At the Northport Village board of trustees meeting this past Tuesday, September 20, Trustee Dave Weber initiated a walk-on resolution that would, if approved, allow Copenhagen Bakery to continue outdoor music for the next six Saturdays, from 10am-2:30pm. The bakery was given a Village code violation last month, after a resident’s complaints prompted Village officials to stop the outdoor performances.
Uniform New York rules controlling villages allow for a board member to put up a motion to add an item, such as a resolution, to a meeting’s agenda. If the motion is seconded by another board member, the item is placed on the agenda for a vote. According to the NYCOM (New York Conference of Mayors) Handbook for Village Officials, “Adopting a resolution requires the least amount of procedural formality. Unless otherwise required by State Law, resolutions may be adopted without any waiting period, without notifying the public, and without holding a public hearing. Resolutions may be introduced and passed at the same meeting and unless otherwise stated, take effect immediately.”
The request for a walk-on resolution by Trustee Weber began a debate between all board members regarding outdoor music in the Village and whether or not the board should grant any allowances. Trustee Weber highlighted the current Village code, which states that the “installation, use or maintenance of radios, speakers, televisions or like apparatus and live entertainment shall be prohibited in outdoor dining areas, unless separately authorized by resolution of the Board of Trustees.”
Trustee Weber explained that Flemming Hansen, the property owner and operator of Copenhagen Bakery and Cafe, has a unique standalone property with parking lots on both sides of the building. “By allowing this one business the use of live entertainment, which we know the public wants, is not boxing us into a hole where we have to allow it for every single property owner or business,” he said.