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Public hearing set on amendments to special events law

A public hearing on proposed amendments to the town’s entertainment and special events law, including one that would give the Southold Town Board the responsibility of approving or denying special events permits, is set for Tuesday, March 13.

The Town Board discussed revising the special events law in July. As the law stands now, special events, such as music festivals or bike races, are approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals chairperson, while the Town Board handles appeals. Both Town Supervisor Scott Russell and ZBA chairperson Leslie Weisman had said the administrative function should not have been placed with the chair.

The legislation proposes the creation of a special events committee that would review applications and make recommendations to the Town Board as to whether the application should be granted or denied. The committee would consist of the town government liaison officer as chairperson, as well as the Zoning Board of Appeals chairperson, the police chief, the planning director and chief building inspector or each of their designees, according to the proposed amendments.

Another presented change includes allowing the Town Board, if they determine that there is no specific town benefit from the event or if the event is conducted for profit, an additional deposit could be made in an amount determined by the additional police, highway and cleanup costs associated with the event and used to cover those costs.

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