To honor the 19 years Dr. Benjamin Giminaro served the Village of Farmingdale as a deputy mayor and trustee, the board began the July 10 meeting by adding his picture, the first color photograph to the wall of village officials.

"Doc is a distinguished gentleman and this board is proud to add him to the wall," Mayor George Graf said.

Then it was down to business as the board had a lengthy 19-item agenda to tend to. Eight building permits applications passed by the board were not affected by the moratorium. The applications included demolition of a detached garage, deck additions and interior renovations.

Local Law 1 2006 (the moratorium) allows requests for waiver if the applicants feel they are not included in the moratorium or if they are so far along they have a small amount to finish. Each individual applicant, however, must address the board and can apply for a waiver later if denied the first time. At the meeting, nine applicants addressed the board, however, four were adjourned.

John and Pat Dankowitz of Conklin Street were denied converting a residential home into office use. Even though John said they are "not looking to change space, Victorian look or parking usage."

"Because we're so early on in the visioning process, changes to residential and commercial usage fall smack in the middle," Trustee Butch Starkie said. "Hopefully that can be re-looked at later on."

"The board just needs a little more time to review everything," added Mayor Graf.

Martino Realty was granted a waiver to maintain a converted retail space to office use for a real estate company at 120 Secatogue Ave.

Rory Burkey of 623 Fulton St. was also allowed to use his one-family dwelling as a locksmith/residence. He wants to convert his front porch into a showroom and live in the rest of the house.

Vorillas Properties, LLC, the contractor building the new Starbucks in Farmingdale Plaza, was granted a waiver to add a drive-up window.

JC Management, represented by former Mayor Willis B. Carman, was denied converting two homes into a 16-unit multiple dwelling unit. It was previously reviewed by the planning board and board of zoning appeals and recommendations were made.

"This falls squarely into the intent of voting for a moratorium," Starkie said. "This is what the moratorium was set up for."

The trustees then passed Local Law 3 of 2006. This law is designed to protect the village and its residents from the proliferation of illegally occupied houses in the village.

"Many of the one-family homes are being used as two- and three-family homes in violation of our local zoning laws," Village Clerk Dave Smollett later told the Farmingdale Observer. "These illegal uses congest our streets, drain village services and generally detract from the quality of life the trustees are trying to protect for their residents."

The local law establishes presumptions which state that if property has certain characteristics which suggest that it is being occupied by more than one family, then the law will presume that it is being occupied by more than one family. For instance, if a legal one-family home has more than one doorbell, or more than one LIPA meter, the law will presume that the property is being used as a two-family residence. The owner will then have to explain why the property has the characteristics of more than a one-family home. This will hopefully result in an inspection of the house by our building officials, which would determine the true use of the property.

The law also provides for a stiff penalty of $3,500 for an owner who uses his or her property illegally.

"This stiff penalty is necessary in order to take the profit out of the illegal use of the property," Smollett said. "Prior to the law, the fines imposed by the court (based upon the existing law) might be a few hundred dollars. The punishment simply did not fit the crime. It is hoped that the new fines will deter future violators of the village zoning laws."

Jeff Toole, a Staples Street resident, said this is a "great law and it's a long-time coming." He continued to praise the ongoing efforts of the Code Enforcement in this area as well.

Trustee Starkie suggested a brief grace period so that "those relying on that additional income can make other arrangements."

"I just want to give people a notice that we're coming," he added.

Vision Long Island Update

Also at the meeting, Eric Alexander and Alex Latham from Vision Long Island presented a review and update of the village's master plan. See next week's Farmingdale Observer for the entire story. For more information, visit www.visionlongisland.org. Scroll down to the bottom left and click on the Village of Farmingdale link.

The next board meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall. The next work session will be held on Tuesday, July 25 at 6 p.m. at Village Hall. Work sessions are held for the board to get up to speed on various issues facing the village. While they are open to the public, there are no votes taken and items are not open for discussion among attendees.