Full Transcript
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The first on the public hearings, we have, again, Venecia Square. Yep. Okay. So, for the record, Matt Charr, Senior Planner for the Town of Riverhead. I'll start by reading the public. I'll take notice into the record and give the board an update of where we're at. Please take notice that a public hearing will be held before the planning board of the Town of Riverhead at the Riverhead Town Hall for West 2nd Street, Riverhead, New York, on Thursday, the 7th day of August 2025 at 6 o'clock p.m. to consider the site plan application entitled Venecia Square, which seeks approval to construct a commercial center consisting of 27,000 square feet of retail within two 10,000 square foot buildings and one 7,000 square foot building, one 4,000 square foot bank with drive-thru, one 6,000 square foot building, and one 7,000 square foot building. including one 3,000 square foot restaurant, 3,000 square foot 76 seat restaurant, and two 1,500 square feet takeout restaurants. With 16 seats each within a 6.342 acre project area located at 6435 New York 25A. On the south side of New York 25A, approximately 789.64 feet west of the New York 25A Waiting River Manor Road intersection. And it's located within a 6.342 acre project area. the business center which is the rural neighborhood business zoning use district more particularly identified as suffolk county tax map numbers 600-73-1-1.4 1.16 1.17 1.18 and 1.19 if the board recalls at the july 3rd planning board meeting we did adopt a negative declaration pursuant to seeker for this application after a long environmental review we also did schedule the public hearing at the july pine barons meeting this application did receive approval for their drs application that's a development of regional significance so we're moving along with the process if the board has no other questions for me the site plan is on the screen i'll turn it over to chick for he's who is the applicant's rep thank you matt good evening members of the board uh for the record my name is chick voorhees of north elsa and pope vorhees uh certified environmental professional and planner and i've been the primary consultant on this project for about 10 years i'm joined here tonight by two members of bowler engineering gary talbot and ben plumb and they have prepared the site plan that is before you tonight just for orientation this is a 6.34 acre site south side of route 25a i know you're very familiar with it i appeared at the july 3rd meeting and we've we've been here a number of times previously uh it's zoned cr rural neighborhood business and it's proposed for a total of 27 000 square feet of commercial space uh the site plan is dated august 15th 2024. uh the planning files have the complete set it consists of 16 individual sheets and is very detailed including swips landscape plans lighting hoses for Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale northwest and one at the east side and a signal is expected to be installed at Dogwood Driveway Drive at the West driveway the site plan conforms with all the necessary aisles sidewalks turning radii building placement and other appropriate engineering and design requirements as prepared by bowler we've also reduced this in size over the past couple of years partly to conform with central pine barrens clearing requirements and as Matt said we did go before the pine barrens Commission received approval for a development of regional significance and that is part of your file that was at the their July meeting July 16th we've completed archaeological studies traffic studies environmental studies your consultant LKMA reviewed the traffic impact study and signal plans we also prepared the preliminary ! intersection design and submitted it to DOT and they have indicated that the plans are approvable subject to their typical more detailed plans as Matt indicated the negative declaration was adopted at the July 3rd meeting and you also set up the hearing for tonight we have posted and noticed this hearing posted the site that was completed by a bowler and the affidavits have been given to Matt charters so it's gone through extensive review I don't need to go into too much detail unless you have questions my client is also here mr. vento and we're here if there are any questions that concludes my remarks okay my only objection is to on the project is that you know I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to answer that question but I'm going to go ahead and ask you to answer it and then we'll see you in the next meeting on the project is that the traffic going up dogwood drive I think that if people leaving the shopping center would just have an east and west direction like all the other shopping centers on 25 a I mean I think it would be beneficial to the people on dogwood drive as opposed to the traffic that may especially with restaurants with people getting delivery services the way people order food these days the amount of traffic that are going to be you know going down to a wood and up to a wood tip to enter the shopping center I just think that in the east and west directions would be sufficient and I would hope something could be done about that please thank you okay your traffic consultant did review the studies I did hear you express that at a meeting last year right I have driven that Road I believe there's adequate sight distance and it does make sense that the traffic that we're going to be driving through the sense from a planning and engineering standpoint to align with existing intersections and i think the signal will help but i would rely on the professionals um we prepared information that was reviewed by uh your consultants and i understand your comment matt what did the study show the last um um the last study that we did on this before we moved away from this there was a traffic study done what did that show yeah there was a traffic study it was prepared by schneider engineering uh again it was reviewed by lkma um there there are improvements minor improvements that can be made that will actually uh improve the level of service uh or at least the delays that are experienced we all know it is congested uh at that particular intersection at waiting river manor road uh but the study was prepared it's been prepared reviewed and it's been found to be out of it so we'd look to um make those improvements in coordination with dot as we proceed through their approval process uh if you act on this the fact that there was supposed to originally have been a an intersection there crossing completely that's out of that's off the table now right yes i think we discussed that at uh the july 3rd meeting and that was a an older concept that my understanding it is it's not being pursued at this time okay anybody else no okay thank you very much i'm going to close the public hearing on no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no would anybody from the public like to stand up and speak about dog or drug uh vienza square thank you
good evening my name is dean ganley i'm a representative from legislator katherine stark's office i have a letter from the legislator she wanted me to read into the record and give to the planning board to the members of the riverhead planning board i am writing to you today regarding venezia property currently suffolk county has moved to make an appraisal on these parcels and preserve them for open space this move was made at the last suffolk county environment parks agricultural committee on the 28th of june 2025 and approved the general meeting on august 5th meaning the property owner may get an offer letter as early as this fall given that preservation is an option it seems better for all parties the land be preserved it protects the interests of the neighboring landowners some of whom have expressed a desire to see it preserved and the current venezia property landowner could be made whole by selling the land to the county sincerely legislator katherine stark and if i could give this to somebody for the board thank you thank you
good evening uh sid bale president of waiting river civic association i'll make a brief we completely support legislators stark's efforts to bring about an acquisition of that of the i think that would be the an ideal situation for the community to preserve the rural character of the community and it would resolve some of the traffic issues that some of us who who live in waiting river are very concerned about and it i think would be a good solution for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for the proposed buildings. I want to support Dean and Mrs. Stark's office. We're extremely grateful that the county has gone and done this. As everyone who lives in Wading River knows, there's already a traffic situation and we really support this because we really want to keep the community in how it is. We understand the builder has a right to build. It is his property, but I think this kind of would be a good result for everyone. Thank you for the time. Have a good evening. Thank you. Good evening. Martin Sinluski, 215 Ronald Cavan in Riverhead. I just wanted to see if the board could verify. We have a project I'm working on for a client directly across the street from here. It's much a a much a a a project I'm working on for a client directly across the street from here. It's much a much a much a much a small. Smaller. In comparison. I'll give my card to it's only 40 cars. That was waiting for it. A square. Like for thousands for retail. And like. Three.ай.ай. Coordinated with the traffic and and lighting traffic lighting plan. We have a entrance on The east side of the property entrance only and an exit only on the west side. You've seen the site plan It's been a while, but it's still active my clients. I'm just curious as this is this is the public hearing for Venezia Square Yeah, but right so they have a they have a Traffic light and study being done We have two curb cuts that are being proposed directly across the street. So I'm just wondering if their traffic study could include Consideration for those entrances because it will affect traffic so they should just consider it. That's all I'm saying. Okay Thank you
Yeah, just a couple of quick follow-up points I I have personally been in touch with Catherine Starks office and Dean as has our client They did receive an unsolicited letter Seeking to move forward with a potential acquisition process as you know, it's a willing buyer willing seller situation And my client will make those considerations as that process moves forward It shouldn't really be part of the site plan process As you know, I
Will note that there's a hundred and nineteen foot of Nate natural vegetation between the cleared development area and the South property line That's required by Pine Barrens Commission. It will be remaining as natural as it currently exists in perpetuity and I think that certainly helps from the standpoint of neighbors for Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale I don't believe any further coordination is needed at this time, but I'm happy to speak with Mr. Sindeluski as needed. So I hope you'll take all of this under advisement and move forward with a decision on this site plan. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Would anybody else at this time like to speak about this project? Mr. Chairman, we do have several members that are present on Zoom. If you could, I would just ask if any of them would like to speak on the application, they can raise their hands. Okay, is anybody on Zoom would like to speak? Please raise your hand.
No? No. All right, I move we close the public hearing. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay.
Next up, we have East End Commons, BJ's Fueling Station and Expansion. Greg?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board for the record, Greg Bergman, Senior Planner with the Riverhead Planning Department. What we have is a public hearing for a site plan application of East End Commons for the BJ's Fueling Station and Wholesale. We have a public hearing for a site plan application for the BJ's Wholesale Club Expansion, seeking approval to construct a 10,530 square foot expansion of an existing BJ's Wholesale Club, as well as an accessory fueling station with 16 fueling locations in total, as well as 165 square foot fueling station attendance kiosk, perform improvements including parking, landscaping, and lighting upgrades, as well as additional connection to the Riverhead Sewer District. The property is located at 565-605 Old Country Road, Riverhead, within the Shopping Center Zoning Use District. More particularly described as Suffolk County Tax Map Number 600-109-1-19.6. I will acknowledge receipt of the affidavit of postings and mailings as required by our town code for the site plan public hearing. At this point, we have Chris Kent, the attorney for the applicant, who has a presentation for the board.
