or trustees do not influence.
The board formally closed the public hearing on the pickleball issue without adopting new restrictions, but signaled that new zoning rules may be introduced later as part of broader sports court regulation changes.
In a major public health update, the village confirmed that its granular activated carbon filtration system in village wells 2 and 5 is fully operational and delivering promising results.
The board reported that initial perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA, readings from June 25 returned “undetected,” marking a significant milestone in water safety efforts. Last fall, wells recorded elevated PFOA levels, up to 12.7 parts per trillion in Q1 2024, but recent samples have consistently remained below New York State’s maximum contaminant level of 10 ppt.
The board also announced that Sands Point Trustee Danny Khazai is stepping down from the board due to personal and business commitments. His departure was acknowledged, and David Schamis has been appointed to fill the vacancy on the board.
The next public meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26.
