[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Southampton 9-8-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
As noted
in the Town's Comprehensive Plan Update, the historic and cultural
past of Southampton is integral to its sense of place and community,
and in order for these resources to be adequately protected, this
historic identity must be recognized, preserved, and interwoven into
the fabric of the Town. Much of that fabric includes the Shinnecock
Nation, a Native American tribe that has occupied Southampton for
more than four hundred generations.
B.
Given this
rich history, there may be numerous, ancient Native American graves
and funerary objects in Southampton that are unmarked, but which carry
with them great spiritual, cultural, and historical significance.
With nothing to protect them, such sites are vulnerable to unintentional
disturbance in the course of construction and other related activities,
as well as, regrettably, intentional and deliberate destruction, vandalism,
and looting.
C.
The Town
Board of the Town of Southampton recognizes that the sanctity of human
burial sites is an intrinsic and paramount value among all cultural
and religious traditions which practice the custom of burying the
dead. Indeed, the Town Board recognizes that there are numerous unmarked
burial sites throughout the Town - including, but not limited to,
the Sugar Loaf Hill Shinnecock Indian Burial Ground and the Shinnecock
Indian Contact Period Village Fort regions - which are of great cultural
and historical significance to the people of the Town, particularly
to members of the cultural and religious groups affiliated with them.
That said, the Town Board also recognizes that the existing laws are
inadequate to protect these unmarked burial sites from disturbance,
and that New York is one of very few states which has no express statutory
protection for unmarked burial sites.
D.
Thus, the
purpose of this moratorium is to review the current laws and land
use tools available to the Town to address this issue, with the goal
of adopting local legislation to ensure that human remains and associated
funerary artifacts remain undisturbed to the maximum extent practicable,
and are treated with the utmost respect consistent with the wishes
of lineal descendants and culturally affiliated groups.
A.
The moratorium
area shall be defined as those parcels located north of Montauk Highway,
which includes the Shinnecock Indian Contact Period Village Fort region
("Moratorium Area A"), and those parcels located south of Montauk
Highway, which includes the Sugar Loaf Hill Shinnecock Indian Burial
Ground region ("Moratorium Area B"), within the hamlet of Shinnecock
Hills.
B.
Moratorium
Area A shall encompass those parcels bounded on the north by the Long
Island Rail Road, on the east by Ridge Road, on the south by Montauk
Highway, and on the west by Peconic Road, within the hamlet of Shinnecock
Hills.
C.
Moratorium
Area B shall encompass those parcels bounded on the north by Montauk
Highway, on the east by Southway Drive, on the south by Shinnecock
Bay East, and on the west by Peconic Road, within the hamlet of Shinnecock
Hills.
A.
Except
as otherwise provided herein, for a period of six months from the
effective date of this chapter, no agency of the Town of Southampton
shall accept, process, or approve any application for a building permit
or demolition permit which involves the excavation, digging, grading,
or regrading of:
B.
For the
purposes of this chapter, grading shall be defined as the subsurface
disturbance of at least one foot in depth or more, on average, and
at least 10 square feet in surface area or more, of a parcel of land.
A.
Applications and actions not expressly listed in § 323-3 of this chapter shall be excluded from the moratorium.
B.
Any application or action listed in § 323-3 of this chapter that has received a building or demolition permit prior to the effective date of this chapter shall be excluded from the moratorium.
C.
Any applicant
that has demonstrated, and submitted proof thereof, that a field study
was done of the area proposed to be excavated, dug, or graded using
subsurface ground-penetrating radar at a depth of at least eight feet,
showing no buried artifacts, graves, or grave objects, shall be excluded
from the moratorium.
D.
Any applicant
that has demonstrated, and submitted proof thereof, that a Phase IA
and Phase IB Archeological Survey was completed of the area proposed
to be excavated, dug, or graded, showing no buried artifacts, graves,
or grave objects, shall be excluded from the moratorium.
A.
Notwithstanding
any provision herein to the contrary, the Town Board may, during the
term of this chapter, approve or deny by resolution an exemption from
the provisions of this moratorium following a public hearing. Upon
such application, the Town Board shall consider:
B.
In making
a determination under this section, the Town Board may obtain and
consider written reports from the Department of Land Management, the
Southampton Town and Shinnecock Indian Nation Joint Cultural Heritage
Protection and Stewardship Committee, qualified experts, and members
of the public, as required by the judgment of the Town Board, and
consistent with the purpose of this chapter.
C.
No exemption
shall be granted hereunder unless the Town Board shall specifically
find and determine, and shall set forth in its resolution granting
such exemption, that:
(1)
Failure
to grant an exemption to the owner will cause the owner undue hardship,
which hardship is substantially greater than any harm to the general
public welfare resulting from the grant of the exemption; and
(2)
The
grant of the exemption will clearly have no adverse effect upon any
of the Town's goals or objectives in adopting this chapter; and
(3)
The
application for which the owner seeks an exemption will be in harmony
with the existing character and critical environmental areas in which
the affected land is located, and will be consistent with any interim
data, recommendations, or conclusions which may be drawn from any
planning work or local legislation then in progress or under review.
D.
Any exemption
shall also include a detailed finding that the grant of an exemption
will be in harmony with and will not be unduly disruptive to the goals
and purposes of the grave site protection strategies developed pursuant
to this chapter, and not set a future precedent for other potential
project applications.
Pursuant to 6 NYCRR § 617.5(c)(30), a local law to
implement a moratorium is a Type II action under the New York State
Environmental Quality Review Act ("SEQRA"), which has been determined
not to have a significant impact on the environment and is otherwise
precluded from environmental review under Environmental Conservation
Law Article 8 and thus not subject to review.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to, and shall supersede, amend,
and take precedence over any inconsistent provisions of New York State
Town Law under the Town's municipal home rule powers pursuant to Municipal
Home Rule Law §§ 10(1)(ii)(a)(11), (12), and (14),
10(1)(ii)(d)(3), and 22. In particular, this chapter shall supersede:
(i) any inconsistent provisions set forth in New York State Town Law
§ 130, New York State Town Law Article 16, including, but
not limited to, Town Law §§ 264, 265, 267-a, 267-b,
274-a, 276, 277, 278, and 279, (ii) any inconsistent provisions set
forth in the Southampton Town Code, including, but not limited to,
Chapter(s) 123, 247, 292, and 330, and (iii) any inconsistent provisions
set forth in any and all other local laws of the Town of Southampton.