Thank you. If I could hand up. I have a bunch.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Yes. Good evening, Chairman Hogan and members of the planning board. Thank you. I am a partner at Ferrell Fritz and I am the attorney for the applicant BJ's Wholesale Club. With me here tonight is Jeff Black who is the site development manager for BJ's Wholesale Club on behalf of the applicant. Chris Bazzogno, he is a project engineer from R&M Engineering who is also here. Wayne Baller, traffic engineer from R&M Engineering. And Jason Carr who is the fueling facility designer. So they will be here to answer any questions you may have at the end of the presentation. So the applicant BJ's, first of all, I handed in earlier today affidavits of mailing and posting of the property. I also provided photographs that were taken today of the site, I turned them in to Greg Bergman showing the property was still posted. Thank you. You are still posted as of today. The applicant BJ's Wholesale Club seeks site plan approval from the board to extend their existing wholesale club by 10,530 square feet. And at an accessory onsite fueling facility. And attendance kiosk. In connection with the operation of their existing wholesale club. On a portion of the property located within the East End Commons Plaza. Which is a 31.64 acre parcel. That has frontage. and access from old country road county road 58 and northfield turnpike county road 43 and it borders on oliver street though it doesn't have any existing or proposed access to the site from oliver street the bj's wholesale club is identified as 607 old country road in riverhead attached as exhibit one and exhibit two are location maps and tax map locators for the east end commons property the site aerial of the east end commons property is attached as exhibit three and you can see it shows the two access points from northfield turnpike and the main entrance to the property at the signalized intersection with old country road the aerial photo also shows the existing buildings and the extent of available parking at the property exhibit front and rear view of the property and the area of the property and the area of the property four though hard to see on that first sheet is a boundary and topographic survey of the overall property that includes the elevations in the area of the proposed on-site fueling facility which is in the northwest corner of the property also attached as exhibit four is an enlarged detail of the proposed area for the on-site fueling facility on the property where elevations range between the northfield turnpike and the area of the proposed on-site fueling facility which is in the northwest corner of the property also attached as exhibit four is an enlarged detail of the location of the fueling facility elevations range between 23 to 24 feet while the property elevations in the wooded area to the west toward the boundary with oliver street range from 31 to 39 feet that provides a substantial visual and sound buffer for the residents residences located on the west side of oliver street exhibit five includes photos of the subject property uh first photo is a photo of the existing bj storefront that will remain mostly unchanged even after the 10 000 square foot building expansion a photo the next photo is a photo of the northwest corner of the parking area where the proposed on-site fueling station will be located photo 3 is a view from the entrance at old country road into the center when you're traveling into the center off old country road and photo 4 is a view from the northville turnpike northern entrance there are two entrances along northville turnpike this is a view from the northern entrance as you enter into the parking lot exhibit 6 includes photos of the surrounding properties looking out from the east end commons to the north along old country road to the east to properties along northville turnpike to the south at the intersection of northville turnpike and oliver street and to the west where the property fronts on oliver street and there's a separate photo of the view as you head north on oliver street with the bj's property on the right hand side as you're traveling north on oliver exhibit 7 is a section view plan that depicts the proposed building extension and the proposed on-site fueling station with the eight gas pumps and the attendance kiosk the section view plan also depicts the additional landscaping at the bottom of that of the bottom of that view to be added on the hillside to the west of the fueling station and the installation of the underground fuel storage tanks and ancillary fuel storage tanks and the installation of the underground fuel storage tanks and ancillary structures and equipment in areas that propose to have the least impact upon residential properties to the west you can see the distance of how far away those fuel tanks and ancillary structures will be from the wooded buffer between the property and the residential properties attached as exhibit 8 are selected sheets from the proposed site development plans prepared by r m that include the overall site alignment alignment plan with a detailed plan of the proposed building extension and fueling facility on that same sheet also attached to the grading and drainage plan the landscape plan and the photometric plan the existing and any proposed lighting to be added will comply with town code standards the lighting was upgraded recently to me to be dark skies compliant the proposed uses on the site require for Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale signs proposed for the BJ's Wholesale Club on-site fueling station. These proposals were presented and discussed with the Town Architectural Review Board at its meeting on June 25th. We are certain that the installation of the on-site fueling facility will attract several club members who currently frequent the off-site BJ's gas station on Ostrander Avenue. The on-site location will reduce the traffic volume at the off-site location. Also presented and discussed with the ARB at their meeting on June 25th are the Stantec rendering of the proposed on-site fueling facility and the kiosk floor plan that are attached as Exhibit 10. And we also presented and discussed with the ARB the photo of the recently completed on-site fueling facility. For the BJ's Club at Bellport. And that's attached as Exhibit 11. In response to comments received in the Town Planning Staff Report, the current proposed plan will be modified to address some of those comments. Specifically, certain proposed parking spaces that do not meet the dimensional requirements on the current plan will be modified to meet the Town Code. In addition, the applicant has agreed. To the request of the Suffolk County Department of Public Works Highway Division to add a dedicated deceleration and right turn lane into the East End Commons Plaza for eastbound traffic along Old Country Road. R&M Engineering is working cooperatively with the Department of Public Works Highway Division on all plans and requirements to complete the right turn lane. And we are available. Anyone here on behalf of BJ's are available. If there are any comments, concerns or questions from the board. Anybody? If there are any updates to the rest of the shopping center that will be affected by any of this? No. I don't have that information. I'm here on behalf of BJ's. You're talking about the other second building? Okay. No, I don't have any update from East End Commons. But if you would like, I can inquire and. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. You are welcome. NEGOTIATE ALL THOSE TARMS. CHRIS, QUICK QUESTION. IN BACK OF THE BUILDING, AFTER REFUELING, YOU'RE MAKING A LEFT. HOW MANY OUTS ARE THERE? YOU CAN TAKE AN IMMEDIATE LEFT TO GO OUT OR YOU CAN FOLLOW BACK OF THE BUILDING TO GO TO NORTHVILLE TURNPIKE? YES. IS THAT THE INTENT? YES. IS THAT A TWO-WAY? THE BACK OF THE BUILDING IS BOTH WAYS? YES. IN FACT, ONE OF THE COMMENTS IN THE STAFF REPORT WAS FOR US TO PUT A STOP SIGN. IF YOU'RE HEADING WEST BEHIND THE BUILDINGS. RIGHT. AND THERE WOULD BE A LINE. THE STAFF REPORT INCLUDED A LINE ON THE ROAD AND A STOP SIGN THERE IF YOU'RE COMING OUT FROM BEHIND THE BUILDING TO WHERE THE FUELING FACILITY WAS LOCATED. YOU CAN ENTER FROM NORTHVILLE BEHIND THE BUILDING TO THE FUEL? YOU'D STILL HAVE TO GO AROUND BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT'S A ONE-WAY. IT'S A ONE-WAY COMING INTO THE FUELING FACILITY. IT'S A ONE-WAY. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I LIKE THE IDEA. I LIKE THE IDEA. CHRIS. CHRIS. CHRIS. BECAUSE YOU'RE GETTING A LOT OF TRAFFIC BECAUSE YOU'RE GETTING A LOT OF TRAFFIC BECAUSE YOU'RE GETTING A LOT OF TRAFFIC OFF OF 58 INTO AN AREA THAT VERY OFF OF 58 INTO AN AREA THAT VERY OFF OF 58 INTO AN AREA THAT VERY SELDOM DO YOU SEE VERY FEW CARS SELDOM DO YOU SEE VERY FEW CARS SELDOM DO YOU SEE VERY FEW CARS THAT ARE PARKED THERE. THAT ARE PARKED THERE. THAT ARE PARKED THERE. I THINK IT'S A GREAT WAY TO UTILIZE I THINK IT'S A GREAT WAY TO UTILIZE great great way to utilize that area yeah that parking lot is generally underutilized you take aerial photos at any time of the year and the parking lot was mostly vacant very good is there anybody else that would like to speak on uh the uh fuel station
anybody on zoom
oh we have one gentleman
um i'm a resident i live on oliver street my question is like we we have problems with bjs now at night time because of the trucks that come in and i know we're supposed to have like we're supposed to have some kind of sound on this at a certain time but i live on oliver street and we can hear the trucks coming in late at night 11 12 1 o'clock in the morning coming in there so are we still going to get that same type of oh we're going to get that same type of thing coming from when the trucks come to load or unload the fuel or they're going to put a bigger buffer or something for the fence that goes along the wooded area to block some of the sound pollution that we already have now because we've called before about complaints about you know trucks after hours coming in and making a noise where it sounds like you hear the door shut when you sound like somebody's coming into your house so that's like that's one thing i would like to consider sir can you just give your name for the right oh my name is uh victor crump thank you that's just one of my concerns about the the noise with the trucks and stuff coming in will there be a certain time they come deliver fuel or yeah need to be in consideration for the people that sleep and live on our block right thank you thank you yeah chris chris yeah
sure this is chris bozzonia from r m he's going to show on the plans where the underground fueling tanks will be located there are no residential there are no residences in that area that's up very close to old country road yeah so the fueling station will be in this north parking area and there's only one residence that is west of the fueling station in this buffer area we're going to add a substantial amount of fuel to the fuel station and we're going to add a substantial amount of landscaping and you can see that we are 10 to 12 feet set down in the parking lot than oliver street so any noise and headlights will be blocked by the natural buffer we are also adding landscaping on that hillside maybe on the bigger plan you could show the bigger plan above that maybe you can show where the fueling are they located are they shown on that plan also no they're not oh they're not okay oh but it's about here the lat where's the last house the last residence because i believe the the structure is closer to old country road on oliver or commercial buildings yes i believe lewin's medical supplies
as far as that buffer goes so this is justin can we zoom in on this please
so yeah so that's lewin's medical hospital it's a restaurant so that's a residence yeah so that's the closest residence
um the buffer that you're talking about putting in with with plantings are they going to be evergreens something evergreens evergreens that will yeah over time they'll grow it to a substantial height and it'll be dense and so in the winter time then you'll still have that you're going to still have vegetation right there's a stockade fence that exists today so it's It's not, it's opaque. It's not transparent. What are your hours? Any idea? Typically, they're going to mimic 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. That's not the worst. So then at 10 p.m., do the lights go out so there's no light noise? Yeah, so the lights in the center, I believe, dim down at those hours. But the canopy lights? The canopy lights will be turned off at that time. Okay, so you probably wouldn't be getting deliveries then after those hours, then if the lights are off? I wouldn't say they'd turn off. They'd be dimmed up. Deliveries after hours? Yes. So it is worth noting, I just, within the last week, I've had correspondence with the town attorney. He is working on a proposed code amendment to deal specifically with the... You know, trucks and noise coming from commercial properties that are abut or are adjacent to residential properties. Looking to strengthen that provision of the town code regarding the noise ordinance. What I would recommend, if there are complaints, any complaints should be directed to the code enforcement department. But we are working to strengthen the noise ordinance to address truck idling and truck noise crossing across property lines and affecting residential properties. Okay. Okay. I think at this point the PJ's that's currently in use normally gets the deliveries, I would think, because I'm in that area a lot, daytime. It's daytime delivery. No? No?
