Putnam Valley Board Nixes Proposed Rental, Occupancy Laws
By Arthur Cusano
The Putnam Valley Town Board voted overwhelmingly to cancel public hearings on two controversial local laws involving rental property registration law and certificates of occupancy.
At a March 2 special board meeting members of the board voted 4-1 to end any further discussion on the two laws, with Supervisor Sam Oliverio being the lone vote for allowing the public hearings to move forward.
Both laws had been discussed by the town board under previous supervisor Robert Tendy. Oliverio said he wanted to give the public a chance to comment on the two laws, even though he believed both were seriously flawed.
“I personally did not like either of them,” Oliverio said. “But because there was a public hearing on the rental law and the certificate of occupancy law was discussed among the supervisor and board members, I brought them forward.”
The first law gave the building inspector the right to inspect rental properties for a various deficiencies, but drew criticism for being too onerous. Oliverio said he would like to see a simpler law that just required rentals to be up to state fire safety code standards. The second proposed local law required a homeowner to have their home inspected before they could sell it. That too was onerous, Oliverio said.
“There is not a building in this town, including the one I live in, that is up to standard code,” he said. “My house was built in 1974. They revised the state building codes in 2010.”
Oliverio said he wants a law requiring the building inspector to inspect a home before it is sold to ensure that no illegal additions, such as a garage or deck, were built. He said some homeowners purchase homes with illegal occupancies and are forced to get a permit and in some cases paying for repairs in order to get the home up to code.
Title companies sometimes don’t check homes and realtors often do not tell potential homebuyers about such issues, he said.
Board members scuttled the rental law with little discussion, but the certificate of occupancy law drew more discussion.
Councilman Steve Mackay argued the certificate of occupancy law was unnecessary, since state law already covered safety issues the law was aimed at addressing. Councilwoman Jackie Annabi agreed the law was not needed and would be another unnecessary layer of government.
“We have New York state laws that cover everybody’s household. We have title companies, we have banks, we have attorneys, we don’t need that,” Annabi said.
Councilman Louie Luongo said he felt some kind of law was needed, but that it would be better to start from scratch than try to work with the current draft. That sentiment was echoed by Councilwoman Wendy Whetsel, who said the topic needed more discussion. The board will hold a public hearing on March 9 at 6 p.m. on a nonconforming structure law to allow residents to renovate their entire basement or attic space with a permit but without the need for planning board approval. That public hearing was unanimously approved by the board.
Current town law restricts residents from finishing more than 20 percent of a space before needing planning board approval. The change is aimed at helping residents save time and money and reducing the number of cases before the planning board.
