Residential density.
A note from Bridget on the residential density issue:
I believe my opponent may have misunderstood my position on residential density in Hampton Bays. I'm certainly not opposed to the addition of accessory apartments; I was referring to Planned Development Districts (PDDs), which are discretionary decisions by the Town Board, and which come with important hamlet-by-hamlet considerations. I understand how difficult it is to find reasonably-priced housing throughout the East End. It's a major concern to many families. I surely wouldn't want to change zoning where accessory apartments are already permissible, and I would not discourage the Planning Board from approving a variance for an accessory apartment if the zoning code does not allow for it and a variance is needed.
Solving the town's financial crisis.
The Town of Southampton is in a terrible financial mess. Years of mismanagement have left us with enormous deficits – and we, the taxpayers, are going to have to pick up the tab.
Bridget has spent a great deal of time in the past couple of months traveling around the town, meeting voters. Time and again, the people she meets express their frustration that the government of Southampton is run by a select group of people, for a select group of people. For years, community voices have been ignored; Board members haven’t done their homework; and there’s been no accountability built into the laws the Board has passed.
Bridget was a prosecutor for almost ten years. As Chief of the Manhattan D.A.'s Welfare Fraud Unit, she fought to prevent – and punish – the misuse of taxpayer money. And as the wife of a carpenter and small-business owner, she knows firsthand the importance of safeguarding our hard-earned tax dollars. Once elected, she'll use the skills she honed coordinating large public-finance investigations to get tough on the Town's budget, finding and eliminating overlapping services, wasteful spending, and sloppy bookkeeping.
The people of Southampton deserve to have their tax dollars provide the services they need. The Town Board has to be held accountable. Bridget can bring a new professionalism and understanding to the process of budgeting, calling on the right people to help make decisions and making government accountable to the people.
Opening government to the people.
There is a fundamental problem with standard operating procedures on Hampton Road. Decisions are made before the community, civic organizations, or even town-appointed Citizen Advisory Committees are heard. Bridget has represented her community at Town Hall as a member of the Noyac CAC. She knows that to ignore the input of the community may serve the purposes of the small group in charge, but it does not serve our town.
Even when laws are enacted, they are not enforced. This is true even when community members are begging for action. Bridget pledges to work to end this failed approach to government. She will work to change the Town Code so that important decisions that impact the environment, our taxes, our police, business initiatives, commercial projects, and other important issues, are made only after a full consideration of the concerns of the people who know and care about them. She knows that the people of Southampton are a rich resource, and that the community is the best place to look and listen for solutions to our pressing problems, and for feedback on whether government is working. The community must be heard, both before and after laws are enacted. Bridget will listen.
Reforming the planning process.
(The following is the text of a letter to the editor published in the Southampton Press on September 3, 2009.)
At last week’s Noyac CAC meeting, members were surprised to learn from their chairman that the Planning Board had begun considering a new site plan application for the Bridge Golf course. The application came to their attention only because the CAC’s chairman had seen it on the Planning Board’s agenda for the previous week. The golf course has historically been a controversial project in which the CAC and many environmental groups have taken great interest. It is located over a New York Special Groundwater Protection Area and wells on the site are currently being monitored for contamination by the town. Despite the CAC’s important interest in the site, no notice was given to them that the Planning Board is now considering an application for the addition of a more than 11,000 square foot building to house seasonal staff.
The incident brings up a larger question. There is widespread agreement that the Planning process in the Town is broken and needs to be fixed. A recent resolution to shorten the appointed term of Board members and to require a level of professionalism on the Board simply does not go far enough to fix the system.
It is clear that effective change must include a number of important elements. First, the process must include concerned members of the public, and particularly members of the CAC’s, civic associations and relevant advocacy groups. These folks know and care about their hamlets and are a great asset to decision making. They must be given reasonable notice of applications and a real opportunity to be heard so that their opinions can be considered and respected.
Further, the Town Board should establish procedures within the Planning Department that ensure that the needs of all relevant parties are addressed. Such procedures should include requiring that, early in the process, applicants and planners are fully aware of any adverse history at the site, whether there has been any previous controversy, and whether there is any current public concern regarding the site. This early focus would protect the financial interests of the applicants as well as the public. In addition, site inspections should be required for all major applications. And importantly, the Board should require informed and aggressive legal counsel to the Planning Board and the Planning Department, to protect the Board from lawsuits and the threat of lawsuits.
In addition, the Town Board should make provisions for review of the process on an annual basis, so that the public and applicants can contribute to an understanding of whether the process is working for all the parties, and to ensure a level playing field.
As a candidate for Town Board, I recognize that it is the responsibility of the Board to ensure that important functions of government are operating in a way that best serves the town and its citizens. Our Planning process is broken, and it’s time for the Town Board to step in and fix it. If I am elected, I will make it a priority to do just that.