Enforcing the rules

There can be (and are) a variety of opinions as to the desirability of the flea market located on Route 17B at the Pine Grove entrance to Smallwood in Bethel, NY. But there is no arguing with the fact that flea market manager Stephen Altman, after cutting down about an acre of trees, expanded his parking area and vendor spaces without a special use permit. In allowing Altman to proceed with his business unhindered despite this unlawful activity, the town board is failing to stand firmly behind the town zoning ordinance.

Zoning ordinances are, among other things, a tool by which residents can be ensured that their quality of life and the value of their homes will be substantially preserved. When somebody moves into a house, they have a right to expect that the property that they have purchased will enjoy the protections written into the ordinance. If buyers feel that certain activities would damage or eliminate the neighborhood qualities that make a house desirable, and/or cause the value of the property to drop, they ought to be able to know that those activities will not, in fact, take place in the neighborhood.

Where the ordinance allows such activities on a special use basis—as is the case with the flea market—they can’t be entirely confident that the activities in question will be kept out. But they still have a right to have a say, at a public hearing, as to whether an exception will be allowed or not, or what ameliorating steps might have to be taken in order for a permit to be granted. These are the rights that have been taken away from the residents of Smallwood by the unilateral action of a developer. And town officials are taking a laissez-faire attitude, saying that Altman can proceed with his activities because he has now applied for a permit and they’re sure he’ll work things out to be in compliance.

The good news is that there will be a public hearing sometime in the future, at which at least some of the public’s concerns about the expansion can be heard and hopefully, steps be taken to address them. And in any case, now that the land has been cleared and the parking and vending spaces expanded, it can’t be restored to its original condition. But the town could at least, as Denise Frangipane suggested, have declined to issue any further peddler permits for the flea market operating on Altman’s land before the hearing is held and the matter legally settled.

The other board members demurred, saying that denying future peddler permits, after having granting previous ones for the site, could cause “trouble.” We don’t understand this argument. The concept of “grandfathering” is a time-honored one that allows, in circumstances when rules or laws change, people who are already doing things to continue doing them while an expansion of the activity is forbidden. It’s done absolutely all the time. The practice of “enforcing” ordinances only after people have irrevocably broken them strikes us as one likely to cause a lot more trouble than grandfathering. Among other things, it sets an appalling precedent. Developers have now been given reason to suppose that they can do whatever they want with a nominal penalty (Altman has been fined $250), regardless of town law, if only they present the planning board with a fait accompli.

Local town governments, like all governments, are a compact between the officials who run them and the people. That compact is specified in a series of rules that include, in Bethel’s case, the zoning ordinance. Planning and board members are not all-powerful, and they cannot always prevent people from breaking the rules. But it would be nice to see them put in a good-faith effort to make breaking the rules have consequences. If they don’t, there’s really no reason for people to follow the rules at all. And in that event, it might be time for voters to look for a new set of government officials.

Also in this issue:

• I had a dream
• Give the public a voice in Highland zoning

(Not a scientific poll)

Last week's results:

Should financial information for board members of taxpayer-funded agencies be disclosed?

Yes: 75.56%
No: 22.22%
Not sure: 2.22%

Dr. Punnybone

Two Minute Drill