Trustee’s home gets proper permits from Village zoning board, building set to begin (again) this spring

It’s been two years since Northport Village Trustee Tom Kehoe was forced to stop unpermitted construction on his home at 51 Mariners Lane. The original plan involved building a 3,000-square-foot home, but that left the foundation too close to the lot lines and required a stairway that wasn’t permitted. The trustee also installed a septic system without a county permit.

The Kehoe house debacle was a hot topic in 2019 when Kehoe, then Deputy Mayor, was pressured to give up that position (he maintained his spot as a Village trustee). Last week, Kehoe finally received the proper permits to continue construction, with a 1,750-square-foot limitation, almost half the size of his original plan.

In 2018, Kehoe filed two lawsuits against the Village Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for receiving variances that were then rescinded without his notice. There hasn’t been a livable home on the plot of land since 2017, when the previous house was destroyed in a fire and then demolished. Kehoe’s original plan was to build a new home and sell it, but now he’s saying he may not sell it after all.

“I’m glad it’s over. It never was my intention to do what I did, but it happened and I paid a price for it,” said Trustee Kehoe to the Journal. “I apologized then and I apologized again publicly, and the zoning board rendered their decision, and we move on.”

Kehoe said that he’ll be waiting until the spring to start building, as winter is approaching and the cost of building materials has gone up significantly. He noted, however, that economic indicators suggest that the current logistics problems impacting construction costs should be resolved by early next year and lumber costs should come down. For now, the trustee is talking plans with builders before they return to construction.