By Kathryn G. Menu

With the scent of spring firmly in the air, this week Mare Dianora and her husband Claes Brondal traveled to Home Depot to stock up on materials to expand their garden twofold, this season planning to grow an abundance of organic vegetables to enjoy with their young son Finny at their Grand Street home.

The effort is part of an ongoing philosophy the couple holds about sustainability, but also the comfort of knowing where, and how, the food the family eats is cultivated.

Similar to North Haven couple Brett and Kristin Morgan, who successfully lobbied the North Haven Village Board to allow residents to keep poultry on their properties in August, Dianora and Brondal have approached the Sag Harbor Village Board to look at creating similar legislation.

“For me, this really began as something that evolved for both of us as we started learning about where our food comes from and how close to home we could get it,” said Dianora in an interview earlier this week.

The family started out by growing vegetables — from asparagus to carrots, kale, peas, tomatoes, greens and beets — and found not only were they able to produce much of their own food, but that Finny enjoyed the process.

“He is literally covered in dirt every day,” said Dianora.

With an interest in the prospect of housing chickens at their home to provide the family with fresh eggs and a valuable source of protein and fertilizer, Dianora drafted her own legislation to present to village board members based on the North Haven law.

Before her presentation, Dianora also traveled with her family to Portland, Oregon for the month of March, where she took a basic chicken care class at the Urban Farm Store. The class covered everything from sanitation to cleaning, feeding, raising young chicks, composting, the full gamut of responsible chicken care, she said.

At Tuesday night’s village board meeting, it didn’t appear trustees took issue with the fowl friendly proposal, although Sag Harbor Village Attorney Fred W. Thiele, Jr. said he would like to research similar legislation before the board considers a draft.

Dianora’s proposal asks the village to amend a local law to allow residents to keep chickens subject to a special permit. The number of chickens or bantams — a small variety of poultry — could not exceed three per 5,000 square-feet of lot area, with a maximum of 10 allowed on any property.

For example, Dianora and Brondal would be able to house about three chickens on their property, which is just over one-third of an acre.

Under the proposal, commercial sale of any chicken, bantam or poultry product is prohibited, as are roosters in an attempt to calm the fears of neighboring residents about natural early morning alarm clocks peppering Sag Harbor.

“To be clear, chickens themselves are not noisy,” said Dianora on Tuesday.

Coops are also regulated, and cannot exceed 100 square-feet or 10 feet in height and must be located in the rear yard of a property and maintain a setback to any rear or side yard of no less than 20-feet. Any outdoor area used by the chickens must also be fenced.

In order to gain a permit, an applicant would have to mail a notice of their application, including a plot plan showing any coop or fenced area, to each bounding neighbor at least 14 days before the application is heard by the village board.

Under the current village code, noted Thiele on Tuesday night, chickens, ducks and the like are not permitted, but according to board members if the community supports the idea that could very well change.

“I think it is something we should get out there and start talking about,” said Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride.

“I like it,” said trustee Robby Stein, who has been working with Dianora on the concept.”

“I think it is a great idea,” added trustee Bruce Stafford.

Trustees Hold on Farmers’ Market Approval

Questioning insurance, the sale of wine and how much vendors are charged, trustees refrained from granting approval to Ana Nieto and Ivo Tomasini to open the Sag Harbor Farmers’ Market on village-owned property on Bay Street from May 21 through October.

The board promised to take up the issue at their May 10 meeting, with at least a few members of the board supportive of allowing the market to continue after the village looks into a few outstanding issues.

What began as a routine request for the six-year-old Farmers’ Market quickly turned to debate, as Gilbride pointedly questioned the market’s winter occupancy at Bay Street Theatre and in the partially empty Loeffler Building on Bay Street without village approval.

Changes of use, even for a brief period of time, do need to be reviewed by the village planning board under village code, although it is the property owner that generally commences that review, not a business leasing space.

Thiele noted that while the issue of the winter market is separate from the summer market, it is still something that should be addressed in the future.

Gilbride added he also heard complaints from vendors not willing to pay fees to participate and that the market was turning into a crafts fair instead of a farmers’ market.

Tomasini said the market was “all food” this year and did confirm that the 20 vendors are asked to pay a seasonal fee of $450, which pays for the management of the market.

Trustee Ed Gregory said he was unaware vendors were being charged, noting the village has not traditionally asked the farmers’ market to pay for using the space.

Last year, countered Tomasini, the market was asked to pay a $100 fee.

“Farmers’ markets always charge their vendors and managers always make money for managing them,” added Nieto. “That is how it works and how they are run.”

At the questioning of Stafford, Nieto also said each vendor carries insurance, specific to the market, that protects the village from any liability whatsoever and that the insurance is filed with the village annually.

“Are any vendors going to be selling wine down there,” asked Sag Harbor Village Police Chief Tom Fabiano.

Sag Harbor resident Kate Plumb, who helped found and run the first village farmers’ market, said that the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets regulate the market, which allows vineyards that produce their own grapes to sell wine at farmers’ markets and provide small samples.

“I am so for the farmers’ market,” said Wharf Shop owner and Chamber of Commerce member Nada Barry. “It is fantastic for the village. Let it continue. I can understand if there are problems with the spot, but we have to keep it in Sag Harbor somewhere.”

Gilbride said the village would look at the list of vendors, review insurance certificates and ask Chief Fabiano for comments about wine before next month’s meeting when they will make a determination.

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