Can we get the forklifts rolling in and out of the trucks? We can't have people speaking. This is a public hearing, so if you have a comment, you're more than welcome to come to the mic, state your name, and make your comment. You have to come up to the mic. can you just please state your name and address for the record please linda boresny 85 oliver street right dab center in the middle of the street i am the oldest long living resident of that street i've been there for 78 years okay so i know what goes on at night hear the forklifts running in and out of the trucks unloading produce or whatever into the building hear trucks coming in hear trucks leaving so you know it gets annoying after a while and i have been complaining about the lighting there for the last three or four years maybe they have dimmed them down some but they still still still still still still still still still still still still shine above the picket fence into my house my neighbor Victor's house his daughter's bedroom upstairs lights up they need to put at least the eight to ten foot stockade fence along there to keep all the lighting on the other side of the fence have you have you contacted code enforcement oh yeah that's who I did originally oh yeah I mean this is been going on like I said for three or four years I I've done the applications gave it Dakota enforcement but I see here recently they have done I forgot what the gentleman call those lights now dark-sky compliant yeah right yeah but you know I'm a person who you know I don't like being locked up and I am NOT okay and I'm not okay and I'm not okay and I'm not okay and I'm not okay and I'm not drawing the shades in my house at night to keep the lights out of my home from BJ's. They've been a good neighbor except for the lighting and the noise. Otherwise, you know, I had no complaints, although Schubert's Duck Farm was a lot better.
Thank you. And anybody who's lived in the town long as I have probably know of Schubert's Duck Farm. But that's, you know, that's outside of the noise complaint, you know, that Victor told you about. Mine is the lighting. The fences have got to go higher to keep the lighting on BJ's side and not come over to my side. So I have to pull my shades at night. Okay. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you.
Is there anybody else that would like to speak on the topic?
I'll close the public hearing. Anybody on Zoom? Anybody Zoom? No. Okay. Move to close the public hearing. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye.
Okay. Next on the agenda is 940-946 West Main Street redevelopment. Greg Bergman. Thank you. Thank you.
! ! Are there any members for Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale including the proposed construction of two new buildings, one being a three-story, 110,000-square-foot self-storage building, the other being a one-story, 33,000-square-foot wholesale business with a basement, along with related site improvements including parking, paving, drainage access, and landscaping. The project site involves six properties identified as Suffolk County Tax Map Numbers 600-124-3-1234-5, as well as Suffolk County Tax Map Number 600-125-2-5.2, located at 940-946 West Main Street, Riverhead, New York, located within the Peconic River Community Zoning Use District. Again, I will acknowledge receipt of the affidavit of mailings and postings as required by our town code for the site plan public hearing. We do have Marty Senluski, the design professional, as well as Ray Dickoff, one of the principals for the applicant here. If they have any questions... If they'd like to make any kind of presentation, or if the board would just like to open it up for public comment.
Good evening. Martin Senluski, 215 Roanoke Avenue. I just wanted to note for the record that I think I mentioned this at the meeting when the resolution was posted for the hearing. There was one change that was required. In the review, and that was by the fire marshal for the fire access lane. It turned out to be extremely easy revision because the back driveways were wider, and we only had to add a foot. So we literally just shifted both buildings and their curbs back one foot, and it brought everything into compliance with the fire marshal. So now, in addition to the zoning, as Mr. Bergman notes in his memo, that it fully complies with all of the requirements of zoning. It now fully complies with all... All of the requirements of the fire marshal's office. And the ARB, we did meet with them, and they actually felt that this was, I think, the best looking storage place they've seen in a long time in Riverhead. So if there are any questions, we'd be happy to answer them. Thank you. Thank you, Marty. Do we have anybody from the audience that would like to get up and speak?
Anybody on Zoom, Matt? No answer. No answer. No answer. Marty, the only question I have... No answer. You guys did a soil sample. I was wondering if the results were ever sent to the planning department. And the drawings are great, Marty. I mean, you guys, you know, configured, you know, got everything within zoning. And also, what do you plan on doing with all the cars and the vehicles that are there? Are they going to be moved to another place, or...? If I may, Richard Eisenberg, I'm attorney for the applicant. Meyer Swazi, 990... If you just get up here. ...Stewart Avenue, Garden City, New York. Yes, if I may, there are, I think, four active tenants now. Sorry, Counselor, we just need you to restate that. I'm sorry. Get it on the mic. Yeah. I'm the attorney for the applicants, Richard Eisenberg, the Meyer Swazi firm, 990 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, New York. Good evening. Good evening. In response to your question, there are, I believe, four active tenants on the site now. At least two of them... Two of them will be relocated, and depending on the time frame for the final approvals and a construction time frame, we would look to relocate one or two of the existing tenants into the new second building. But the answer to the question is anything that's there now has to be dealt with under the assumption that the existing structure will be demolished because none of it shows up in the proposed plan. Right, but all the vehicles will be... Transferred to another area in Riverhead or... Tenant, we're in active discussions with the tenants to remove and relocate everything that has to be relocated in order for us to get final approvals and draw construction drawings. Okay.
So the bottom line is, at this point, no arrangements have been made. Correct? As I said, there are, I believe, four active tenants. We're in... We're in direct communication with all or nearly all of them, and each of them has different needs. Obviously, we want to try to accommodate all the tenants within Riverhead Town in legal as of right locations, but it is taking some time. We are doing that. I just want to emphasize, none of the existing tenants fits into the existing building, which will be demolished. So it is possible. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. current active tenants have to be relocated because the existing structure would have to be demolished to proceed with the plans before you. Okay. Any other questions for us? Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you very much. Thank you. Anybody else? Make a motion. Move we close the public hearing. So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay. Next up, we have Peconic Farms Miner Subdivision, again with Greg Bergman. All right. Thank you. Closing out the public hearings tonight, we have a public hearing for a four-lot miner subdivision of Peconic Farms LLC seeking approval to subdivide an existing vacant 9.57-acre parcel of land and create four new land. The land is now under review for new residential building lots. Subject parcel is located at 1161 Peconic Bay Boulevard in Jamesport within the Residence A40 Zoning Use District, more particularly described as Suffolk County Tax Map number 600-94-1-6. Again, I will acknowledge receipt of the affidavit of mailing and postings as required by the town code. Just for the board's knowledge and to refresh the memory a little bit, this application's been being under review now for several years. Thank you. Going back to April 21st of 2022, the Planning Board approved a seven-lot as-of-write yield map. Just based on meeting the dimensional requirements of the town code. Further down the road, by Planning Board Resolution number 2023-097, adopted November 2nd, 2023. The Planning Board granted conditional approval for a preliminary plat showing a six-lot. six-lot major subdivision, including a private roadway, drainage infrastructure. The applicant has since revised the plans to be a four-lot minor subdivision. They did not want to go through the expense of creating the HOA to maintain the open space on the original six-lot major subdivision and do the required infrastructure. So they revised the plans to be a four-lot minor subdivision. Lots now range in size from approximately 83,000 square feet up through 130,000 square feet, so basically two acres up to three acres. Again, all lots meet the dimensional requirements of the residence A40 zoning use district. We have Martin Finnegan here, the attorney for the applicant. I don't know if he wants to make a presentation or if the board would just like to open it up for public comment.
Good evening. Martin Finnegan, 13250 Main Road, Matatuck. For the applicants, just very briefly, Greg pretty much covered it all, but we had a full public hearing on the major subdivision application, at which time there were concerns voiced about aspects of drainage from the proposed roadway. And at this point, the applicant is returning with this minor subdivision, which we believe is entirely conforming. To the RA40 zoning district regulations and also, you know, mitigates any concerns about drainage. We're happy to address any concerns that there are questions that the board may have. And I think we'll just leave it at that and see what anybody else has to say. Anybody have anything? Any questions? Yeah, the only question I have is, Greg, if a person buys lot one or two, Yeah, the only question I have is, Greg, if a person buys lot one or two, can they buy it? can they subdivide that? So that is going to be one of the recommendations moving forward, being that this is a voluntary minor subdivision. You know, we had a six lot preliminary plot that the board approved. Applegate has voluntarily reduced the yield that I would recommend the lots be precluded from further subdivision. So as to not deal with a situation, you know, five, ten years down the road, someone comes in to try to subdivide the properties further. I mean, this is something the planning board. has continually seen where you do a minor on top of minors. And inadvertently, you know, it sort of subverts the entire purpose of the major subdivision code. So one of the recommendations would be that the lots be precluded from further subdivision. Okay. Okay. I like that. Good. Is there anybody from the audience that would like to speak? Please state your name and address, ma'am. Good evening. Patricia. I'm Moore, 51020 Main Road, Southville. How are you? I'm here on behalf of the Great Meadow Property Owners Association, which consists of 54 homes. And many of the homeowners are here and others are on Zoom that may want to add comments. So at the end of this hearing, I would ask that the hearing remain open to allow homeowners to submit their own personal comments. This application. I would say it's very unusual because you don't usually get through the whole subdivision process, get preliminary map. And then at the point where you're ready to file a final map, the applicant submits a map that really is completely inconsistent with both the sketch map, preliminary map, and now out of the blue, this four lot minor subdivision. Which on paper appears to be a very good map. But it's not. It's not. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. Actually it seems like it. presented, there are four lots. Two out of the four lots are pretty much are going to be subject to flooding. And if you take a look at the elevations of the property and the test holes that are on this map, it shows that the test holes have water at elevation three. Most of the lot, the easterly lot, that is lot four, is entirely at elevation three. Lot three is bisected and one-third of it is above elevation three. Lot two also is bisected by the elevations and the flood zone. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
again, in flood zone areas are going to be, well, there is presently a berm that was constructed at one point, we believe, by the county to try to deal with some of the flooding that occurs in the area. In the secret review as well as the preliminary map engineering, there were comments regarding the conditions of the property, the concern with the flooding of the property from storm tides and from rain events. So this plan, as it's been proposed, is really objectionable to the neighborhood because it would make sense to create clustered lots, create lots that can be developed fairly and safely for these homeowners that are potentially going to be buying the lots. They're going to be buying a pig in a poke when they find out that the entire property is so low. They're either going to have to be, there's going to be a need for a significant amount of soil to elevate the properties or pile construction and then the houses are going to be elevated. That's typical. It's really not something that the planning board would generally create lots that would be developed with those kind of restrictions. It goes against your subdivision rules and regulations and the creation of lots that are not subject to flooding. The neighborhood here is particularly impacted by the water that collects on this property. So it's a lot of water that collects on this property. There are many pictures that have been submitted over the years through the subdivision review process by the neighbors showing the existing conditions, showing the pooling of water on the properties. When and if these properties are developed, and again, if the board is inclined to approve four lots, I'm glad to hear that they can't be further subdivided. I think that's very wise. But the building envelopes really should be... Clustered so that the buildable area is in the safest area and the area that will least impact the surrounding community. The... I've pointed out the test holes. We have a test hole on lot two and a test hole on the middle... Between lots three and four. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Those test holes show the existing subsurface conditions. They are not suitable for the development of these properties. When the sanitary systems are going to be designed on these properties, they are also going to have to be elevated. If you have groundwater showing water at elevation three, which happens to be the grade on some of these properties, the health department regulations are going to require the sanitary systems to be significantly above grade. The flood zone is AE6, which means that the homes have to be developed, their freeboard height is going to be eight. So all of those factors really should be considered when you're reviewing this. Again, it would appear that a four lot minor subdivision should be welcomed by the neighborhood, but in fact it isn't. The clusters, while they did not really, they didn't embrace the major subdivision, they were accepting of it. The owner has the right to develop. However, because the major subdivision was done with a great deal of thought and engineering, the clusters are not going to be developed. The owners have the right to develop. However, because the major subdivision was done with a great deal of thought and engineering, the clusters are not going to be developed. Moreover, it's also clear for Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale the emphasis on retaining the area that had been open space. So those are just some of the comments that we've presented to the board. There, I'm sure there are many more that the homeowners themselves can submit to the board for their consideration. Thank you. Thank you.
