by Michael White |
Outdoor merchandise. Sandwich boards. Tables and chairs on sidewalks. These are all things of questionable legality in the downtown area of Bellport Village.
And for the most part, the rules haven’t been enforced in recent years.
That’s all according to Village Trustee Bob Rosenberg, who at this week’s Village Board meeting announced that a committee is being formed to update the codes.
The goal is to strike a balance between safety and aesthetic concerns, with that of helping local businesses.
“We’ve been accused for a long time being a village of ‘no,’ vis-à-vis our commercial district,” Rosenberg said. “We have a code that’s been on the books for a long time but for the past several years it’s been pretty much ignored in the business district.”
He called a lot of what’s going on on Main Street sidewalks “contrary to existing code.”
The committee, headed by Bellport Chamber of Commerce president Chris Hane of MVP Automotive on Main Street, is expected to make its suggestions in August. The group will be made up of four chamber members, including Hane, and three members from the community at large.
“The downtown businesses are glad that the Village of Bellport is taking a proactive step in working with the us in trying to find ways to help businesses succeed while maintaining a high quality of aesthetics and safety,” said Hane. “We have a good mix of merchants and local residents to work, and hope to come up with a solid plan to update codes for everyone’s best interests.”
“This is a short-term, get-it-done kind of project,” Rosenberg said, insisting none of the changes or strict enforcement of current code will be happening this summer — unless serious safety concerns or gross aesthetic issues arise.
“The board has decided to take a pragmatic approach,” he said.
