Planning board presses for dedicated Further Lane study as comprehensive plan nears public‑comment deadline

Village staff updated the Planning Board on the comprehensive plan on April 9 and said consultants BFJ Consulting have been working on the document for more than a year. Staff asked the board to supply any remaining recommendations while the plan is finalized.

"We put it out to bid… and awarded it to BFJ Consulting," Billy Hajek said, adding that the process has been "over a year" and is now in the "end stretch." He encouraged board members and the public to submit comments before the April 30 deadline.

Board members concentrated on safety and circulation along Further Lane, calling for a dedicated study of that corridor because it is narrow, largely shoulderless and experiencing rising vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Hajek said the lane serves as a bypass to Route 27 and provides access to popular beaches, increasing both traffic volume and safety concerns.

Wes Robinson, a lieutenant in the village fire department, described a near‑miss while driving the department's new truck when a "peloton of about 65 bikers" veered into the truck's lane and forced it close to trees, causing minor damage to the vehicle's reversing guide. "I face that driving it every day," Robinson said as an example of recurring hazards on the lane.

Members and staff discussed the limits of existing code to require road‑widening easements from applicants, saying a clearer plan and policy would give the planning board the tools needed to request easements when development or lot changes present the opportunity. The board also discussed a prior conceptual recommendation to reconfigure downtown access by shifting vehicular access to a rear lot and converting Barns Lane to a pedestrian area, noting such a change would require property acquisition or easements and further study.

Separately, a board member noted the village's agricultural history and said the draft plan contains little discussion of current agriculture, estimating less than 1% of village property remains used for farming and urging the plan to acknowledge that legacy.

Next steps: the comprehensive plan committee will accept recommendations through April 30 via the plan website, email or direct submission to village staff; the board plans to revisit specific recommendations as the plan moves toward adoption.