Good evening, I'm Kevin Winch, 11 Fred's Lane, Jamesport. And I am also concerned about the flooding in that area. I happen to be in Fairhaven, which is down the slope on Peconic Bay Boulevard from the property. As you may or may not know, Peconic Bay Boulevard floods pretty much every time it rains of any substance. There's a pinch point of puddles that occurs between Beach Road and Oak Drive, which is just past Town Beach Road. This property, is going to exacerbate that. It's in a flood zone, largely in a flood zone. And before you allow construction on this sensitive wetlands, please consider the flooding impact that will result and will negatively impact existing homeowners. Thank you. Thank you.
Good evening, Dean Ganley from the Legislative Sarke's office. Just for the record, we have sent a letter for open space preservation to the landowner. Earlier this week, it's possible the landowner and his attorney have not yet received it, but there is a letter in the mail. The county would be interested in preserving this parcel as well for open space preservation. So I wanted that to be in the record and I also will give my contact to the attorney so the landowner is aware of this. Okay. Thank you very much.
Good evening, I'm Eileen Sparling. I live on Doug's Lane. I'm at the end of the property on Doug's Lane. We were very dismayed and quite surprised when we saw this new site plan because in November of 2023, we have board notes that listed that there would be a cluster of six homes, but that 4.9% of, well, 4.9 something, 4.9983 part of that parcel would be open space. My house tends to flood whenever there's water, whenever there's water in that ponding area at the back of that property, it backs up into my home and we've had several pumps put in. We've tried to remediate all of that, but also in your notes of 2023, there are a lot of conditions that you put down based on this plan that they would be prohibiting further subdivision, they would ban structures in the open area, require water conservation and landscaping with a formal landscaping plan, establish a homeowners association to own and maintain that property, and then we would have to move on to the next step, which is to have a new property. So I think that's a really important point because part of our feeling was what's gonna happen to that property. As of now, that property is planted. It is unsightly. It has not been mowed. It's not taken care of. And our property's all about that and it's really not a pleasant place to be. Plus who knows what kind of insects and rodents. We tend to have a lot of animals there, and the property really needs to be maintained better. And that first proposal allowed for an HOA for the maintenance of that property. Also, it required DEC approval due to the parcel's location. The East Creek Marina is right on the other side. So whenever we get a bad rain, you get high tides, that property tends to flood and backs up into our homes. There was supposed to be an approval of a stormwater pollution prevention plan. And all of this went out the door with this new site plan. There's no indication it's a type two action. There's no indication whatsoever that any of these things have to be preserved. There was not going to be any roads, not going to be any drainage. So as you can see, we have major concerns about this. And we would confer with Dean from Catherine Stark's office that we would like this space to be preserved under open space and working waterways. Thank you, ma'am. Hi. Barbara Schmidt, 40 Duggs Lane. I don't want to repeat what everyone else has said. I just want to say that as Eileen Sperling just pointed out, this property is adjacent to the marina and town land. It is a registered title wetland. There's a significant amount of flooding all the time on this property. And we have concerns about any alteration in this property causing long, having long-term consequences to the entire neighborhood. So we do object to this. And we really would prefer if it remained open land. Thank you. My question is, if you put it in the preservation program, you're still going to have the same problems. That's what I'm hearing. You're still going to have water. And the person who owns the property, if he puts it in a county program, does not have to maintain it. He's not farming it. Well, no one's maintaining it now. That would be my impression. It's just an open field. Right. So the problem hasn't been exacerbated. The fear is, because of the berm, because of the fact that much of this is built on soil that was placed there when they reconstructed the creek, that we're only going to have more problems if they begin to sort of dig and excavate that area. So I think that the problem could be worsened. It would be up to an environmental engineer to look at that. But certainly. Right. We have some knowledge in the neighborhood that at one point someone broke the berm and penetrated it. And that caused increased flooding in the whole neighborhood. So there are concerns that construction will, again, exacerbate this issue.
If I could, I just want to correct something. I just wanted to comment. I'll wait. Go ahead, ma'am. Go ahead, ma'am. You're up, ma'am. OK. You may speak. My name is Pat Newman. I live on Doug's Lane also. And I will tell you that my husband and I have owned this house since 1987. So we are well aware of the problems that come with the land behind us. Quite honestly, when we originally purchased the land, it was a farm. And so there was never a problem.
The vegetables that grow there, they were beautiful. Et cetera. Then after a period of time, when the major storms came in, one being about 19 years ago, we had 3 and 1 half feet of water in our basement. I mean, this is obviously something that and the water doesn't come over. It comes from underneath. OK? So whatever is being explained. I'm sorry. This is what is being explained here. It's not just something that we're making up. This is something that's real and it's happened to several of the people in our community. OK? Also, we have, I think at one point, there is somebody here that's lived there probably longer than I, because when I spoke to her, she told me that that property at one point was pretty much underwater. have to jump from mound of dirt to mound of dirt and go down. You could actually see the beach. Okay? So by the East Creek. The bottom line is there's much more that goes with this and probably should be much more information requested so that we know exactly what's going to happen. Our beach, we have our own beach, an association beach, and because there have been bulkheads put all the way around, our beach has shrunk. And this is what happens when you put in all this additional housing stuff, whatever you want to call it, buildings. So I hope that you take the consideration that we're asking because right now the person that purchased this property. When we knew about it, they put up a post and rail fence, which my husband and I have had to replace a couple of times. Some of the posts, I mean the rails. It has to be something that's going to not infringe upon our property. Okay? That's really all we're asking. Thank you very much. Thank you, ma'am. One more. Okay. Heather Sperling. I'm also on Doug's lane. I have been the community liaison, I guess, since 2022. And I just wanted to say over the years, I have, Greg and I have worked together and I have shown evidence of this. So I just wanted to support. I'm happy to email it all to you on how the land floods, where it floods, and that it does come really from the ground up. It's not always, I do have instances where it comes from the arena on the other side, and I have other instances. I have neighbors since 1962 have supplied me with lovely photographs of showing kind of the landscape over the years. So I just wanted to not reiterate what everybody else was saying, but at least let you guys know that we do have proof and things that I'm happy to share. Thank you very much, ma'am. Who's that? Hi. Joan Cyr in Jamesport. Hi. I think it's great that the county might want to preserve this property. I hope that the homeowners, the property owners will give that serious consideration. I would encourage the planning board to request further investigation into the flooding concerns and how to mitigate that if the development of the land is to go forward, to look at the impact of tidal flooding, as well as stormwater runoff. I would support Mr. Bergman's proposal. I would support Mr. Bergman's proposal that the land not be permitted to be further subdivided. We've seen that happen now at least three times in Jamesport, like in the last year, where land that was up zoned to one acre has been down zoned to half an acre because someone wanted to build on the other part of their property. So I would support that it not be permitted to be subdivided. And then I have a question for Mr. Bergman that I noticed on the survey and in the data, and I'm not sure if you have any information on that. The survey and in the town's documents, this area is described as being in zone RA40, but on all of the town's zoning maps, they say it's RB40. I will triple check, but it's been RA40 since I started reviewing this. And I can believe that perhaps someone made a mistake years ago and it was just carried through, carried through, carried through. But it all—I looked at two zoning maps on the town website and they both has it in the zone and the difference being of course in RA 40 permits medium to high intensity development versus RB 40 only permits medium density development all right I will correct the record I apologize it is residents be 40 the dimensional regulations for the RA 40 and RB 40 zoning district are the same miss series correct in the significant difference between the RA 40 and RB 40 zoning district is RA 40 allows the use of TDRs to increase the density to half acre Lots that is not the case here so it she is correct I did miss type that we will correct the map but the bottom line is it's a minimum 40,000 square foot lot zoning district minimum one acre you know builders acre so it certainly is a lot of work to do to get that right so I'm going to go ahead and it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it and then it's a title wetland this property does not contain any wetlands it is within the 300 foot new york state dec title wetland jurisdictional boundary that's the reason why they have to get dec approval for the subdivision anytime land is subdivided within that 300 foot jurisdictional boundary it requires dec approval but there are no wetlands on this property it is within the jurisdictional boundary okay have they gotten dec approval uh i that would be a question for the applicant i i wouldn't think they've until they get a preliminary approved from us and move forward with the dec um no so they haven't gotten it i know i didn't ask you this the last time we spoke about this project and that was the fact that could this be somehow uh what is it we could we could we could we could we could we could we could we could we could we could we could we could we could we could make the less smaller and still and still maintain all lots so there is no clustering requirement in the code within either the ra40 or the rb40 zoning district uh the way that pro the initial the six lot preliminary major map um sort of the genesis came about was just through the the applicant's desire to put forth that map but there is no requirement in the code for clustering there's no mechanism for us to compel them to cluster a map but they but they could they could cluster map if they so desired um again i believe they you know we put forth that map and i think the cost and expense you know going through the hoa process for them to maintain that was one of the detractions for it but if and when they were being built whatever was being built there they would still have to maintain the water on that property so i can only see this enhancing this by moving ahead because then they have to make they have to keep that water on their property it can't go off the other one you're shaking your head but that's not what the law says well what does you have to keep your your your your water on your property so if they develop it where's the water going to go they have to allow for it so so i will they'll never get they'll never get any cos tissue by this town well they wouldn't even get a purpose so i mean miss moore is correct in you know the significant portion of the property and i identified it on the map there that orange line southeast of that uh that that's the the fema flood zone for the ae6 line so that's the base flood elevation so any development for a residential structure within that within the ae6 zone is correct you need two foot of free board so the lowest elevation of a residential floor would be elevation eight there would be no basements in any of these structures um you know some of the comments about you know flooding in the basement you know if you notice where the fema flood zone line is i don't believe any of those houses on doug's lane are in the flood zone but i mean if you're at elevation six or seven and you have a basement in your house your basement is likely sitting in ground water so it would be reasonable to expect during a storm event and again the bottom line is that the
