The Village has an extensive coastline that generally borders on
the Hempstead Harbor (Hempstead Bay) to the east and the northeast,
the Manhasset Bay to the south and west, and the Long Island Sound
to the west, northwest, north and northeast.
The Village Board hereby finds that for ecological, public enjoyment,
public navigation, aesthetic, visual and public health, safety and
welfare reasons, the coastal areas of the Village must be protected.
The shores on the open waters of Long Island Sound and the mouths
of Hempstead Harbor and Manhasset Bay are typically lined with continuous,
sandy beaches, as compared with the harbor areas of Hempstead Harbor
and Manhasset Bay in the southeast and southwest portions of the Village,
generally south of the Village Club and Barkers Point, respectively,
where beach areas are largely discontinuous or absent.
The Village's shorefront on Long Island Sound serves as an important
public resource for various recreational activities such as walking
along the beach and the enjoyment of visual and aesthetic features
on the shore and out into the adjacent coastal waters.
Long Island Sound is a high-energy environment, as attested by the
designation of Sands Point as a VE flood zone, with base flood elevation
as great as 23 feet, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Chapter 70 of the Village Code, as currently enacted, does not adequately protect the existing, sweeping and unobstructed views of and public access along the waterfront of the Village's Long Island Sound shorefront, and does not consider the differences between the protected waters of Hempstead Harbor and Manhasset Bay compared to the higher energy environment of Long Island Sound; and also does not sufficiently take into consideration that the construction of docks can result in significant impacts with respect to important public coastal resources, particularly visual and scenic quality and physical access to the shorefront in the coastline along Long Island Sound, and that there is a potential for property damage resulting from storm-generated debris if new docks are installed in the high-energy environment of Long Island Sound.
The coastal area of the Village between Barkers Point to the west
and the westerly boundary of the Village Club to the east, except
for a short segment of the shoreline in Half Moon Bay containing a
small cluster of existing docks, is currently devoid of docks and
associated structures and is primarily characterized by a wide, publicly
accessible intertidal beach, and the areas of the Village's coastline
that border Manhasset Bay and the Hempstead Harbor are more fully
developed and more appropriate for docks and related structures.
The unrestricted construction and maintenance of docks and related
structures in the shorefront and coastline along Long Island Sound
would irreversibly alter the essential character and nature of the
area and adversely affect the intrinsic qualities which contribute
to its resource value and its ability to serve for public use and
enjoyment.
The preservation of the shorefront and coastline along Long Island
Sound in its natural state is essential to maintaining the character
of the Village.
The desire for the construction of docks and other structures must
be weighed against the environmental value and sensitivity of the
waterfront and against the rights of the community and public to walk
along the shorefront and the rights of the community and public to
be protected from visual pollution.
The Village Board also finds that private rights should not supersede
those of the public and that an appropriate balance must be achieved
between property owner desires to access the water and protection
of the public trust relating to the enjoyment of waters and foreshore
in the Village.
It is for these reasons that the Village Board creates and establishes
two coastal overlay districts known as the Long Island Sound Overlay
District and the Harbors and Bays Overlay District.
[Amended 12-18-2023 by L.L. No. 16-2023]
The terms used in this article shall have the same definitions as found in this chapter and in Chapters 49 and 70 of the Village Code.
There are hereby created two coastal overlay zoning districts, respectively
known as the Long Island Sound Overlay District and the Harbors and
Bays Overlay District. These overlay districts shall be in addition
to the existing underlying zoning that they overlay, and the regulations
of these overlay districts shall supersede any inconsistent or less
restrictive provisions of the existing underlying zoning.
Long Island Sound Overlay District. The Long Island
Sound Overlay District shall include all lands, parcels and lots in
any zoning district of the Village, located between the Mean High-Water
Line of the Long Island Sound, extending 1,000 feet out into the water
to the Village boundary. The westerly boundary of the Long Island
Sound Overlay District shall be Barker's Point, which is located approximately
300 feet to the west of the parcel designated as Nassau County Land
& Tax Map Section 4, Block C, Lot 60, extending in an easterly
direction to the westerly boundary of The Village Club of Sands Point,
designated on the Nassau County Land & Tax Map Section 4, Block
B, Lot 146, which shall constitute the easterly boundary of the district,
excluding the areas from the northernmost extent of the parcel designated
as Nassau County Land &Tax Map Section 4, Block A, Lot 29 and
its intersection with the coastline, extending in a southerly direction
to the southernmost extent of the parcel designated as Nassau County
Land &Tax Map Section 4, Block A, Lot 55 and its intersection
with the coastline.
Harbors and Bays Overlay District. The Harbors and Bays Overlay District shall include all lands, parcels and lots in any zoning district in the Village located between the Mean High-Water Line of the Manhasset Bay extending 1,000 feet out into the water to the Village boundary, and the Mean High-Water Line of the Hempstead Harbor extending 1,000 feet out into the water to the Village boundary. In those areas of the district bordering the Manhasset Bay, the easterly boundary shall be the Village boundary with the Incorporated Village of Manorhaven extending in a westerly direction to Barkers Point, which is located approximately 300 feet to the west of the parcel designated as Nassau County Land & Tax Map Section 4, Block C, Lot 60. In those areas of the district bordering the Half Moon Bay, the westerly boundary shall be the northernmost extent of the parcel designated as Nassau County Land & Tax Map Section 4, Block A, Lot 29 and its intersection with the coastline, extending in a southerly direction to the southernmost extent of the parcel designated as Nassau County Land & Tax Map Section 4, Block A, Lot 55 and its intersection with the coastline, provided however, that any proposed dock at Lot 55 must be a minimum of forty (40) feet from any adjacent easement area to the south while still complying with all other limitations in Chapter 70 of the Village Code. In those areas of the district bordering the Hempstead Harbor, the westerly border shall be the westerly boundary of The Village Club of Sands Point, designated on the Nassau County Land & Tax Map as Section 4, Block B, Lot 146, extending in an easterly direction to the Village's boundary with the Town of North Hempstead.
A map showing the location of the Long Island Sound Overlay District
and the Harbors and Bays Overlay District is attached to and made
a part of this chapter.[1]
No docks, floats, ramps or boat lifts shall be constructed or installed on any waterfront property or in or upon any body of water adjacent thereto in the Long Island Sound Overlay District. Any dock in existence in the Long Island Sound Overlay District at the date of the enactment of this article shall be considered a preexisting, nonconforming use, that may be maintained under the provisions of Chapter 70 of the Village Code and in accordance with the requirements, limitations and restrictions of this chapter applying generally to nonconforming uses. No replacement or substantial repair shall be made to any existing dock in the Long Island Sound Overlay District unless a permit application is approved therefor under Chapter 70 of the Code.
The installation and maintenance of a mooring as defined in Chapter 70 of the Village Code, § 70-2, is permitted in the Long Island Sound Overlay District subject to compliance with the requirement to obtain a permit from the Board of Appeals pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 70 of the Village Code.
Any property owner who desires to use a temporary mooring must satisfy the requirements set forth in Chapter 49 of the Village Code.
Docks floats, mooring piles and boat lifts may be constructed, installed and maintained in the Harbors and Bays Overlay District, subject to compliance with the requirements of Chapters 49 and 70 of the Village Code.