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‘Orient Rising’: Civic group calls a vote on future of Southold’s easternmost hamlet

File photo: Denise Civiletti

Orient residents who say their unique hamlet needs special consideration when it comes to town planning are taking things into their own hands.

The Orient Association is calling a vote on a list of nine propositions to the Town of Southold addressing specific needs of the small community that they say they’re “not content” to leave long-range planning to the discretion of town officiRals alone.

The propositions deal with issues such as preserving community character, preventing further traffic congestion on Main Road, preserving agricultural lands and the establishment of an Orient Pest Control District to address issues with deer, ticks, insects and other pests.

The propositions as “a distillation of the things we heard from our neighbors” during “dozens of meetings” held in people’s homes on the future of the town’s easternmost hamlet, Orient Association president Robert Hanlon said. The process grew out of the hamlet stakeholder planning process initiated by the town as part of its ongoing comprehensive plan update.

The Orient Association, which developed the propositions through the meetings, is not endorsing any of the propositions, he said.

“Our goal is to identify policies the community wants going forward
and to try to shape those policies” for what the community hopes will be legal implementation by the town.

The group will hold two meetings at Poquatuck Hall to vote on the propositions: on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. and on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. The propositions will be explained and then a vote will be taken by paper ballot.

“We scheduled a morning and an evening meeting so people have a better chance to come,” he said.

People can vote at the meeting or they can mail the ballot in. There will also be an opportunity to vote online, Hanlon said.

The votes will be tabulated by an independent person hired for the task, he said.

People who own property or a business in Orient, or who rent year-round will be eligible to participate in the ballot, whether or not Orient is their primary residence.

“We’re really trying to get the input of all stakeholders,” Hanlon said.

“The town has tried very hard,” he said. “We really admire the planning department and [planning director] Heather Lanza in particular for trying to understand what we want for the future of our hamlet,” he said.

“But they are trying to weave it into the overall town plan. We have no sense that the town is doing a localized plan. We know it has sought localized input, but we don’t know there will be localized output.”

For a full list of provisions, see the Orient Association’s newsletter dated Sept. 30.

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Denise Civiletti
Denise is a veteran local reporter and editor, an attorney and former Riverhead Town councilwoman. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a “writer of the year” award from the N.Y. Press Association in 2015. She is a founder, owner and co-publisher of this website.