The problem is if there's another hurricane, a superstorm Sandy, yes, this area is going to flood. But any development on any of those lots is going to meet FEMA requirements, meaning two foot above the base flood elevation. We're not going to stop the Peconic Bay from flooding. That's not going to happen. With all due respect, I just want to clarify why I was shaking my head, which really wasn't your comment. It was more of, to my knowledge, and please correct me if I'm wrong. If for some reason that someone owned, let's say for example, any one of those lots and they did something to the berm unbeknownst to you, I'm sure you can do something to your backyard however you'd like because you own the lands. What happens? I think that's the biggest concern is that even though an individual can own this property, they can still make adjustments to their property and it's their right to do so. But when they do that, there's repercussions for the rest of the neighborhood. And when they do something like that, to my knowledge and why I was shaking my head, it's that you get a slap with a fine possibly if that's the case or what have you, but that's the concern that I think the neighborhood has. So I apologize. I just wanted to clarify. I wasn't shaking my head specifically at you, but that was my thought process, which is the concerning aspect as a neighbor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Go ahead. Do I have to re-say my name for the record? Yes. Dean Gantley. Dean Gantley, Starks office. Just a quick question on the wetlands. According to our county open space rinker, there are wetlands, 2.37 acres of wetlands, a total of 24% of the property. Just to confirm that for the record. Okay. You checking that, Greg? I'm checking what I can, yes. I think we should leave the record open for 20 days. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. is garrotec hayon 1124 peconic bay boulevard we're just directly north and to the uh west of uh the the proposed uh property and i just want to uh just give you a couple of uh insights you know our of course you know that uh our aquifer is groundwater and uh the property that uh we're talking about uh is green and lush all throughout there's no there's no sprinkler systems there's no that that water is and that's that's that's uh fresh water okay and uh and yes uh i'm a good neighbor and uh when we hear that there's going to be a a really bad storm coming a couple of my neighbors ask me can i put my car on on your lawn and of course i mean you know yes because we're accustomed to knowing that you can't make that turn off of peconic bay boulevard that right turn there's an arrow indicating that that's a sharp turn when there's even just two or three inches of water in it and it leaves a wake sometimes. So, yeah, we're aware of that. I also want to say I appreciate the fact that you're allowing all this conversation when you all are aware of where we live. I mean, you live here. And I just feel that, you know, even now, it's the water is allowed to percolate down because it's just open land. When you start putting in buildings and driveways and other structures that's going to act as a covering and that rain water that's already, there's no drainage there. There's no, we don't have any storm drains that empty that water into the East Creek. Because I don't know. I have to tell you, it would reverse itself on occasion. So, I don't know what to say. Yes, it's wonderful that seven went to six, six went to four. And, but it's going to, if people are going to build on that and they're going to have to go up another, to go into their house, they're going to have to go up a staircase. And that's not what, it's not what we, it's not our property. It's not the property. It's not the properties of Riverhead. And certainly we love the fact that the farmland across the street from this remained farmland in perpetuity. And again, you guys are doing, I'm not, you guys are doing a great job and your patience is amazing. And the patience out here too. And I'm going to now, before somebody throws a chair, I'm going to sit down. But again, thank you. Thank you very much. Um. Leave this open for. Zoom. Oh, is there anybody on Zoom? I have nobody's hands up. So if they want to speak, they should raise their hand on Zoom and we can unmute them. No? And nothing. All right. Why don't we leave this open for 20 days for public comment? Well, let me just look at the calendar and see where that puts us out.
That puts us to August 27th at 430 p.m. Close of business. Okay. That's fair. Do you need a motion on that? You need a motion, Drake? I mean, if you want to just make the motion to close the hearing and keep it open for written comment. So moved. Until August 27th, 2025 at 430 p.m. So moved. Okay. Okay. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. All right. Next up, we have the discussion items. First one is BOLA 1575 OCR Car Wash. That's Greg Bergman.
Greg Bergman. They should settle for a . They should make a . They don't want to let that problem come up. No. I mean, technically it's . I know. Exactly. Caveat. All right. We do have representatives for the application here. I would just ask if they could come up.
You can just state your names for the record, please. On behalf of the applicant, Matthew Engberg from the law firm of Brown & Altman, 538 Roy Hollow Road, Suite 301, Melville, New York. Engineer. On behalf of the applicant, Andrew Stewart from High Point Engineering, 1860 Walt Whitman Road, Suite 8600, Melville, New York, 11747. So we have a site plan application seeking to demolish an existing approximately 650 square foot self-service car wash building and construct a new 2,700 square foot self-service car wash tunnel to locate eight new vehicle service stalls with vacuum stations and a new vehicle service tunnel to locate eight new vehicle service stalls with vacuum stations approximately to the proposed car wash, relocate an existing fuel pump station, and reconfigure the parking lot in order to facilitate the redevelopment of the site. The property is located at 1575 Old Country Road. It's located on the south side of Old Country Road within the business center zoning use district and is more particularly described as a sub-county tax map 600-101-2-12.4. The property is located just east of the intersection of Mill Road and Old Country Road. It has frontage on both Old Country Road as well as the terminus of Pulaski Street.
Car washes are currently a specially permitted use within the business center zoning district. I was able to locate and review historic files maintained by the building department. So the car wash use was lawfully established in the early 1990s to an action through both actions of the town board as well as the city's public health department. I was able to locate and review historic files maintained by the building department. As well as the zoning board. A special permit application dated March 28, 1989 was submitted to the town board to establish a new gasoline service station with accessory car wash under the old town's old industrial a zoning use district. Back then, a automobile laundry was used interchangeably with a car wash was permitted use. The town board, after that application was submitted in September 4, 1990, they removed the old zoning board from the old town board. removed automobile laundry from a permitted use within the industrial zoning use district. Subsequently, that applicant submitted an interpretation request to the Zoning Board of Appeals. They found that while the car wash was not accessory to the principal use of a gas station, the town code at the time did permit two principal uses of the property, citing among other factors that the application had been pending with the town for a significant amount of time. They essentially gave it a pass to go on. And then the town board in September of 1991 granted site plan approval for Mobile Oil Company to construct both the gasoline station, convenience shop, and the car wash. So in reviewing the record, it made the determination that there is no special permit required, so we're just right to the site plan. It is a type 2 action under SECRA as it involves construction of a facility less than 4,000 square feet with a total capacity of about 1,000 people. The application does require some relief from the Zoning Board of Appeals. They require relief from the minimum side yard setback. Minimum required is 15 feet. The proposed side yard setback is 5 feet. It requires relief from minimum front yard setback, where minimum required is 50 feet. They're proposing 42.7 feet on the Old Country Road frontage and 43.6 feet on the Pulaski Street frontage. In terms of traffic circulation, the traffic queueing line is shown on the southern end of the property. The plan shows queuing capacity for 10 vehicles. I just have a slight issue with this. And this is the same thing that's come up when we review fast food applications with drive-thrus. What I consider to be the queuing point would be the pay station, the lift gate. Because when you consider traffic entering the site, that's where any potential, like that's where your first car is going to stop. So I believe that that's really where the queuing should begin. The plan does show three vehicles past the stop line, but those are essentially already in and moving in towards the queuing station, towards the car wash, I'm sorry. And then it does show a sort of parallel queuing line here. The reality of how this would work out, I don't know how that would work out. You know, if you've got people lining up here, someone's going to try to come around here, and then they'd have to like zipper merge to get into the pay station. So I just, I really think the queuing capacity here effectively, before it starts backing into Pulaski Street, would really be five cars before you create any sort of congestion on the site.
