Trustees are expected to talk about pawn shops, noise and the ongoing sea wall problem when they meet tonight at the village courthouse.
The former issue was tabled after the last meeting, when consultant Patrick Cleary answered questions about how Port Chester can regulate pawn shops and similar businesses. After two moratoriums and a study, Cleary's recommended course of action involves using existing case law and methods that have worked in other towns to limit – rather than ban – pawn shops.
That would be accomplished through zoning, avoiding an outright ban that would be unlikely to hold up if a licensed pawn broker sought to open shop in Port Chester. Although the village has fielded two inquiries from pawn brokers over the past year, there are no current applications to open pawn shops in Port Chester. Tonight, residents will get a chance to weigh in on the issue before trustees vote.
Also on the agenda: a resolution to authorize Village Manager Christopher Russo to hire Ocean and Coastal Consultants to study alternative solutions to the ongoing collapsed sea wall problem. The bulkhead, which remains closed off to the public, was built as part of the same construction project that brought the $100 million waterfront complex to Port Chester. Engineers have pointed to faulty construction practices, use of inappropriate materials, and improvised work-arounds employed by the original contractors as the main factors leading to the collapse.
In a move to avoid a crippling, multi-million-dollar repair bill, Mayor Dennis Pilla announced last month a tentative agreement with G&S Investors that would cover most of the costs; the details of that plan are still being worked out, but would involve sectioning off the bulkhead and parking lot as a special zoning district that would tie together the resources of G&S and local businesses that benefit from the lot and marina.
As usual, the meeting will include two designated public comment periods; the first is the third item on the agenda, and the second is scheduled for the end of the meeting. With barely more than a week before voters head to the polls to choose Port Chester's next mayor, the election will likely become a central issue during comments tonight.
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