Shrimp farming, plastic bags and a lack of affordable housing on the North Fork were all on the agenda as Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell addressed the crowd at a North Fork Chamber of Commerce breakfast Friday.
At the event, held at the Six Three One Diner in Southold, Russell gave attendees an update on initiatives in the works, including a code amendment that would allow for shrimp and fish farming on agricultural properties. “Business investments are changing,” Russell said, adding that the town was aiming to change the code to allow for the new uses.
To that end, Russell said, the town is also eyeing new and adaptive reuses for churches that might be going on the market in the months to come.
The supervisor also discussed the proposed ban on single use plastic bags. Russell said no action had been taken, because changing over to paper bags “would cost seven times as much” for business owners, and, in addition, would mean a necessary increase in storage space. Russell said if the idea was to be considered, he’d support a regional approach.
Businesses, Russell said, have a “narrow margin” of possible success, with the influx of new stores to the west in Riverhead, and he said he does not wish to make that margin even more narrow by imposing the single use plastic bag ban, unless a regional approach is taken. Russell said he also believed down the line, alternative products, perhaps soy or corn-based, could be explored
Bob Scott, owner of Robert’s Jeweler’s in Southold, said he did not want to embrace the single use plastic bag ban “if the next town over is not. I don’t see many seagulls carrying Robert’s Jeweler’s bags,” he joked.
Next, the supervisor addressed affordable housing in Southold, and mentioned a plan pitched for Mattituck, near Tony’s Asian Fusion, that would allow for 75 units on 25 acres. But, while Russell said there is a need for affordable housing in Southold, he said he believes they should be spread out around town and not all concentrated in Mattituck, where an affordable housing project already exists, as well as a McDonald’s, and a shopping center. Russell said while NIMBYism usually conjures up negative images, “it’s perfectly appropriate in certain circumstances.”
Russell also hinted at good things to come at the site of the former Capitol One headquarters on Main Road in Mattituck and said the potential projects could create jobs, with the possibility of retail being only a “stop gap measure” until a more permanent plan could be put into place.
Russell and Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski also discussed New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele’s plan to utilize Community Preservation Fund monies to tackle nitrogen in area waterways.
Andy Binkowski of the Cross Sound Ferry thanked Russell and the board for their hard work over the past years.
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