I just do have, you know, obviously there is an existing car wash there, so it's not really expanding the use. Are they going to use the building? So the existing building is going to come down. It is. Existing building is going to come down. It's going to be a new modern 2700 square foot automated car wash tunnel. You know, so I will acknowledge that the location is sort of unique in that where we've seen other, you know, traffic, other locations, you know, like the BJ's gas station, for example, where you've got congestion during peak hours, where traffic sort of backs into it. Public traffic. Public right of way and affects vehicles traveling along that roadway. I will acknowledge that this is somewhat unique in that this is the dead end of Pulaski Street. So I mean, in a peak scenario, if there was some backup, it would essentially back up into the dead end of Pulaski Street. So it wouldn't necessarily create, you know, traffic jams on Old Country Road or any other sort of town roadways aside from that dead end into Pulaski Street. So, so question. How long? How long does it take to wash a car? It takes a few minutes with the tunnel set up. It's not very long. Yeah, it's about five to six minutes from getting in the queue. Okay, how long does it take to vacuum? Now, one of the problems that we had was your neighbor. You know, when we were looking at that, at the car wash, it just opened. I didn't even really know that it opened. I hadn't known that yet. I'm not sure that the impact there, but we had a problem with the traffic. Because of the stacking. Now, if you have cars that are going to come into that car wash now, this new 90-foot, it's 90-foot, it's going to take most of your property because you're going for a variance, okay, on both sides. How do you, what do you do with the people that want to vacuum their vehicles? You know, it takes longer to vacuum than it does to wash. I would say the wash probably takes... I would just guess at this. I know you gave me a figure, but I would guess it's probably a lot less. I would say it's probably three minutes, two minutes, two and a half minutes, whatever it is. So, they come out, they want a vacuum. Now, there's ten cars in the queue, and there's only eight vacuums. So, what happens to that traffic now, that now it's kind of backing up, coming out of the wash? You're coming out of the wash. Now, you want to vacuum. Now, you want to vacuum. Now, you want to vacuum. Now, you want to vacuum. Now, you want to vacuum. Now, you want to vacuum. Now, you want to vacuum. Now, what do I do if I have to wait? Because someone's already got a vacuum. All the vacuums are being used. That was one of the issues that, again, you're next door neighbor now that just this is a new car wash as well. So, you know, we just had this stacking problem, and it's a choke point, and it just, you know, it can make... That's a tough block right there. That's a tough block coming in off of, you know, when they've closed off Pulaski Street there. You know, you're coming down. There's only one way out of there. Yeah. And it's got to go past that property. So, now what happens if you've got the 10 cars in the queue and there's 15 that want to get their car washed? You know what I'm saying? Now, they back up into the street, and now you're across the street. You've got a like reaction there. I mean, you know, what do we do with the cars and the traffic? How do we deal with that? So, I believe... I believe just to clarify just so the applicants know what you're referring to. You're referring to the one on the opposite side of Pulaski Street? The opposite across the street. So, that was... I mean, that had been reviewed. That, again, required the special permit from the town board. They got site plan approval. That site is 1.43 acres, and that is solely dedicated to the car wash. So, the entire site is used for traffic circulation, queuing, parking, vacuum stalls. This site is much smaller. So, I mean, to acknowledge, remember to narrow this point, you know, you had a site across the street that was 1.43 acres that could be fully utilized to, you know, mitigate any traffic impacts, any congestion impacts. This is... This site is just over an acre, about 47,000 square feet. You have a fueling station with, I believe, eight pumps, right? Six. Six? I agree. All right. Yeah. So, six pumps. So, there's one, two, two, and then one. This one's being relocated. Okay. And this one's just being moved to the island, so you have six pumps. So, six pumps. I mean, again, it is... It's a one-acre site, so I can understand. Well, is there enough? Did we determine? I don't remember that we ever did. And correct me if I'm wrong. Did we ever determine? In other words, if there were 20 cars there, can that property hold the 20 cars? Because there was also... There was a store in there, correct? And this new one isn't theirs? Some kind of one where you can buy your little trees, you know, for your sentence on the farm and whatever? I don't think so. I don't believe so. I mean, I can confirm that. But I'm just concerned about that, you know, it's just a property so small. That is a fair point, again. I mean, this is just over an acre now with two uses. So, concerned just about... I'm talking about the subject property. Yes. So, this is just over an acre, right? And the concern is just the size of the property and the intensity of the uses on site. Yeah. Okay. I would say that with the proposed operation, there is a current car wash there while it is a smaller building. I think what we're proposing will improve traffic on site to have them flow more easily through the car wash, provide additional parking and vacuum space. And I understand your concern that a vacuum... It may take longer than the car wash itself. There are additional parking on site if they need to wait to use a vacuum that they can stay out of the way. We don't foresee it being an issue. I'm not sure if there would be a large increase of traffic using the car wash from what's existing there. So, if you're looking at a similar level of traffic, I don't see it being an issue. I see it just being an improvement to the overall on-site traffic proposal. Well, one of the things also... I've gotten my car washed over the years in that little place that exists now. Okay. And it was normally if you fill up, you got a free car wash. So, you have a selling point now. I mean, across the street, it's nothing but a car wash. That's it. You're going in to get your car washed. Now... I can't speak to their business. You know, competition is competition. I get it. You know, I don't even know that I want to get into the water. What about the water? I mean, now you have... We haven't decided whether or not you're going to put well water in or you're going to go into the existing... I believe... Riverhead water system. Yeah, we were looking at... And then the sewer. What do we do? How do you get rid of the water? It's going to connect. Yeah. So, the water, we were looking at connecting into the water main, but as a separate service. That's still a determination that we have to work out with the water district. As for sewer, there is a sewer actually fronting the property. Right on the property. And we did reach out to the superintendent of the sewer district, confirm the sewer maps. There's connection points. There's two manholes and multiple spurs for connection. And we will be connecting into that sewer for drainage purposes from the car wash. And you're going to get a separate water service? That's what we would like to do. We're not guaranteed that. We're working to see how it would be best and what would be acceptable to the water district. But, yes, we'd like to have a separate service. For the car wash to keep it as a separate bill or whatever from the gas station portion.
George, you kind of took my question. I've been there several times in the past week, and the reclaimed water drains are just overflowing. I guess they're old, and that's why, because you don't show any other septic system in here. Right. Drainage system. If you hook up to the sewer system, you really eliminate everything. Right. At this point in the process, depending upon the determinations we get for connection and also through the site plan application, we would go further and obviously provide greater detail into drainage connection and also stormwater drainage on site and grading and all that plans and further submissions. And just one other question. The entrance and exit on 58. If you're exiting. You're only allowed to go east, I believe, right? Is that correct? I don't believe it's restricted. I did refer this to the county. I'm waiting comments. But right now, it is not restricted. So, I mean, you could make a left. It obviously would be difficult. But right now, it is not a restricted right turn only site. There's no way of making it to go out to Pulaski and then draw the light? You know what I mean, Greg? To go out to Pulaski and then hit the light, you know, if you want to go west. I refer to the county. The county may very well come back. I mean, just based on the proximity to the Mill Road, the county may come back. I mean, so the reality is if you were trying to make a left out of the site, you're crossing over two eastbound lanes of traffic on 58, the westbound left turning lane on 58 to get into the westbound lanes. The county may very well come back that they want to see it, you know, right out only. But we'll wait to see that. So, just to touch base, just generally, I know this came up on the other car wash. Is there any type of, like, reuse or, like, recapture that they can, like, reuse the water so that it's not just, you know, single point of use and then it goes into the sewer? Is there, like, a recapture system? To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure about the answer to that question. I'd have to go back and speak to the designers on that. I believe there are systems resized. There are, yeah. I'm not sure what they plan on here. That's something that... You know, and you could exit the same way you entered the facility, and then you could make a left with a traffic signal. Yeah. I mean, if it was me, if I was trying to make a left out of the site, I would absolutely go out to the Pulaski Street extension and go out to the signal. That would just be common sense. On the west side of the site, there seems to be another road.
Are you looking at that right there? Yeah, the roadway. It looks like it goes around. So, Pulaski Street dead ends, if you look up... Yeah, I know that. I know that. But there seems to be some sort of a right-of-way or something like that that goes right behind the property line. There is. There is. There is. There is. There is a way out of that. Yeah. I'm not familiar with it, but it looks like something. So, where are we looking? Are we looking at this area here on the stream? Yeah. So, that's grass. There's no... I mean, it's called on the map... Yeah. It's called unimproved right-of-way on the... I forgot the word. You got it? Yeah. So, I mean, here's the Pulaski Street. I mean, it looks like it's some sort of a road or a right-of-way. That's why I... Yeah, I mean, it used to be. I think we closed this off in what, 2011? 2010, 2011, Pulaski used to go out to the... Oh, yeah, right, right. This is what it looks like currently. So there's no vehicular access. That's lawn. Pulaski Street dead ends right there. Okay. Okay. I realize that Pulaski... But, again, on the west side of the property, there seems, looks like a road. Oh, that's a mountain. Pardon? On the west side? All the way at the end of the west side of the property. I mean, there's a, this is a sidewalk. Which, that it's a sidewalk? Yeah, if you're looking, the up point to it, it's a sidewalk. Oh, okay, thank you. This is an aerial that represents what's currently there. So that's... That's all sidewalk, thank you. That's what I was trying to ascertain. Greg, I have a question about the park. Okay. Parking space, excuse me, spaces one through eight. They're designated for the vacuums, is that correct? Correct. These approximate to the... On the east side? ...bar wash tunnel, yes. One through eight, those are vacuum stations. Okay, so then you're left then with spaces, one handicapped space, and then you have 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, right? Correct. So now if somebody is fueling, like if you're getting a delivery, say, okay. You're going to be blocking off at least four of those parking spaces. Or do you not get fuel deliveries during business hours? They only come in after hours. My point is then you really are limiting yourself to one or two parking spaces for the entire gas station if these are all being used for vacuuming, no? Understood. So a lot of, most of the time at gas stations, if you're there fueling and you're going to use, say, the convenience store, they'll leave the car parked at the pump. So that kind of, some of the other stalls that are there are not necessarily to be used by someone who's fueling and doing that. Right. We looked at the truck turn and, you know, it is at a limited time. There is typically off hours. They try to schedule it and they do have traffic control. People come in, block off for safety purposes. And they shouldn't, we did look at truck runs and there shouldn't be any issues with access or conflicts in that area. We don't see it being a problem. Okay. Okay. So, yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. So we'll be blocking a pump or some of the stalls temporarily, but it would be a short term and off peak hours. So you're saying it will be off peak hours? Yeah. Yeah. They schedule them in off peak. It's not during prime times like that. Too busy. What's a rough time to fill up, you know, a trailer to empty out? An hour? No. I think in my experience it's maybe a half an hour at most. Okay. Sometimes less. depending on the size of the tank and how empty it is when they come to fuel. So is it possible then when you're getting a delivery that these parking spaces, I mean, I doubt eight people are going to be vacuuming their cars, but at the same time that you get a delivery. Yeah. But I don't know if it could be reconfigured where more parking spaces, you know, it wouldn't be interfered with with the delivery system. Yeah, like I said, I don't see it being between the fact that they're scheduled off-peak and people are going to be parked at the pump, they're going to use the store or anything like that. I don't see it being an issue. Okay.
