The Village of Kings Point Board of Trustees unanimously passed a law amending the code of ethics, making it mandatory for board members to disclose information from conversations with applicants of projects before the board at its Wednesday, March 11, meeting.
The board said the law comes in response to applicants who had contacted board members several times outside of public hearings
“Somebody may tell the board member something that the board member may rely on that is not on the record before the board when the board votes,” said Village attorney Stephen Limmer.
“Or the person may tell the board member something that if the applicant knew there was opposition, the applicant may respond to,” he said.
Mayor Kouros Torkan said the purpose of the amendment was to increase transparency and to ensure all conversations about projects are in the public record.
The board also voted to approve a $58,000 grant from Nassau County to install radar speed signs.
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The board heard an application from Dan Hall of Land Use Ecological Services Inc. for the construction of a 4-foot by 260-foot dock for 13 Locust Cove Lane.
The pier is designed to have a boat lift on the south side and two jet ski docks on the north side, and Hall asked the board to grant waivers for setbacks and overall length of the project. Hall said the dock will have open-grate fiberglass decking in case of flooding.
Torkan said he was concerned about the length of the dock compared to the 250-foot-long one on 11 Locust Cove Lane.
“We want to see some uniformity with these docks,” Torkan said.
“If you remedy this, we have no issue with the permit,” he said.
Hall said he was concerned about how long the delay would be and estimated it would take two to three months to amend the permit.
“This is not the same [Department of Environmental Conservation] we dealt with in the past. Every year moving forward, it gets more and more difficult,” Hall said
The board adjourned the issue, and Torkan said they would come back to it next month.
The board also unanimously updated the village code to be consistent with state requirements for notifying homeowners of data breaches. The village is now required to notify any homeowner whose information may have been stolen due to a village data breach as well as relevant state agencies which have not yet been specified.
And the board unanimously voted to make it mandatory for houses to have visible number signs displaying their addresses.
The board will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, April 14, when it will host its annual budget public hearing.
