Sodus Point board delays Martin’s Tidesides storage site while engineering, SEQR and dredging issues are reviewed

Planning Board members on April 21 delayed final action on Brandon Martin’s preliminary site plan for Martin’s Tidesides, a proposed cluster of storage buildings at 7118 Route 14 intended for boat storage. The Board and public commenters flagged multiple technical and environmental concerns — including stormwater controls, dredge-material handling, grading and erosion, access and parking — and voted to hire an engineer to review the site plan and SEQR implications before the Board proceeds.

Mark Costich, who submitted a two-page document to the Board, urged that the SEQR be revisited and argued the current drawings do not address dredge materials, drainage, sidewalks, culverts, sewer access and grading. "There are a lot of things in the application that are problematic," Costich said. The applicant, Brandon Martin, said he will meet the Board's conditions and work with engineers; Martin also estimated the cost to do the dredging at "400,000-600,000 dollars." The Board appointed an engineer to review the SWPPP and related SEQR items and set a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. on April 30 to continue review.

Board members repeatedly emphasized the existing conditions placed on Martin’s Tidesides (items #1—#19 in the 2022 site-approval resolution) that still require technical verification, including topographical mapping, stormwater management per NYSDEC standards, screening berms and plantings, sewer-manhole adjustments, and prohibitions on storing unusable materials on site. Chair Bruce Evener and code enforcement CEO Kevin Druschel asked for clearer plans for lighting, building and door heights, and screening; Druschel said the code contains lighting classifications but not a definition for "marine construction equipment."