Am I counting properly that there's ten fueling stations? There's six pumps, double-side pumps. Double-side. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so the configuration right now is one, two, two, one. They're moving. The easternmost pump will be removed, so it will now be three bags of two pumps. Right. Not increasing the number of pumps, just making them all double-stacked.
We're on the full area. Yeah. So, the fuel tanks are the existing fuel tanks. Yeah. So, the fuels are these sumps at the end here, the double circle. The smaller circles represent the fuel port and the paper recovery ports for the tanks. That's existing and no change there. Correct. So, I just did note while we're talking about this vicinity, I did note there is kind of a choke point here where it's 22.2 feet to the bollard at the point. Okay. So, I just did note while we're talking about this vicinity, I did note there is kind of a choke point here where it's 22.2 feet to the bollard at the point. Are there any uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Justin, can we just zoom in on this one a little bit, please? So we got to the same area. So we took that stall that's designated as number, the handicap stall, designated as number nine and rotated it so now it would be parallel, which would... We took one of the standard stalls here, moved it out, and we pushed down the handicap and one of the other standard and put in a parallel stall, which increases the setback, I think, was it just 29 feet there, I believe? Yeah, 29 feet. So that's an alternative we can put in. That would be easy. That would create a wider span between the stalls and the islands there, if that's something you would like. Yeah, I mean, I don't really take objection to that. I mean, again, I look at most gas stations, I mean, anyone parking in these stalls would likely be... An employee of the store. I mean, anytime I've gone to a gas station to the convenience store, like you said, I park at the pump. If I'm getting gas, I'll run in, I'll leave. Even if I'm not getting gas, I still pop right in front of the pump and walk right in. I typically would not park here to walk across the parking lot to go to the convenience store. That's what a 7-Eleven is for. But I have no objection to a parallel stall there. Again, the... I didn't really... Kind of drill down on it. I just will acknowledge that they provided... The parking calculations for the car wash tunnel are provided in our town code as any use not otherwise provided for. So they basically... 2,700 foot stalls, they're providing nine parking stalls for use, which is essentially an automated use. There's no real demand aside from, again, maybe one employee to man the pay station. I didn't really... Again, I don't know. I didn't bring it up just because it's not... It's kind of vague in our code, but I don't think you necessarily need nine parking stalls dedicated for that. That said, I mean, they do have eight vacuum stalls, which could essentially serve that purpose. So I just... The parking on-site, I believe, is more than adequate. I just... You know, because we don't have any parking calculation for car wash, they sort of defaulted to our code as one per 300 square feet. Now, what about other deliveries? I'm sure you're gonna be selling... I'm sure you're gonna be selling... You're gonna be selling chips and soda and beer and things like that inside, right? So those trucks start to show up. Where are they supposed to be putting their vehicles to? Box trucks in Quebec. You know, obviously, they wouldn't be as large as a fuel truck. It'd be a box truck, something like that. I mean, they could stage... They'd probably... Still looking 35 feet, you know, for most of them. Yeah. They'd have to temporarily stage probably at the walk somewhere, yeah. Obviously, not on the side where the pumps are. But they'd probably... Yeah. Yeah. They'd probably... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. do it on the north side or something but they would queue somewhere out of the way of traffic
is this where we move the uh where'd we move the trash the trash enclosure is here by there uh justin can we zoom out a little bit again please sorry it's over here trash and closure right now right there there it just seems like you're trying to squeeze an awful lot into like six pounds of bologna in a five pound bag um is there going to be or is this going to be automatic as far as the going into the car wash um there's a there's a automatic pay station but they um but there will be an attendant there to observe people going in also you know control traffic with the with the uh the split queue lane like that to make sure that uh there's no issues with the flow so there will be an employee there and they plan to have it and then you're gonna have one more in the uh the store yeah right yeah i i think that would be helpful so i mean i i've you know i've had a membership to my local car wash where i live so i mean they give you a little rfid badge that you stick in your window sometimes the reader doesn't pick it up so my car wash that i go to there's a lot of people that are going to be there and they're going to be there and they're is always an attendant there to sort of get you through the system so i mean if you can maybe just provide some details as to like if this will be membership based uh just the nature of the bola you know sort of business model for these car washes i think that would help the board i don't just understand potential impacts but that would be how i would anticipate it would run right
um i do just want to just touch base on the landscaping so the landscaping plan provided uh they sometime between uh june and october of 2021 all the street trees were taken down along old country road i did in my staff report on page six see street views from both old country road and pulaski street those trees were all removed the plans right now just just show low shrubs in that area it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it We can provide a list of recommended... And how far on center? So the code speaks to street trees, basically talks about the branching habitat of the proposed species, so it's not a hard and fast, they need to be planted this far apart. It really depends on the species. At least our concern is the gas stations are very visual business. Cars approaching, they need to see the gas for what they're... the price line and things like that so they know what's coming up. Before they make their decisions. That's probably why the street trees were removed. Probably. So, I mean, while street trees, we understand that it's a requirement, we try to look at something maybe not so closely spaced together to provide a better visual of the site. That's our concern. I do understand that, but at the same time, I feel like the aesthetics of 58 for a long time have sort of gone by the wayside. I mean, we've been really trying to... improve the aesthetics, improve visual buffers. So while I can respect and acknowledge the fact that a site wants to be seen, the planning board and us as planners, we really want to make sure our commercial corridor is visually appealing and not just... you don't just see a sea of asphalt. So I would just ask, I can provide a list of recommended vegetation. We have a resident green thumb who works in our office, who is extremely knowledgeable about everything plant related, much more so than myself. I can get you a list, but I would say that the street appeal, the landscaping is extremely important. So whatever trees are proposed, they need to look good. All right. All right. Okay. That sounds good.
Site lighting, all the proposed lighting complies. I just, I did note there was one lighting fixture here. It looks like it probably just got hit by a car. So I would just ask that that be replaced. Yes. Would that be a good idea? Yes. We did receive comments from the water district. We received comments from the sewer district, the town engineer. I did refer comments, refer the plans to DPW for their review. And based on the size of the structure, it does not require referral to the Suffolk County Planning Commission. The fire marshal had no comments on the site plan application. The ARB reviewed the application at its meeting on June 25th. The ARB was not in favor of the mansard roof on the fueling canopy. The ARB just requested material samples. And the ARB did also note the need for street trees on this site. So that is pretty consistent with what we are . So at this point, I think, you know, the applicant's got a couple of things to address, get some more details on the business model. They do need to go to the ZBA, apply for the relief from the dimensional regulations before we can, you know, before we can consider a public hearing on the application. And on that, that's all I've got. I do have a question of the board. They had a chance to review the elevations because the ARB was not in favor of the mansard roof. We would just want guidance on how the board would want us to proceed. Do you want either a different roof type or a flat roof? Just that would be helpful for our resubmission. So we did, I believe, on the BOLA, which Mr. Ingberg, you know, So we did, I believe, on the BOLA, which Mr. Ingberg, you know, we're going to be reviewing the BOLA. Mr. Ingber, the Bola gas station down on Country Road in Calvertown. I believe we required, was it a hip roof? Either a hip or some type of a peak roof. Because that's the corridor there. It's all peak roofs, every building going along there. But this here out on 58, everything, I think all the gas stations have flat roofs.
Most of the buildings are flat. They're all box stores along there. So there's, I mean, I don't know if I want that to be required. Well, so right now we don't really have specific design, like architectural standards along 58. I mean, would the board prefer a flat roof, a hip roof? I like the hip idea. Like the one that's at the corner of Edwards and 25? That has like a hip roof on it. That's another Bola second thing. No. I think that's a Bola. Is it a Bola? What's that? It's further to the west. West, right. Edwards and 25. West of that. The one that's west of the Edwards and 25 intersection. Well, that's the Bola that we reviewed a few months back. That's the one that initially came in with the flat roof that the board wanted. Correct. I believe a hip roof. Right. The one that's just east of the 25 and Edwards Avenue intersection? Yes. That has a hip roof on it. You can't. You can't see it from the road that much, but. Yeah. All right. So I think we're in agreement on a hip roof? No. Keep it consistent then. Okay. All right. That'll be consistent with the car wash. You know, the 27-under-square-foot car wash. Right.
