The New MLCA Spring Newsletter is here!

Click the cover art above or here to download the Spring Newsletter in pdf format

The MLCA Spring Newsletter features
From the Desk of MLCA President Anne Smith: Current civic recent news concerning multiple MLCA projects:

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• Collaborations with the North Fork Dark Sky Coalition:  learning about our environment partnered with the Group for the East End and the North Fork Environmental Council (northforkdarksky.org).

• MLCA has partnered with the North Shore Land Alliance, Nature Conservancy and Suffolk County to provide an educational webinar on May 17, 2021 on Clean Water Septic systems, the new laws requiring installation and how to apply for a grant.

• Southold Releases Draft Traffic Safety Study: Will DOT allow a 100-foot diameter roundabout in intersection of Main Road, Love Lane, and Old Sound Avenue? DOT has told the Town it prefers a 120-foot diameter roundabout for the key intersection, but the Town – and the MLCA – have responded that the proposal for the larger diameter should be discarded because it is too large and too disruptive.

• Landcraft Gardens: The First and Only Public Garden on the North Fork
  The article details the Founders' initial goals of creating an exuberant and rich garden would evolve into the mission of a lifetime - the creation of the Landcraft Garden Foundation – a natural classroom dedicated to inspiring, educating and promoting gardening, horticulture and the preservation of the natural world. The Foundation encourages visits now before the Summer Season.

5/27/2021 Update:

View the video of the Big House Presentation at the Southold Town Website.

Use the link below:

View the informative Southold Town Civic Associations Presentation at the link below at the North Fork Civic Associations website.

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southold-civics-tuesday-may-25th-630pm/

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PLEASE SHARE THIS INVITATION TO ATTEND THE SOUTHOLD TOWN MEETING
ON ZOOM WITH THE SOUTHOLD CIVICS

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Dear Members and Neighbors,

This coming Tuesday, the Southold Town Civic Associations (https://orientassociation.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d2527662a98ee877cd7c2e0e1&id=b1140a747b&e=b295b32c9b) will be making a presentation at a public meeting of the Town Board on the ever-increasing house sizes in Southold. The presentation will include our joint proposal for limiting house size in Southold, something that almost all other East End towns have enacted.

We are jointly requesting changes to the Zoning Code in order to preserve the rural and small-town feel of Southold Town. Here is the link to the letter to the editor of the Suffolk Times (https://orientassociation.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d2527662a98ee877cd7c2e0e1&id=d579b923d9&e=b295b32c9b) requesting action on house size in Southold before it is too late. Below are more details about Tuesday’s event and a joint statement from the Civics. Please join us and share your opinions with the Town Board.

Limiting House Size in Southold Town – Join the Conversation at a Public Meeting with the Southold Town Board

On Tuesday, May 25th, at 6:30pm the Southold Town Civic Associations ( are holding a (virtual) public meeting with the Southold Town Board to discuss limiting the size of houses in Southold Town. All community members are invited to attend and share their views on this topic which we believe is of vital interest for community character and the future of our Town.

The zoom link for the meeting is available on the Southold Town website here:
https://www.southoldtownny.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=4862

There is a growing urgency to address the trend of huge homes in our community before it is changed forever - its charm, and character destroyed. The Southold Town Civic Associations are calling on the Southold Town Board, under the leadership of Town Supervisor Scott Russell, to act before the end of the year to ensure that the hamlets which make up Southold Town are protected and preserved.

In 2020 the Town Board showed leadership by adopting the “Southold Town Comprehensive Plan.” A core pillar of that plan is the conservation of community character. To that end, as adopted, the plan advises that house size limits (“lot coverage”) be revisited. Revisions would still allow growth, development, and renovation of housing, but would safeguard outsized development and destructive speculative behavior.

Southold and Riverhead are the only two towns on the East End that still allow extremely large homes to be built. The Southold Civic Associations have reviewed the codes from other East End towns and have proposed changes that are in keeping with what other communities on the East End have done, including Sag Harbor and Southampton. The proposal, which the Civics will present at the Town’s May 25th public meeting, will be available on the Southold Town Civic Associations website.

The Civics, along with other groups including Group for the East End, the North Fork Environmental Council and North Fork Audubon among others, call on Southold Town to make house size a priority in the remainder of this year. The Town can change the zoning code to limit the size of future homes and ensure that our small-town feel remains.

Southold Town is beautiful. Its historic hamlets and rural character are without parallel on Long Island. Now is the time to act to limit house size. Please join us and add your voice to the discussion.

For more information, please reach out the Civic Associations here:

  The North Fork Civic Associations  (https://nfcivics.org)
  The Cutchogue Civic Association (https://www.facebook.com/groups/570233813781381)
  The East Marion Community Association (https://emca.us/)
  The Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association (https://www.mattitucklaurelcivic.org/)
  The New Suffolk Civic Association (https://www.newsuffolkcivicassociation.com/)
  The Orient Association (https://orientassociation.org/)

Click on the flyer above or click here to download a pdf with link to the Zoom meeting.

MLCA’s Zoom Meeting

6:30PM, Monday, May 17, 2021

This is an important meeting to learn about the Suffolk County
grants for Innovative Advanced Septic systems.

The North Shore Land Alliance and the Nature Conservancy
will be joined by local experts. There will be information
and time for questions.

Please share the Meeting flyer with others.
This session is open to the public.

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Visit and read the East End Beacon coverage of this MLCA event:

mcla-hosts-clean-water-septic-technology-webinar/
 

Copy and paste the link below in your browser to access the MLCA Channel or click the link here.

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Read and download the Mattituck Traffic and

Safety Study Report Here:

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http://southoldtownny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8447/Southold-Mattituck-Traffic-and-Ped-Safety-Study-Report

Ongoing coverage of MLCA’s traffic calming efforts

01.21.2021
Town Hall Notes: Traffic study of Love Lane area completed
https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2021/01/town-hall-notes-traffic-study-of-love-lane-area-completed/

08.08.2020
Guest Column: Save this last green corner in Mattituck
https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2020/08/guest-column-save-this-last-green-corner-in-mattituck/

03.28.2019
Town Engineer: Roundabout ‘most practical solution’ for Love Lane
https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2019/03/town-engineer-roundabout-most-practical-solution-for-love-lane/

05.06.2018
Civic association teams up with college students to create pedestrian-friendly hamlet
https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2018/05/civic-association-teams-college-students-create-pedestrian-friendly-hamlet/

01.30.2018
MLCA lays out three options for Love Lane intersections
https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2018/01/mlca-lays-three-options-love-lane-intersections/

04.19.2016
The MLCA Traffic Calming Project Report that prompted Southold Town’s study

Click on the Issues/Resources tab on the above menu and select "Traffic Calming" to download the MLCA Traffic Calming Project Report or click here.



 

Click here to download the MLCA Winter 2021 Newsletter

The Winter 2021 Newsletter features:

• The Mattituck Traffic and Safety Study Report

• The MLCA Website Update

• Membership Survey

• International Dark Sky Week*

The MLCA is a community-based group which
informs the local population about issues
that can affect this community.

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The MLCA's Mission

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• Promote, foster and encourage interest and support for all things related to the general benefit of the community 

• To work in concert with other local associations to better address quality-of-life issues facing Mattituck and Laurel

• To encourage citizen participation in community improvement programs through meetings, discussions and forums

• To co-sponsor and engage in action with other organizations and groups on civic, beautification and other programs to enrich the quality of life for the residents of Mattituck and Laurel.  

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world;
indeed it's the only thing that ever has."

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Margaret Mead