Residents will have the chance to let their voices be heard tonight on a controversial issue dealing with aquaculture in Southold Town.
A public hearing will be held at tonight’s Southold town board meeting, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on the draft code relating to aquaculture.
For months, incensed residents have spoken out about concerns including the smell and noise related to aquaculture-based operations on parcels in town.
Back in July, the town board voted unanimously to defeat initial draft legislation regarding land-based aquaculture, with an eye toward implementing amendments that would help ease concerns raised by neighbors.
Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said then that the goal would be to re-draft the proposed legislation with amendments; the new draft includes a provision that such operations be sited on parcels that are a minimum of seven acres, with a 200 foot setback from other parcels and 100 feet from roads.
The seven acre lot size makes the draft consistent with New York State ag and markets law, Russell said.
At last week’s planning board work session, however, some members raised concerns that the 200 foot setback might be too prohibitive, especially when there are no neighbors on the adjoining parcels.
At the July town board meeting, resident George Aldcroft of Peconic once again expressed his concerns to the board. “It’s not like farmers growing tomatoes. These are big tanks that have to be flushed out,” he said, adding the tanks could make noise and disturb neighbors.
Russell said the board worked to mitigate concerns by suggesting the operations be sited in closed buildings. “Now people say the buildings are too big and ugly. It’s like pushing on a water balloon. At the end of the day, large, enclosed structures are a new business model for agriculture. We’re trying to mitigate the impacts as best we can. People that support small business, and local agriculture, ought to get behind this.”
Earlier in June, residents spoke passionately about their fears over aquaculture in town.
Some said they felt siting such operations 100 feet from a lot line, as initially proposed, was just too close to adjoining properties.
Before the new and current amendments were introduced, the draft legislation sited such operations in the town’s agricultural conservation, or AC zone, with 100 foot setbacks and on parcels of at least five acres.
Other facets of the legislation state that any land based aquaculture operation should take place in a fully enclosed structure; a retail area of not more than 10 percent of the gross floor area of the structure would be allowed for direct marketing of products. In addition, the draft legislation stated, any such operation must maintain all permits, licenses or other approvals required by federal, state and county authorities.
Some said the board should make sure setbacks were far enough away from residential homes near AC parcels, so they would not have to deal with smell and noise, and could enjoy the beauty of the area where they’d chosen to live.
“We can increase setbacks but if you are too draconian the state can come in,” Russell said; setting design standards has so far not posed a problem.
Peconic resident John Skabry said the taxpayers of Southold have spent in excess of $150 million to preserve farmland. “It seems to me the reason I voted for it every time it came up is to enjoy the vistas and panorama of our farms.”
Southold is an agricultural community, Russell said. “This is a bonafide agricultural operation. If we are serious about agriculture we need to embrace it as an industry. We can’t just pick and choose. To ignore the new models would be foolish; we have an agricultural component to the master plan.”
In November, Tess and Todd Gordon of Laurel came before the town board at a work session and said they hoped to launch a new, indoor, business, Celestial Shrimp Farm, in Peconic — and if approved, it would be the first indoor shrimp farm in New York State.
The couple came before the board with a live model, Bob the shrimp, to outline the specifics of their plan, which would need the board to consider expanding the allowable uses within the existing residential zone to add fish farms. Currently, fish farming is only allowed on the town’s marine-zoned parcels; the Gordons’ hope was that the business could be sited on nine acres of property currently zoned residential on Route 48, just west of Mill Road in Peconic; that site would not be allowed under the proposed legislation.
Residents of Henry’s Lane, however, galvanized and headed to Town Hall to express their displeasure with the idea of a commercial enterprise in their residential community. Their collective fears had been fanned by a code committee meeting where a draft was presented that would have allowed for shrimp farming.
Margaret Skabry, John’s wife, has said she’d appreciate 1000 foot setbacks but was glad residential area would not be considered for such uses.
“Hopefully, that’s a done deal and I don’t have to live with that threat over my head for the rest of my years,” she said.
She advocated for the 10-acre minimum, with 1000 foot setbacks. “I don’t want this near my house or anyone else’s,” she said. “Would you want to wake up to smelling and hearing creatures being ripped apart outside your house? I don’t. So protect us.” Russell added that he found it hard to grasp that those who support the “trifecta” of small business, agriculture, and buying local would not support this type of operation.
“I don’t understand how anyone can say they support those things and oppose this, or would want to put restrictions on it that would make it not viable,” he said.
