Board leaves record open after Ferry Landing applicant agrees to 20‑foot wetland buffer

Jamieson McWilliams of the Adam Miller Group said Ferry Landing LLC plans to demolish an existing 842‑square‑foot cottage at 140 Gerard Drive and build a 1,023‑square‑foot one‑story home with associated decking, mechanicals and an on‑site sanitary system. The project requires a natural‑resource special permit and four wetland‑setback variances for structures, plus a variance for a sanitary system that the applicant said can only be sited about 100.5 feet from the wetland where 200 feet is normally required.

McWilliams told the board the design team exhausted alternatives and positioned the new house as far upland as the lot allows while keeping two large trees the owners want to preserve. "We can bring it into HPOD standards," McWilliams said, referring to the Harbor Protection Overlay District standards for revegetation and clearing.

Morgan of the planning department described Gerard Drive and neighboring properties as environmentally sensitive, within New York State significant coastal fish and wildlife habitat, and part of a Harbor Protection Overlay District. Morgan recommended a 20‑foot vegetated buffer to the tidal‑wetland boundary and a conservation easement to protect that buffer in perpetuity, saying the department believed those mitigations would make a larger variance package more acceptable.

Board members pressed the applicant for details on revegetation area and on how construction would be staged on the narrow lot. McWilliams said the updated survey (dated 05/14/2026) and a revegetation plan would be provided; he confirmed the owners have engaged an arborist and are willing to add tree‑protection measures to the construction protocol.

Given the magnitude of the variances and the planning department’s recommendation, the board agreed to leave the record open for two weeks to allow the applicant to (1) confirm acceptance of a 20‑foot wetland buffer, (2) provide an updated survey showing the buffer, and (3) submit a revegetation plan for approval prior to issuance of a building permit. Member Kiley moved to leave the public record open for two weeks; the motion was seconded and concurred.

The board closed the public hearing for the application but left the record open for the additional information. No members of the public called in during the hearing. The next procedural step is for the applicant to file the updated survey and revegetation plan; the board will reconvene the record after two weeks to determine final conditions or a decision.