Okay. All right. Anybody have anything else? All good? Good? Okay. No problem. Oh, there's no problem. All right. Move with closing the sign. No problem. Thank you. Thank you all. Have a good night, guys. You too. Thank you. Thank you. You think so? Oh, absolutely. Awesome. Oh, yeah. Mr. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. That's. We don't have to go anywhere. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Okay, so this is a cyclone application for 720 Main Road. This seeks approval for facade improvements and an 86-square-foot addition to an existing commercial building with 3,894 square feet of floor area. 86 feet. 86 square feet. Where is the 86? The 86 square feet is the entry right here. Everything else remains the same. The little entry there? Yeah, so there's like a new... Ten and a half by ten and a half? This vestibule. It's 8.6 by... I don't think they call out this. It just looks like... Yeah. That's the entrance. Okay. Yeah, so it's this entrance area. And then there was another extension. An extension on the roof. Yeah, just the roof overhang here. Okay. Thank you. So it's a 3,894 square feet of floor area, 10 additional parking spaces, and includes the reconfiguration of existing on-site parking access and involves a change of use to an adult-use retail cannabis dispensary. In terms of environmental review, this is a type 2 action for Sonta Secra because it's less than 4,000 square feet of floor area for commercial use. This is one of the minor subdivisions of Joseph and Catherine Parisi. It's currently approved. It's an existing commercial building. It was a gold and silver shop. And then at one point in time, it was a restaurant also before the gold and silver shop was there. Where is lot 2? Lot 2 is right next to it. Lot 2 is here. It's a site plan, but this is lot 1. It's just part of a site plan. Lot 2 is here, the corner lot. Okay. And then back in time, the cabinet shop. There's no note on the map saying lot no 2, which is lot no 1. You got it. Okay. It's in the Village Center zone. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. Sale uses. to the west, that's where the post office used to be. And then a cidery and restaurant to the south on the other side of 25, as well as agricultural and residential uses in the vicinity. Second page of my staff report just calls out all the plans that we have here. And there's an area of the property moving through. This does comply with the village center zoning use district and also with the town's cannabis code, which is Article L2C. We did receive a notice from the municipality, which was a requirement of the state law, so they noticed the town, as we've discussed on other applications. And then we respond to the notice to say yes or no, whether or not it meets that code. So that happened on November 12th of 2024. And then we sent our response on November 25th. A couple things that will be conditions of approval will be compliance with the security requirements, order management plans, waste management plan for the cannabis code. That can be a condition of approval to happen prior to signature. It's not an unusual thing. They're pretty pro forma. They just say they articulate how the applicant complies with the state statute for those items. In terms of landscaping, it's pretty good. We have evergreens, I believe, on either side and along the western and eastern property lines to screen the property. The ARB did ask for additional planning on the front of the building, which I agree. I believe John, who is the design professional, is working on, just to add some perennial plants in the front and an item that I did call out. We have two street trees here. I'd like to see at least one or two in the middle, just to really improve the front facade of the building. There is going to be sidewalks in front of here. If the board's familiar with that, it's just one big open curb cut. So the applicants are going to have to comply with DOT and their permitting requirements, but they are showing an entrance. On the eastern side, comes around into some angled parking, additional parking in the back, which I understand will be used for staff, and then exiting on the western side. DOT will determine if it can be left or right. They haven't opined really in that regard. They just said it will need a highway work permit. Now that we had, I guess, the town laws on spacing, et cetera, was thrown out, would there be no appeal? Well... What's going to happen there? I don't really want to comment on open litigation. However, I would assume there will probably be an appeal. Okay. In terms of spacing, it's not really relevant in this regard because this, so this would be allowed under the state law or our code. It's a conforming location. So this is not really a thing. But isn't there a thousand foot radius or something? Between two uses. Oh, two uses. Yeah, between another use, and there's nothing here. This is the only one in the corridor. Okay. So, back to landscaping. Just a recommendation I have is to replace the Japanese holly with inkberry holly. That's a native species. They always work a little bit better in terms of getting established. They'll also need to provide their 15% of land area to the parking to demonstrate that that's landscaped. In terms of parking, this is actually over-parked. They parked the entire building, including the basement, which will just have storage and like a break room. So they're going to have more than enough parking for the retail use. They have the angled parking on this side, traditional 90-degree stalls in the back. They're all the appropriate size. And speaking with Member Hogan on, I think it was Tuesday, I learned a new thing, that with angled parking specifically, the van adjacent width area has to be on the passenger side of the ADA space. So a condition of approval that we have is that they reverse those. So the ADA space will be here. The van adjacent area will be here. Moving through. Okay. So the plan is that they will need to have a permit for the parking. In terms of DOT, they will need that DOT permit. Outdoor lighting plan, this does comply with town code in terms of dark skies. Dumpster location is also compliant. It did go to the ARB back in July. They had some comments. I think they were okay with the materials. I do have elevations, I think, further in the plan set that I can show you. Wood appearing, peaked roofs. They just asked for the entrance to, you know, the design to announce the entrance a little bit. And then the street tree requirement. Water district noted that this is served by an existing service. They'll just need to provide. Can I just, one question? Yeah. On SP4, which is the utility. Yes. I don't know where the water main is. It doesn't appear to me to be shown. And I'm sure it's from the main road. Yeah. So it's right, there's a water main right here, John. If you can follow my finger. On the screen. There's an existing water service in the right of it. Yeah, right. Okay. And it's going to come back here. Oh, there's water. Got it. Got it. Thank you. And I believe they have a dedicated fire line. One other question while we're on that. There's a grease trap and a septic tank, sure. Correct. Because there used to be. But they're not connected. Yeah. I'm not sure. I don't know if it was abandoned when the restaurant used to cease. Because I guess, I don't know if anyone's familiar what the restaurant was that was here. Little Joe's. Sure. Italian restaurant. Italian restaurant. I thought that it was Hans Gustav's. Yeah. Oh, it was that. I remember Hans actually. Yeah. Yeah. You're really good, John. That's good. Yeah. I remember Hans. Okay. So that's just. I don't know if they abandoned it for the health department. I'm sure they haven't applied for health department approval yet, but I'm sure they'll have to demonstrate whether it's connected. All right. That's good. Any other questions? No. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Matt, is there going to be lighting around the back for that back parking lot? Yeah. So there's lighting here. Oh, no. Sorry. That's great. There's lighting here and here. Was there all the compliance? Dark skies. Dark skies. Yeah. Okay. So here, here. There's another one there. And I think on the broadway, too, over here. Yep. Town engineer just noticed some mathematical errors, but nothing of note and just a correction on the
fact it uses it for various uses. Are there any uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? Are there uses for it? without a public area. So we do have the resolution up to date. Matt, any improvement on the parking area? So this, yeah, I believe the front... I believe it's asphalt in the front and the back. The whole thing will be paved. Oh, yeah, this is like trees now. Yeah, so it's all going to be paved. Okay. Yeah, drainage. And, Matt, the question that I had, and I guess I can ask you guys, any leftover materials that are going to be discarded or not, they don't, aren't in the dumpster, right? They don't go into a dumpster. Oh, no. Just identify yourself. Yes, I'm Walter Bonilla, one of the owners. We have a quarantine procedure where if there's recalls, the brands that we work with take back. So we're not disposing of any large quantities on site. That's a requirement. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that we have a quarantine program in place. Okay. So is there an authorized person that comes and then picks up? Yeah, and goes back to the producing vendor. So no dumpster divers then? No, no dumpster divers. We receive everything prepackaged. So nothing is open on site. It's all prepackaged with expiration dates. So we move the product before it actually expires. There's been very few quarantines. Only if, you know, things are tested and come back where, you know, maybe there's mold in it, that entire batch will be gone. So we go back to the distributor. So just so the board gets a real fast-track of the . This is what faces Main Road. And then this is, yeah, this is the entrance. So this is the east side, west side, and back. A little bit of improvement to what's there, just with the tweaks that they'll need to make for A or B, unless they're going to have to go back. So it's going to be moved. So it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. And it's going to be moved. YES. HI, JONES STAIR, JAMES PORT, I'M WITH THE GREATER JAMES PORT CIVIC ASSOCIATION WHICH INCLUDES AQUABOG. SO I WAS PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR PRESENTATION FROM PLANET NUGS. AND I WONDERED IF THE ELEVATIONS AND THE DRAWINGS COULD BE SHARED WITH THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN AMONG THE COMMUNITY AND I FEEL LIKE THE BEST WAY TO COMM PEOPLE'S CONCERN, ADDRESS PEOPLE'S CONCERNS IS TO GIVE THEM THE INFORMATION. I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN SHARE BOTH THE ELEVATIONS AS WELL AS THE SITE PLAN BECAUSE IT SHOWS THAT THERE'S A SEPARATE ENTRANCE AND SEPARATE EXIT AND THAT'S GOING TO BE POTENTIALLY A HIGH TRAFFIC AREA. SO CAN THAT BE UPLOADED SOMEWHERE SO PEOPLE CAN SEE IT AND THE CIVIC ASSOCIATION CAN REFER PEOPLE TO IT? YES. SUBMIT A FOIA REQUEST AND WE'LL GET TO YOU. I'M SORRY? SUBMIT A FOIA REQUEST OR SEND ME AN E-MAIL AND WE CAN GET TO YOU. THAT'S FINE. OKAY. WE HAVE TO SUBMIT A FOIA. IT'S NOT LIKE THE OTHER PLANS LIKE FOR PERCONIC FARMS THAT WERE JUST UPLOADED ONTO THE IT'S NOT A PUBLIC HEARING SO IT'S A LITTLE DIFFICULT. WE CAN GET TO YOU VERY EASILY. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND DID I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY THAT THE STATE IS REQUIRING A SEPARATE ENTRANCE AND EXIT IS THAT CORRECT MR. CHARTERS? THAT'S THE WAY THE STATE WORKS I BELIEVE. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DEDICATE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT HAS TO BE SEPARATE BUT IT'S A CONTROLLED ENTRANCE. OKAY. SO YOU HAVE TO PRESENT ID WHEN YOU GO IN. AND THAT THE STATE WILL DETERMINE WHETHER PEOPLE CAN MAKE A LEFT TURN OUT OF THERE? IN TERMS OF ACCESS? YEAH. OKAY. I THOUGHT YOU MEANT INTO THE BUILDING ITSELF. NO. I MEANT THE ROAD. DRIVE LINES? YEAH. THE RECONFIGURATION I BELIEVE IS HOW THE APPLICANT WANTS IT TO BE CONFIGURED.
THAT'S THEIR ROAD BOTH THE SIDES OF THE TURNING MOVEMENTS. GREAT. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. OKAY. WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE GOING TO GO NOW INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE PENDING RESOLUTIONS. SO I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE TO ASK EVERYBODY THAT'S IN THE ROOM IF THEY CAN PLEASE EXIT FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, PLEASE. THANK YOU. OKAY. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. WILL EVERYBODY STAND. Okay. I'd like to make a motion that we reopen the meeting. Second. I got a second. Executive session. Executive session. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay. Okay. I'll move resolution number 80. Classifying site plan resolution for Ebola car wash as a type 2 action pursuant to CEQA. Second. Mr. Zelnicki? Yes. Mr. Bevere? Yes. Mr. Manero? Aye. And I'm a yes. Resolution passes.
Resolution number 2025-081 as amended. Yep. And just so the public's aware, we're amending the last waiver. So, we're amending the last waiver as third line after the word clerk. It'll say on November 12th, 2024. That's a corrected date. And then in the fourth line, it'll say November 25th, 2024. And we will be striking and a clarified response letter dated November 25th, 2025. So moved. Second. Second. Okay. Mr. Zelnicki? Yes. Mr. Bevere? No. Mr. Manero? Aye. I'm yes. The resolution passes 3-1. Okay. All those in favor? Aye. Okay. That's it for the resolutions. Public comments on all matters? Got to get someone to move the minutes of July 3rd, 2025. I'll move the minutes of July 3rd, 2025. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Seeker action? Greg? Anything? Nothing? Is there any other business? No correspondence? I hope not. I hope not. Okay. This meeting is going to be Thursday, August 21st, 2025 at 3 p.m. Will we keep the same resolution for... Keep it. For Woodhull on Sound? Keep the resolution. Keep that one? Keep the resolution. It'll just get redated, but the policy. Motion to close the meeting? Motion. So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale.