Full Transcript
Thank you. [transcription gap] 600-17-1-8.3, Residence A40 Zoning for a pool house, accessory structure, trellis, and in-ground pool in the front yard. Applicant requests variances and or relief from Chapter 301-9A1A, where proposed pool, trellis, and cabana located in the front yard are not permitted. This was reopened due to a change in the nature of the relief, specifically the change in size of the pool cabana. And this was adjourned at the request of the applicant from the December 12, 2024 meeting. And who's here for the hearing?
Were you sworn in at the last meeting? No, I was not. Okay. Please raise your right hand. I do solemnly swear to tell the truth, all truth, nothing but the truth. So help me God. I do. Please state your name and address. My name is Damon Hamilton. 86 Springy Banks Road, East Hampton, New York. Go right ahead. We are requesting an amendment to an existing filing to increase the size of the pool cabana structure. The previously approved ZBA variance for allowing the pool in the front yard was contingent upon a 141-foot front yard setback that was negotiated with a community neighbor. This was over 100 feet. Okay. This adds up to the processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing
Anything else? That's it? Well, we can, I mean, you have the site plan up on the screen, so I don't think, I mean, at this point, that's our request is we can answer any further questions that you might have. Our boards that we have are just the comparisons of the one that you have with what was shown previously. Those are actually nicer than the plans I have up, if you wouldn't mind putting them on the conference table. Sure.
The increase in size, if you give me just one moment. Okay. The increase in size is about 462 square feet, which is about a 17.5% increase from the previously approved size of the overall structure.
How many square feet is the proposed pool cabana? Okay.
The proposed enclosure, there's two small, there's one small enclosure, which is an outdoor shower and storage, which is, and then the meditation space for a total of 474.5 square feet. So, are you saying that the whole structure is including two different spaces, one outdoor and one indoor? Yeah. Okay. So, the whole structure is 2,655 square feet, and it includes the pool, the pool deck, the overflow for the pool, weir wall, and all of the enclosed spaces. It's the entire footprint that you see there. Do you have an elevation to show that? Yes, it is included with the filing, and I have individual prints if everybody would like a copy. I'd like to see it on the camera, because we're going to have to go through it. I'd like to see it on the camera, because I'm not there, unfortunately. If you would have just made one set. The big set is probably... Oh, sure. You can pass those out. I'd like to get one for myself. I can see it. You can really do it in one. Yeah, it's a huge, huge structure.
There's two sheets of it, too, so maybe you could probably pull it apart. Those are the sections. There's one more, I think.
What's the necessity of having such a large structure for watching the grandkids swim? There's the covered-out... It's a big structure. The idea is that they have a space there that they can sit inside with their friends. It's a big space. [transcription gap] you know, spend time with them while they watch their talk. Sorry, I don't know. It's hard for me to know who I'm talking to. So that's Leroy Barnes. He's a member of the zoning board. Sorry, Leroy. It's okay. So your clients in the application have consistently described this as a meditation space. Yes. So what you're actually describing now is more like a playroom. I would say that their intentions are to use it as a meditation space when their children are not there, their grandchildren are not there. Okay. So this is designed as a pavilion, correct? I think that's a fair statement. Well, because it's open on all sides except for... The pool cabana, which has a sink, refrigerator, shower, and storage, correct? The enclosed space that has the bathroom does not include any kitchenette or anything inside of that. On the proposed plans... Those are outside of the outdoor areas. They're not conditioned. That's not a conditioned kitchen. Okay. And there's no stove. There's no oven. And as I mentioned before, they're all outdoors. Okay. And for the dimensions of the, quote, meditation room, am I correct that the dimensions are... Bear with me. Okay. 29.8 feet times 16.8. Two feet. I don't have it in front of me now because the one's on the table, but that sounds roughly correct. Yeah. Well, I took it from the plans. Yeah. So the meditation space alone is fully enclosed. Another, quote, proposed full bath, shower, is 482.6 square feet. Does that sound right? I would say roughly that sounds about correct. And the house, the residence on the property is under construction at this time? The residence has received its C of O. Okay. And meditation space can't be accommodated in the new home? The new home is completed. Okay. So there's no space for it to be added to the new home. No. How much room do you need to meditate? I wouldn't imagine any more space than what we've requested. How about any less? My understanding is that they'd probably like to do some yoga in there, and they need to be able to stretch out and have another person there to do that with them. So even if you do it mathematically, it's not going to be enough space. Okay. So I'm going to ask you to do that. Okay. interventions utilizing a yoga mat on the floor. The way this is designed, you could have more than a dozen people doing yoga on yoga mats. Male Speaker 1 I don't think that's... Male Speaker 2 Seriously, nine feet by four feet, right? Male Speaker 1 Okay. Female Speaker 2 Even assuming it's a large person laying down flat, if you mathematically calculate that, you could have more than a dozen people. Male Speaker 1 I suppose that's possible. They have two children along, well three children, I'm sorry, along with the husband and the wife themselves. Female Speaker 1 So you also have a proposed parking area for this structure, is that right? Male Speaker 2 Yeah, there's a small approach to it from the street there. Yeah. Male Speaker 1 And then the parking area is right there, yes? Male Speaker 2 How many spots? Male Speaker 1 I think there's two, room for two cars. They have a car port currently for two cars, and again, they use this as their, this is not a primary residence, this is their vacation home, and most of the time they're there, they're receiving their children and their grandchildren, so this gives them space for the rest of their family. Female Speaker 1 Okay. Male Speaker 1 So, proposed for the front yard, requiring relief from the ZoniPort appeals, is a deck, a pool, a pavilion, a pool cabana, and a meditation space. Male Speaker 1 The, the, everything but the meditation space has, is previously approved by the, by the ZoniPort. Male Speaker 1 Right. Female Speaker 1 So, you're adding that to the relief you were already granted with respect to improvements in the front yard? Male Speaker 1 Yes. We are asking for additional relief, that is correct. Our, our, our property allows for, I believe, 15 per square foot. Male Speaker 1 Okay. [transcription gap] This adds up to the processing processing processing processing processing processing coverage which on a 99,000 seven hundred and seven square foot lot would be 14,000 nine hundred and fifty six square feet of coverage the total block coverage for all of the structures on this property including the land impervious landscape walkways comes to a total of nine thousand four hundred and fourteen square feet which is significantly less than the allowable buildable area but you're asking relief to put structures in the front yard yes our we are asking for that our client is on a flag lot and the lot that sits in front of them is also owned by by by our clients is there any reason why the quote meditation space couldn't be reduced you [transcription gap] !
[transcription gap] you stated and dovetailing what you stated that the parents want to be able to quote watch the kids from the pool or be near the kids grandchildren grandchildren yes so this would be a seasonal structure correct if they're not in the pool there's no need true the way you described it but this is true but they also intend to use it as a meditation space. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the 3,500 square feet to put down yoga mats. Male Speaker 1 I mean, I guess you could put them in the family room. Sure, that's possible. This is, you know, you'd have to move furniture around in order to do so.
Male Speaker 2 Well, let's hear what the neighbors have to say. Male Speaker 1 Our client does have some extenuating physical conditions too that makes moving furniture around difficult for her. But I'd like to let Matt take the mic and let him. Matt Steele Please. Good evening. Go ahead. Male Speaker 1 So, I'm going to tell the truth to all truth and nothing but the truth, so I'll be gone. Matt Steele Yes, I do. Male Speaker 1 Please state your name and address. Matthew Sforza, S-F-O-R-Z-A, 111 Louise Court, Riverhead, New York. Matt Steele I'd first like to state we've been dealing with this construction at this property probably since 2022. They did an excavation of the their property at 120, which is on the sound. And they've taken all that soil and material and they dumped it on the property in front of them at 114 Louise Court. Ever since they've done this, we've had nothing but problems with runoff. If we have a bad thunderstorm, anything of potential. That is all. [transcription gap] That is all. That is all. rainfall that's uh you know a massive amount of rain we have all our mulch gets wiped from you know the street all the way down our driveway and uh we did not know anything about this structure until yesterday when i i had we did meet with them at the end of december mr glass had approached me maybe six or eight months ago and said listen i know we're approved for a pool and a little they called it a dip pool we were approved for a dip pool and a little bit of a deck and a cabana would you mind if you know we made that pool bigger and made it a plunge pool instead and a little bit more of the decking and i said you know if you want to have a bigger pool no problem he never told me the dimensions or anything like that so now they contacted me uh at tuesday to say listen we need you to send an email to the uh the zba to tell them that you don't object to this project and i said back in december i asked you for the the plans the surveys renderings of what's going to be there and then i said yeah i still haven't gotten it yet i said i checked my emails i haven't gotten it so mr glass said all right i'll have mr hamilton send it to you it was at that point that i realized the scope of this you know the cabana that they had and this this meditation room that's 400 square feet to me is a commercial you know building and this is in the front of their property they have plenty of room to play to place a meditation room somewhere else and like i said they have a deck they have a covered porch they have all this on their primary residence on the sound so i don't understand you know like i said they had this little cabana that swelled to something that's the size of you know approximately a uh you know a ranch style house you know it's i think it was like 1300 square feet when i did and it's covered so i don't understand the reason why now we need to have this the cabana we need and the cabana has a refrigerator according to the rendering it has a uh a sink it has an outdoor shower it has an indoor shower it has an indoor bathroom they have a spot to sit it looks like where they could they could have a little dining area and also a little seating area and then like i said you know then i looked at this you know the meditation space and i don't understand why it needed to be so large and why i wasn't informed of that you know it was a surprise and like i said since uh 2020 2022 it's been constant constant with the uh you know work at this house they might have this co but they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they can't do it they have people there six days a week you know i don't know how many pours of cement that they've had over the last two years we can't even enjoy walking in our neighborhood anymore because there's constant traffic coming down you know the street and as far as you know mrs glass aversion to heat and uh you know whatever else they're claiming she walks an hour and a half every day in the summer when she's there no matter what the temperature is so i'm not understanding why she can't be in the sun she can't be and you know she can't be in the heat so like i said i'm gonna you know count what they said that she has this aversion to heat and and the sun because we've seen her and i have it on my you know everyone has a camera now on the house i have my street view i can pull everything up and you can see her walking every day around 11 am so you know like i said i was blindsided by this my wife and i you know we we wanted to accommodate them said you know what all right you want to pull your grandkids you know they come in the summer you know you want to pool you want some time to spend with them but the reason for this big meditation the reason for the big meditation the reason for the big big meditation space and if you look at the rendering the way where it's situated it's really like an obstructed view you'd have to go into the extreme corner and look this way in order to be able to see you know the kids playing in the pool so they have plenty of other space within this cabana to be able to see their you know their children you know is that is there a size that you'd be happy with well that's smaller than this I mean I had submitted something to the ZBA today I would actually like them just to get rid of this entire meditation space and then we don't have a problem with the other space so the I guess the survey that mr. glass had provided me with initially the pool where the pool ended and that deck ended that's where the cabana structure ended as well so now this new one that I received on Tuesday this is where that 400 square feet jets out off to the west so I think I had yes first you know we received additional correspondence from you this afternoon with pictures that you had marked up which I circulate to the board effectively showing the elimination of the meditation space but retaining the cabana bath and that little entry in addition to the outdoor shower I guess the sink and refrigerator area and then the storage area that's proximate to the pool and can I show a picture of the mound of sand that's been there for two and a half years now I don't know if you guys were able to see it can we pass it down Amory or do you want it up on the camera put it on the camera put it on there yeah a little bit higher there you go so when you come down the block this is all you see and this is the problem that we're having every time the rain hits down that is angled towards our property and that rain like I said pushes all our mulch and everything comes down our driveway we've been here since 2012 and never had an issue with you know anything coming down our driveway whether it be mulch or rain until they have this you know this mound that's been there and they kind of dangling this in front of us like a carrot oh if you approve this don't object it will be able to you know take this out so you stated that those mounds are actually on 114 Lewis Court correct please on the mic yeah I'll have a follow-up question for the project manager like I said we don't think it's you know we think the cabana is excessive nothing the cabana this meditation space is excessive and we're willing to be reasonable but you know we don't understand why they need to have this commercial size meditation space especially they have room you know further up on their property or they could move it somewhere else closer to their residence and they already have like I said a covered portion of deck and all that on the on the sound portion of their on their residence anyone else in the audience that wish to speak on this come right up did you want to speak to let him respond and read I just have one initial question for you did the owner applicant obtain an importation permit to place that material at 114 Lewis Court the the material at Lewis Court was the excavation from the existing house and and at 114 is the is the additional property that the owner correct but pursuant to the town code of the town of Riverhead if you're importing bringing material onto the site it requires a permit I'm not aware that that that soil was imported for this project that's not to say that that the the the well that the Builder didn't bring additional sand to the site but the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the with the completion of the pool cabana. And owned by the same... Owned by the same... Both properties are owned by the same people, our clients. Is there a structure on 114? No, there is no structure on 114.
So did you submit a grading plan? Yes, there are grading plans that have been submitted to the building department. And it's included with the submittal to the ZBA along with the site plan from Young and Young.
Any other comments here? Can I speak to Mr. Suarez's comments? Mr. Suarez is correct. We did not get him the drawing. We didn't get him the drawings until after the holiday. That said, on December 19th when we met with Mr. Suarez, we also met with him with our landscape architect. And Michael, I'm sorry, what's your last name? Plaspasil from Owen Brothers to discuss the drainage concerns on that property. At that time, I think Michael would like to speak to those drainage concerns too when I'm through. At that time, we did walk... the glass property with Mr. Suarez. We showed him the extent of the expected construction. And at that time, I did show him on my phone. Yes, smaller. Then on the drawings the design for the pool and pool cabana. The size of the pool and the size of the deck outside the meditation space has not increased since the last approval. that we already have for the pool and pool cabana structure. And what's the plan for the pool spoils? Spoils? When you excavate. So most of the pool is actually above grade. So we actually need to bring soil in to distribute around the structure, which is the soil that's now sitting on 114.
So.
Can the gentleman from Owen Brothers speak to the drainage? Are we concerned about the drainage? Excuse me. Mr. Forsher brought up the comment about would you go any smaller, think about smaller. Since this is the issue right now, that thing is too large. Okay, if people find. I would need to discuss that with the owners. That's not a decision that I can make. I think maybe we should have that discussion and see what you guys can do as far as an alternate to that structure, because it is a very large structure to be accessory to a pool. Okay. Are the owners here? The owners are not here this evening. I don't think.
So you're willing to do that? We'll get you back in two weeks, give us an alternate? We can speak to that. We can speak with the owners for sure. Okay, so. Do we want to let. I think we should let the other guy speak. Okay, go ahead. I don't know if that was an issue, but go ahead. Come on up. We're going to swear you in. Sometimes my wife kids at me and she says, raise your right hand. You saw me swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, but don't put the truth. So help you God. I do. Please state your name and address. Michael Pospisil. Work address is 2090 Sound Avenue, 2090 Sound Avenue, South
South. I'm just going to ask you to pull the mic a little bit closer to your. Can you spell your last name, please? POS PIS IL. Thank you. So I'm just going to talk about the grading a little bit in the drainage issues. So there has been a pretty extensive drainage plan implemented and installed on the property. There's been silt fencing up for the duration of the project. The fill pile that's currently on the adjacent property, the other one that's existing, has been there for the duration of the project. It has erosion control around it, a core log around it, which should mitigate any of the runoff that's happening. There is an elevation difference between the two properties because there's a flag lot that runs through the middle. So the properties don't butt up exactly against each other. There is maybe 20, 30 feet between them. And in that 20 or 30 feet is a low point where, just due to gravity, the water should be collecting there that's running off from that fill pile. It shouldn't be filling up this swale in the middle and overflowing into their property. So we're, I guess, a little puzzled how the water is running off of that fill pile. I think it's a little bit of a mystery. [transcription gap] But again, the processing processing processing processing processing processing onto their property so are you acknowledging that that's actually occurring that what that water is flowing onto their property I don't know I haven't seen it okay they've said you know it's a product I'm just trying to problem be clear on what you're stating right okay so we're trying to understand how that water is making its way to their driveway with a mulch is spilling over off of the driveway so we don't understand how it's coming from that pile of fill we walk through the property with everybody the architect landscape architect the neighbor and we thought we found the source of it coming from closer towards the street which was partially on the glasses property but also right along the street and then we found that it was coming from the driveway again the vehicle processing processing processing processing there's a incline and a lot of just bare soil where it looks like when it rains that is washing off following the curb down and because their driveways slope down from the street coming down the driveway possibly and we put erosion control mat on that area that's on the glasses property and put seed on top of it but because it's winter that hasn't germinated yet so that's uh what we saw during the walkthrough have you been there during the rain i have not i have but i haven't specifically looked at that area that seems to be the issue
so you're here saying you don't know how it's happening from that from the water running off that fill pile going to a lower elevation then going back up and then going back down to their driveway from what we all saw on site it just doesn't seem like that's the source of the problem well you don't know no we don't know okay we have any more questions no we should adjourn this and you folks have to get together work something out
all right well so our next meeting date is january 23rd or the following available date is february 13. so when would the board be inclined to adjourn this to give them adequate time what how much time do you need the 23rd or february one thirteenth thirteenth i'm just gonna advise the board we're pretty booked for the 23rd thirteenth thursday february 13th okay yeah go speak to to Mr. Spores, I presume. I'd also ask the neighbor if it rains from now until February 13th, if you have the advantage of one of your house cameras or a phone to take a picture so we could We could kind of just bring that issue to rest, whether there's water coming on your property or not, if you have a picture of it or a video. I do have a video. We'll move on to the next topic. That I could submit. In April, they told me that they were going to take that pile and they were going to landscape the whole area and the pile was going to be gone. That didn't happen in April. With the summer thunderstorms with, again, the high velocity water coming from these thunderstorms, I was having issues. At our expense, we purchased maybe 10 by 10 railroad ties. I made a little burn myself at the edge of the properties and that has substantially decreased some of the issues. For them to say that this isn't caused by this, I don't understand. Like I said, we've been there since 2012, never had any problems until this excavation and the soil being dumped there. As far as the meeting that we had on site, we never discussed the size of that cabana. They showed me where the pool was going to go. It began and ended, but we did not discuss the size of this cabana and this meditation room. Thank you. Do we have a motion to adjourn? So made. 13th? Second. Mr. Porsche? Aye. Mr. Weske? Aye. Mr. Zillow? Aye. Mr. Barnes? Aye. So you've been adjourned until February 13th? Yes. Thank you. So the next appeal, 2024-036 Portia Brown-Trent, 650 Elton Street in Riverhead, Suffolk County Tax Note Number 600-109-107. The bill is to approve the commercial residential campus zoning for a proposed modular single-family dwelling. We received correspondence from the applicant that they are requesting an adjournment to February 13th of 2025. So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Mr. Porsche? Aye. Mr. Weske? Aye. Mr. Zillow? Aye. Mr. Barnes? Aye. Vote aye. So adjournment has been granted. What's next, Heather? Okay. Next is Appeal Number 2024-035 Elizabeth McGrath, 1201 Ostrander Avenue in Riverhead, Suffolk County Tax Note Number 600-82-3-7 Business Center Zoning for a Proposed Retail Cannabis Dispensary. Applicant requests variances and a relief from Chapter 301-283.19 where proposed site is not located within Commercial Corridor 3 as the subject property does not belong to the property. The property is not have frontage and vehicular access along the corridor. End Chapter 301-283.205 where proposed site is located within 1,000 feet measured from the nearest property line of the affected parcel within within existing residential use. The minimum required setback from existing residential uses is 1,000 feet. Who's going to lawyer? I don't think so. Please raise your hand. I swear to tell the truth, I'll turn it over to you. I do. State your name and address. Martin Senlusky 215 Roanoke Avenue, architect for the applicant. I'm here with the applicant, Elizabeth McGrath, and her attorneys, David Holland and Andrew Shriver. We submitted the original application for an interior building permit. There would be no effect on the exterior, the structure of the site at all. An interior permit to renovate the existing structure in question for a cannabis dispensary. Subsequent to that application, we received the denial letter from the town, which was certainly expected. As far as the narrative, as far as what we needed, as far as the relief. We submitted an application in response to both of the variances that were indicated on the denial letter. And subsequent to that, we received a letter from the town, Mr. Shriver and Mr. Holland submitted a narrative that they will make a presentation on also. I have a copy of that narrative. You should have one, but I have copies of that. But I also have a couple of maps with that too. I turned them each way, so there's six of them here, but I didn't turn each way though. We'll have to see. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. This is the exhibition that you are processing. Thank you. [transcription gap] And I do believe you do have the narrative, as I said, that Mr. Shriver will review with you. Basically, what we've also handed up is just a site map, which is an aerial view of the location highlighted in red north of County Road 58 on the western side of Orrstrander Avenue, approximately 200 feet off of Route 58. The other map that we provided, actually it's a radius map, the 1,000-foot radius map around the subject property. And we just did this as an interesting study to see the surrounding area and the underlying zoning. So based on the underlying zoning, the green lots and the pink lots are the commercial zoned lots where the underlying zoning permits the cannabis use. Of the underlying lots, there are 25 of them. One of them are on the corridor. Four are not on the corridor. The ones that are not on the corridor are the pink ones, which includes the subject parcel. Of the green parcel... There are certain parcels that are on the corridor. Ten of those parcels directly abut with zero setback to residential property. So they can have a cannabis dispensary on those properties with zero separation to a residential property. The yellow and the orange are within 1,000 feet. That represents 43 residentially zoned lots. The orange ones are within the radius. All of those are within the radius. All of those are within the radius. and the yellow ones are within the radius. Those are 18 parcels that are currently residentially zoned where a dispensary could be located directly adjacent to those lots. Before Mr. Shriver begins, we did have one question. As you can see in the map, we're showing the four lots in the pink as being lots that are zoned for the dispensaries but do not have the 1,000 foot setback. We sort of question, even though the response and the application addresses both appeals, we believe that the appeal for 301-283-19 is not a required appeal. That almost makes the appeal a use variance. The underlying zoning, the BC zone under 301-283-20A location requirements specifically states that cannabis, retail, and on-site consumption establishments shall be permitted in only the business center, shopping center, destination, retail, et cetera, et cetera. So the underlying zoning permits it. What prevents it here is the separation to the residential properties. So we don't believe that that requires a use permit because it's not required to be, you know, to be in a commercial corridor. As an example of that, the largest dispensary, which I believe in the state of New York, is the one that opened up on 58, is not located within a commercial corridor. So we don't think that, but we did respond to it. It is included. Mr. Shriver will present his narrative accordingly and we'll proceed from there. I just have a question before you leave. All those green areas, they're all commercial stores? Those are commercial underlying properties. All right, but there's a lot of stores over there. Yes, correct. Pretty busy area. Yes. Thank you. So question. Do you represent the owner of the property or the applicant seeking to locate a retail dispensary? The applicant. The applicant. You don't represent the owner. Correct. So on the map that you put up, you're going to say, oh, I'm going to be a retailer. But the
By this map, there are 21 potential locations that you could locate the retail dispensary that would meet code. Correct. Thank you. I'd like to follow up on that issue. This radius, the circle that you drew, it encompasses, what, 21 properties that are within the corridor, right? It encompasses everything within that red circle. That includes 40. That's only within 1,000 feet. There's plenty of other space on 58 that's within the corridor, right? Correct. Oh, yeah. No, this is just within, because the 1,000 foot radius is the radius that's required to residential properties. What we did is we took the subject parcel and we showed that 1,000 foot radius around that property just to look as a comparative. Okay. To the use and the zoning of all the properties within that zone. I guess my point is that you're showing that there's 21 commercial properties here in Green that would be permissible to have. Correct. Correct. There's actually several hundred of them within the corridor. Oh, yeah. That are not on this drawing, right? Absolutely. This is just relative to our parcel. That is correct. All right. All right. As a matter of fact, in mentioning that, I'm glad you mentioned that, because what I did was, and we didn't submit this, but I just did this out of curiosity. This is the overall zoning map of the town of Riverhead. It's a real rough idea that I did, but I took the zoning map and I noted the corridors, and then with a magnifying glass looking at the residential properties and the properties where it's permitted, we located in excess of 120 properties on the five corridors where a dispensary can be opened with zero separation to a residential property. So I'm glad you brought that up, because there are many, and there's over 120 that could be directly adjacent to. Zero separation, meaning it abuts a residential? Yes. In fact, the dispensary that's in Calvertine. That's correct. So the way the code is written, just to be clear, so there is no confusion, the way the code is written, if there's a... Okay. [transcription gap] Thank you. behind it, but only within the defined corridors with direct access to the main highway thoroughfare which makes it a commercial corridor.
Yeah. And over 120 of those can have a dispensary and directly above the residence. The one in Calverton, Calverton Commons, that dispensary in that location, there are residential properties directly next door to that. The lot line, it's just common lot line. So, the point is that there are many other ones. The point is here is that the underlying zoning permits a dispensary on the property in question. It just doesn't meet the setback. So, there are lots, so it does not meet the setback. That's the only reason you can't put it there. It's basically the way that the, the corridors are written. What the corridors does is it really negates the distance separation to residences as an underlying change in the zoning code. I thought this property was not in the corridor. No, it's not. It is not. But it's still a permitted use on the property. It just doesn't meet the setback requirement. So, with all these, excuse me, with all these other properties that are available where you could have a dispensary, why did you pick this property where they, where they can't? I think the, my client could probably answer that later on. I'd let her address that. And Mr. Shriver is also here to go through the narrative also. Attorney? Andrew Shriver. Thank you. He is an attorney. Oh, I'm done. You saw him, he swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So, help me God. I do. Please state your name and address. Of course, Andrew Shriver, from Prince Lobel Thai LLP, together with my colleague David Holland, we represent the applicant. And the address is 104 Manhattanville Road. Excuse me. Justin? Can you turn the volume up please? If the volume is, are you testing our hearing? I'll speak a bit, I apologize. You can move the mic, you know, so it's comfortable but close enough. Thank you. I appreciate the accommodation. I never want to be too loud when I get too close to a microphone, so I'd rather err on. But the question is the question. This question goes backwards. [transcription gap] after the time to secure a location. So at the time that locations were secured, just like Riverhead, there were towns across the state and villages across the state that had not yet written up its zoning code relative to cannabis establishments. So what we were left with is coming up with what we thought were the most sensible solutions based on what we knew were attractive to the town itself and also for that particular use. So in this instance, our client had this bank pad site and to be clear, we could not be standing here unless she had secured a location by November of 2023, okay, about a year and a half before you passed your zoning code on the cannabis quarters. At the time, and Martin pointed this out well, I believe at the time that your code did contemplate that the business areas that he identified would allow for cannabis establishments. So until the quarters got defined, which was after we had secured the location, we came in with an expectation and a hope certainly that the town would agree with us that it might be a suitable location. Now clearly that didn't come to pass in terms of your zoning and we recognize that and we're not here to at all repeat any of that discussion. We absolutely respect the authority of the town to set its own zoning. And the reason that this board exists, of course, is in order to deal with requests for exceptions where, even where there's an abundance of locations like you said, and I totally agree with that. But in this case, we couldn't have known that. When you say you secured the location, what do you mean by that? You leased the property? Yeah, the property was leased. In order to qualify- How long was the lease? How long was the lease? It was for a year and I believe it's been renewed. So we're holding onto it. And in order to qualify under the MRTA, in order to- It got renewed in November of 24? Is that right? Yes. Yeah. For another year? Correct. In order to qualify under the MRTA, we had to have a location. We had to submit either proof of a deed or a lease or an option agreement which was with the lease attached where it would be self-executing upon approval. Those are the only ways that the state would even accept our application. So we did our best to work with property that we believed would be suitable and the purpose of today is of course to recognize that under your code that where you have zoning that is designed for a specific purpose, we don't want to upset that purpose. In this particular instance, we think that under your code criteria, the specific code criteria, this particular property is a uniquely suitable property that would warrant that exception. And of course, as the letter, I don't need of course to tell you your own code, you're the experts in it, but we were very careful in the letter that I put forward to make sure that each of the code provisions-. Starting with the special exception, your overall power as a zoning board to grant special exceptions were carefully analyzed. So with the board's permission, I'd like to just very briefly touch on a few of those points. I'm not going to read through the whole letter, but I do want to talk about first why the property is uniquely situated. This is a bank pad. I think the best illustration of it is on page two of my letter. And you can see when you look at this, this is its own self-contained property. This is the processing processing processing processing processing processing processing We've all been to locations. So you all know it. Okay. Yeah. So, and of course, you know, this is, you have full familiarity with the area, and you, I'm sure, have, you know, read our discussion points about how the use from the point of view from anybody in the community, particularly taking into account the overhead on the left, right, which is replicated in our papers here, where you see that if you look north of the site, if you look west of the site, if you look east and south, all of it is surrounded by similar commercial activity that, from the vantage point of all the people that live in the, alongside the corridor, including, interestingly, when you look at the picture on the right, it's, it's, there's a sort of irony that you have lots that extend directly next to and adjacent to our client's property outline there in pink, where, but for the matter in which the plot, the lot lines are drawn, from the experience of anybody living in that community, where it was a bank pad before, and we all know, you know better than me, that it's been an empty, the landlord hasn't been able to do anything with it. That's part of the hardship. And we do have the attestation in our papers talking about that and specifying that we're not able to use the site for anything else, not without substantial investment, and that goes to the unique hardship piece. But turning back to it, from the point of view of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the people living in the area, when it was a bank, I'm sure you all know this, when, when somebody drives into the bank area, which is its own self-contained property, they get out of the car, they go into the bank, they transact the business, they get back in their car, they pull out of the lot. From, there's no exterior changes being proposed. The law says that the, you have to have shading, you can't show product in the window, and what we're looking to do is have a very discreet upscale dispensary that, quite frankly, we think will help contribute to the tax. also have an additional advantage just in the sense of, you know, traffic along these corridors is always an issue. It's always been one of the biggest issues when cannabis comes up, and this is one of the areas in Long Island that allows for it. So I know you take that into account when you have properties coming up along the corridor that might, that, you know, that you don't have to consider because they may be as of right, but there's a chance to alleviate congestion if you just turn off onto Ostrander from Old Country Road into this discreet self-contained parking lot, which means we're not going to bother the shopping center with parking, right, the way that you would with others in the corridor, and you have plenty of room for people to come in. And at some future point, if you're happy with it and it's going well, it also has turnkey drive-through capability, which is allowed by the state. So in terms of the impacts themselves, the letter, I think, we try to be very conscientious about. I think, walking through each of these considerations, but it all boils down to, if it doesn't have a detrimental impact on the neighborhood, and we've talked about the other criteria in terms of whether or not this was self-created, whether or not you can do anything else with the property, completely understanding that there are other properties along the corridor, we simply didn't have the luxury of knowing where specifically the town would land in terms of its siting. So in this respect, our client, really driven by state regulation, had no choice. But to make the most reasonable investment that she could make on really what's been for cannabis practitioners, a state-of-the-art type facility, because it's got surveillance ready, it's got a safe, it's got all the things you need for security, for storage. That's why these things make ideal conversions to dispensaries, and that's why they're not really very usable for any other circumstance. So that essentially is the reason that we believe that in this context, we're not going to be able to do anything else. So I think that's a good point. But again, again, again. the exception would qualify. And I think it's really, really best illustrated by the drawing of the circle taking completely into account that you have the other businesses. We, again, didn't have the crystal ball to know that we could have located along that corridor and been okay. We thought we were okay because when you look at it, you have all that green and then just two little segments of pink that don't fall, like lying directly within the green. It's almost like two puzzle pieces that look like they're sort of out of place. And I think that that's a really good illustration that as far as the residences are concerned, they're going to see cars coming in and out of the slot and you're going to renew a tax base on otherwise a property that right now doesn't generate anything. So, Council, can I just tell you, you stated that your clients chose this parcel and entered into a lease in December of 2023. I don't know if it was December or November. No, no. It was December. It would have been October. October. We could not have submitted the application to the state without it. So, and part of your argument is the town hadn't adopted a zoning code for cannabis. So, how could they know whether it was permitted or not? Yeah. Are you aware that the town actually adopted the cannabis code and it became, on the books, local law, November 1 of 2022? Yes. And now, and that cannabis code, I can tell you, because I was directly involved, prior to November 1 of 2022, for a period of six months, there were public forums that were live and aired on TV and anybody could present, discuss, listen, see where the code was going. But the thing that got the public to go on the street was the processing processing. This was the processing processing processing processing processing in that version november 1 of 2022 this site was not permitted for for cannabis retail
i certainly would not you know deem to to disagree with you having been on the ground during the time that you're saying our understanding was that and and in fact as i had understood it did come to pass that the town was actively engaged as you said in work sessions and those work sessions were continuing and in fact did continue up through last year we were aware of that my colleague had attended a few with mr sandusky we we did actually put in correspondence at the time during during those but but you're arguing to the zoning board and the members here that your clients were at a disadvantage because the town of riverhead did not adopt zoning and they thought maybe this was a viable site and i'm telling you i have first-hand knowledge that the first code adopted on november 1 of 2022 was so restrictive it only actually permitted five sites again this site was not one of those five the later amended legislation expanded it so it wasn't only uh five lots within the town of riverhead it expanded it to allow for the commercial corridors for properties that had direct access to the roadways to the commercial corridor so what i can speak to is that when we uh became enlisted with the client which is i think around i'm just guessing i mean this is a rough guess so it's i know it's testimony uh so i want to be careful here but i think it's a good point i think it's a good point i think it's a good point i think it's a good point here but i think it's around early 2023 roughly uh i'm sorry
yeah he's not speaking to her but he speaks
i should actually make a correction for myself because i got part of the timeline wrong relative to the time that you just said what i am aware of is that at the time and this is from my experience at the time i got involved with this case which was when you were actively reviewing revising that because of because you were actively reviewing revising that because of because you were looking to expand the number of places that you could have we knew that that was after under active consideration we knew from the participation from speaking with martin sanluski who i know was involved in the committee that was part of those discussions that there was discussion about expanding it to the corridor we did actually meet with some town officials and the committee got the processing processing processing
and talk about whether or not we can and should be included in the corridor. And so at the time, we knew that the zoning there hadn't been established. And the other thing that my colleague just reminded me is that the state had not finalized its regulations at that point to solidify that you needed to have the lease in place at the time. So I do need not to correct myself, but to sort of like pair that with the timeline. So at the time I came in, two things were happening. You were in the process of considering revising your code. And two, the regulations, I want to double check on this, but I'm pretty sure that the regulations specifically identifying these are what you need to do before they open the application window, I'm pretty sure that was August 2023. So we didn't know that we needed to actually secure the lease in the land until that was announced. So I couldn't have spoken to that issue at the time. Both of those things were in flux. And I apologize to the extent that that created any mission . But you would agree that the legislation, the MTRA, they refer to it as, the marijuana Right. Right. ! under Section 4 definitively gave municipalities that did not opt out to regulate time, place, manner. Yes. I should also, yeah. And so the town did that. And they effectuated it in November of 2022. Right. And I just say for the record, because we got a bill to regulate time, place, manner. And I'm not saying that we should have to do that. But I'm saying that we should have to do that. And I'm not saying that we should have to do that. But the processing processing processing 29th of this year, there was a decision issued by the Supreme Court in Albany that specifically said that there's concurrent jurisdiction and that the state, in fact, doesn't have to stop where a municipality says yes or no. The only reason I'm bringing that up is because in this particular instance, the state has designated sites that it considers to be suitable under the cannabis law, and it's conferred what's called proximity protection under its regulations. We put out in the letter, with reference to the website where it's identified, that this site has been recognized by the state as a suitable site and is subject to the state's proximity protection. But to be clear, we're not suggesting, and I'm not suggesting, that I'm utilizing the Gracious Greens case that I just mentioned to try to usurp this board's authority or to challenge it or anything like that. What we're trying to do is be in harmony with your code. We understand that this particular location is not as of right for your code, but the real question, I think, under your code is really, is it appropriate? And recognizing everything you just said, right? The job of this board is to say, okay, the rules are in place, and I recognize that, and I recognize that under the rules, we don't fall into the, you know, we're not a square peg in that. We are a square peg. We don't fit in the hole. But that's exactly what this board is for. And so the question I'd ask this board to ask themselves is, A, can we realistically use this bank pad that's been empty for years for another use? Does it fit the use we're talking about? Would it really have an impact on anybody looking at people coming in and out, relative to the rest of the area that it's in? And when you look at the other side of the board, you're looking at the other side of the board. You're looking at all the green, and then the two pink things, and then the rest of the green on either side of it. Does this make sense as an exception? As an exception, not as the rule. And we respect that. Let's talk about that criteria for use variance. Okay. Yeah, I was about to address that. Good. Perfect. Be quite candid. I'm referring to page eight of your letter of January 2nd. Sure. Penultimate paragraph on the use variance. Lack of reasonable return. Mm-hmm. Quote, the property is a form of bank pad. Bank pad. Site with a configuration that is neither suitable nor practical for other commercial use that would produce a reasonable return other than the type contemplated here. And on the ultimate paragraph, it says, two, the hardship is unique. The hardship, the substantial inability for the property to realize a reasonable return is unique. Sir, as you indicated, we're all familiar with that area, property. And I don't think anybody would argue that. That area is prime. But the processing processing processing processing processing processing processing for any kind of other business other than this, and to say that you can't use this for anything else in the area, to be quite candid, I have a lot of problems with that. Martin has a response, if you don't mind me sharing the podium. Mr. Sinluski, I'm just going to clarify again. You're not appearing here on behalf of the owner of the property. No, correct. Okay. So when you're going to be addressing reasonable rate of return. I'm not addressing that. Okay. I'm addressing the facility itself. You're familiar with the building? Yeah. It's a small branch bank. There are no banks that will rent this location. Banks are not renting small locations like this anymore. They're not even going to stay next door here. That's over. It's too small for you. It's very destination oriented like a gym or a spa or anything like that. It's a very small branch bank. So for destination oriented uses such as a gym, a spa, or some other use that's off the beaten path, it's not going to be a bank and it's too small for those other uses without substantial investment to enlarge it. So when you look at the facility, and the layout that we did with the building permit application, the facility is actually ideal for the use that we would like to provide there from a bricks and mortar standpoint. I agree with you. Maybe ideal for what you want. But I cannot agree with the fact that it's not ideal for something else. So if I may, Mr. Sinlewski, do you have any proof of marketing of this property for uses that are permitted under the code? For instance, retail store, professional service, restaurant, cafe, ice cream parlor, bakery, specialty food store, office, professional office. Do you have any proof of marketing and failed marketing attempts? I think the issue there is in order to occupy it with those types of uses, you're going to be looking at a substantial investment to change, The cannabis facility the way the bank has laid out it literally is a plug-in. So there is an additional investment. And I'm not speaking to that extent. I'm speaking to the extent that from the bricks and mortar with the existing facility it's a perfect fit. That's what I'm saying. Are there other uses? I'm not speaking to the economics. But speaking to the fact that for this use it's you know in terms of the processing. for this use it's a it's you know in in terms of as Andrew it said before In terms of the use in the building, it's actually a ramp it fits right in There's no another matter if I may you submitted a building permit application for this site, correct? Yes, and it was for interior alteration, correct $60,000 estimate correct That's substantial no not really and not really that's that's a fairly a conservative number I mean, that's a sound a very high number in today's market
Are there other questions Do you have any information? Regarding the quote inability for the owner of this property to get a reasonable Return on this property. Well, I know that in addition to my letter. Mr Sen lewis key had submitted the original handwritten application form that made reference to the fact that the bank pad has been empty for Years and not used in its currency. I Completely agree with what I don't think there's any dispute you could take any parcel a lot I see anywhere in that circle. That's commercial. You can tear the building down and you can put up something You profitable no question about it In this particular and and the owner, you know did sign the paperwork that to process this with an attestation Containing the information that it has been vacant and not been able to realize a return in its state How big is your office my law office? Yeah
I'm gonna say maybe 2,000 square feet fit in this place nice would it fit in this place? Thanks. No, no, I know I I don't I'm not sure whether or not this is a I'm not sure what the square footage is with respect to this building, but The layout of the building would have to be you know, very there have to be a serious reconfiguration layout in order to make Well, no sixty thousand dollars content. It's an excellent question $60,000 contemplates that you're taking basically the shell the gutted shell and you're leaving a lot of that intact. It's the build-out of of you know It's the rebuild out and the re decoration of the counter space sixty thousand dollars is what people pay for kitchens There's another bank in Iceland. I love you ever been there. It's nice It's no longer a bank. It's a restaurant. Okay, they have a nice fault against me on beyond summit I have difficulty saying that this is the only use you can make out of this Understood. I Certainly don't want to belabor the point beyond what we said if I had more information, I'd certainly offer it How much is the monthly lease monthly rent for this property? Ten thousand ten thousand a month Take that had anything to do with the fact that he couldn't find a renter Did he advertise the property for ten thousand dollars a month to be rented before you got involved with the cannabis I don't know the answer to what he did to market the problem. How long has it been vacant before the cannabis deal? I I don't know the answer that I know you all would better than Martin and he had said had been some years
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so I hope we got it. Michael O'Donnell, Jr.: I do. Please state the name and address. Michael O'Donnell, Jr.: My name is Michael O'Donnell. My place of business is 1 Heroes Way, Riverhead, New York representing Peconic Bay Medical Center. Are you a doctor? Michael O'Donnell, Jr.: Excuse me? Are you a doctor? Are you a doctor? Michael O'Donnell, Jr.: No, no, I'm sorry. Chief Financial Officer. Okay. Michael O'Donnell, Jr.: And I also should mention I'm representing the foundation as well. All right. You want to be heard? All right. I'm ready to express our thoughts regarding the variance report for proposed canister dispensary adjacent to the hospital on Ostrander Road. While I understand the potential benefits of such a business, I respectfully request that the board consider carefully the following points. Restriction to retail and dispensing. We urge the board to consider limiting the dispensary's operations. To retail sales and dispensing only. Prohibiting on-premises consumption. Given the dispensary's proximity to the hospital, restricting on-site consumption would be a prudent measure to minimize potential impacts on patients, visitors, and the overall healthcare environment. Future development of adjacent property. I also request that the board consider the following points. I also ask the board to consider the future potential use of our adjacent property of 1225 Ostrander Avenue. Over the next decade, this area will likely become invaluable for developing workforce housing, assisted living, or other healthcare-related assets that would directly impact and benefit the hospital and the broader community. I encourage the board to consider the following points. To reduce the number of patients in the hospital, and to reduce the number of patients in the hospital, and to reduce the number of patients in the hospital, and to reduce the number of patients in the hospital, I urge the board to assess long-term implications of this variance request on the overall development plan for the area surrounding the hospital. I'm aware of the discerning report of appeals as granted use variances in the past to Costco, Shopping Plaza, and Route 58, as well as to Tanger, to allow personal services and food uses instead of retail stores. I would distinguish those variances from this one. I urge the board to consider the following points. To reduce the number of patients in the hospital, and to reduce the number of patients in the hospital, Costco, Tanger, changes of uses are located in a busy existing shopping plaza. The difference in this case is that the proposed cannabis dispensary will be located across the street from a residential home and a few hundred feet from Saddle Lakes Village which is an over 55 community. I believe that the character of this neighborhood may be changed by the location of a cannabis dispensary so close to a residential neighborhood and a busy hospital with hopes in the near future of expansion. I believe the careful consideration of these points will ensure that any decision made regarding the dispensary is in the best interest of the entire community. Thank you for your time and consideration to the matter. Respectfully submitted, Peconic Bay Medical Center. Foundation. Again, my name is Michael O'Donnell, Chief Financial Officer of that foundation. Thank you, Mr. O'Donnell. I have a question or comment. So, Mr. O'Donnell, Peconic Bay Medical Center has affiliated medical offices proximate to this site and proximate to the hospital. True? Isn't there a cancer center? There is a cancer center that is associated with Northwell Health. Okay. And that was an old P.C. Richards building. Am I right? I believe you are correct. P.C. Richards. Yeah. And that's in the area. I just point out and want a confirmation of uses that are permitted by the zoning code, including medical services. Okay. And that is the area that we are seeing repurposed, reused of buildings in the area. That's all. Don't you also have plans just, I believe, north of this location, more office space for the hospital? Isn't that in Newark? You are referring to the 1225 address? Yeah. Which is the old Mercy High School? Yes, we do. That is what I was referring to. That is what I was referring to, that we do have some potential future plans for potentially assisted living, workforce housing. Those are options that the hospital and the foundation are considering. So if I own this property, so to speak, and I built something there that would cater to your hospital staff, something like that, it could be profitable, I presume. Could you rephrase that question? If I own the property we're talking about. It's not your property. It's not a property. And I do not own it. I don't own it. I built something. I don't know. A drive-in restaurant or something like that. I presume I'd get a lot of business out of your staff. I'm not sure I could comment on that, but that sounds like a reasonable presumption to me. Okay. Thank you.
Anyone else? No. May I? Yes. ! Thank you. [transcription gap] I just wanted to, I don't want to raise anything new other than to respond to a couple of the concerns that were raised. And I want to be very respectful of those concerns. First, I want to thank you. Starting with the primary concern. We have not applied for this to be an on-site consumption site. The expectation is that this will look and feel like any other shopping experience. I guess the easy equivalent comparator would be somebody driving up to a liquor store. This is adult use. This is the same concept. You go in. Take it.
to be basically just self-contained enough that it really will be the kind of thing that doesn't, it's not intended to have impact. And you all know the site. And the site actually has pretty good landscaping, just where the bank pad is. I mean, we're trying to make this just as subtle, just as discreet, and as much a high-end experience as we possibly can. So on-site consumption, we respect the concern. That's not so much of an issue. In terms of the concerns about the impact to nearby residences and the hospital, the only point I would make is that looking back at the radius drawing, based on the zoning rules that you've described and you've put into place, which are as of right, and again, we respect that, and we understand the process that brought it about, based on that, you could say the same with the, I think, roughly 21 lots that are completely really surrounding and on the other side of this lot. So I would only suggest that the impact with respect to our site. I would only suggest that the impact with respect to our lot, 1201 Ostrander, is really no different in terms of the impacts with lots that are contiguous where the use is allowed. And that's why in this case, while we understand that it doesn't fall on the front of the zoning corridor, we believe that this is suitable for the exception because it's not really looking to create any additional impact to the neighborhood. And so we are very conscious. We want to be very conscientious about the concerns that were addressed. And our intent is to be discreet and respectable to the neighbors. Ann Marie. Ann Marie. Ann. Just also, I just wanted to point out that in the attached to the zoning application, we actually, you know, had a copy of the building permit application. And if you look at the plan of the floor plan of the building, you can see that there is no onsite consumption indicated. And if you look at the plan, there is no location where you could fit onsite. Consumption. This is a small 1,000 foot building that has no place for that. It doesn't exist. You can't, you couldn't accommodate that within this building. So just to be clear under the law, where you retail, sell it. You cannot also consume it. So a retail establishment and a consumption lounge, you can't use it. Both may be permitted in the commercial corridor, but it can't be one and the same. It's not permitted. And it, the laws are actually very detailed. You can't even have alcohol or beer when you have marijuana. So the state gives very clear, definitive guidance. Yeah. Got it. You just wanted to do. I wanted to address that. You could see the plan, and you could see that there's no location of that. And then just one point of reference, because there was mention about the affiliated office building there and the Mercy campus as well as the hospital. I mean, if you were to buy Burger King, which is basically between that office building and the hospital and directly adjacent to the Mercy property, you could open up a dispensary as of right. Is that correct? I'm sorry. Burger King site, which is right between those two parcels and adjacent to the Mercy. You could, as of right, open a dispensary there, correct? Marty, you ought to know me better than that. I'm not going to guess off the cuff. I research everything. Well, it is. I don't have an answer for you. I won't ask you this question. I'll just make a note that that site could be utilized as of right as a dispensary. This is a location that's in the same area. There really is no additional impact, as Mr. Shriver indicated, in our opinion. Thank you. Other than that, I just want to thank you and the board for your careful research. I know that this has been a hard, deliberated topic. And we're grateful for your objectivity in considering the application. Respectfully, Mr. Shamrock. I think we're going to take this and look at it a little bit more. I'd like to come back with a reserve decision on January 23. Okay, that's . So moved. Okay. So moved. All right, Mr. Portia. Aye. Szeveski. Aye. Gonzilla. Aye. Barnes. Aye. And I vote aye. So we're adjourned until January 23. Thank you. Thank you very much. Will you want us to appear on the 23rd? I mean, other than, I knew you'll be issuing this. We'll be here January 23. Very good. Thank you. Are we ready for the last appeal? I guess so.
All right. Good? Okay. Lastly, we have appeal number 2024-037, Fisher Realty Group. 940-946 West Main Street, Riverhead. Suffolk County Tax Map Numbers 600-12431-5 and 600-125-2-5.2. Peconic River Community Zoning. For interpretation of a determination made by zoning officer to wit 301-161A, proposed use of subject property for an automobile repossession business is not a permitted use. In the PRC Zoning Use District, proposed outdoor storage of repossessed vehicles is not considered accessory to an office use.
Good evening. For the applicant Robert Merrihew, Esquire, 250 North Sea Road, Southampton. Esquire. Wonderful. Thank you. I have some papers for the board. Please state your name and address again. Robert Merrihew, 250 North Sea Road, Southampton. And you know what? If you wouldn't mind, feel free to adjust the mic and maybe bring it closer because it's... The sound isn't coming. It's terrible. How is this? A little bit louder would be better, right?
So we're here, obviously, because we disagree with Mr. Bergman's interpretation and we ask this board to align it more. And what would seem to be the on-the-ground appearance because the office use that we're dealing with about the accessory really stems from the idea that many, many businesses have that same type of accessory use where the office is the nerve center, if you will, and lots of the equipment and the trucks and material are outside. And that is the same thing here. We also think that this is in line with the... This board's own decision of January, February, March of 2010 when Blackman was before this board where they had that office where they were also able to store material and trucks outside. In our case, we merely are storing for a very short time late model vehicles where people have not paid for their... made their payments and those cars are then shipped out. There's no leaking oil. There's no damaged cars. I would also add to the board that in this... In this same zoning district, merely five parcels away is a tow company that does the exact same thing that we're proposing doing there and they're fully accepted.
I'm going to turn time over to my esteemed colleague, Mr. Raymond Dickel. Well, if I may just ask you a few questions. Before... Go ahead, Bob. Counselor, can I ask you a few questions? So, in your application for interpretation, you actually cite to six parcels. Right?
I'm not sure what you're referring to. Well... You know what? I'll wait. I'll let... Good evening, board. Ray Dickoff, Aqaba. You were signed and sworn in the last meeting, I think. No, this didn't happen. It was a different case. I'm sorry. You're a temper, huh? Do psalmists swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and let the truth shall help God? I do. Name and address. Ray Dickoff. I'm a psalmist. I'm associated with the Fishery Organization. My address is in Aqaba.
We are currently in front of this board on several matters, which you just referenced. This is a combination of six parcels of property, and we are in for the total redevelopment of this entire parcel of property. Here tonight, I filed for a building permit, which is in your packets there, in January. So a year ago. I filed for a building permit for a 500-square-foot office space where the town, the building department, sent back. They wanted a full set of drawings done by an architect and several other things. Approximately in April, I had all of those plans and paperwork prepared for them, and I submitted it back in for the building permit. Again, it's all in your docket. The planning, the zoning officer at that time stated, that these vehicles were not an accessory used to the office. So we went back and we questioned him on that, because there was a variance granted to Blackman Plumbing Supply back in 2010 that, as part of their office, they asked for a variance to park all of their trucks, delivery vans, trailers, and all this equipment in the back. That relief was granted to Blackman. So we're basically asking the same question. We're asking for a variance to the building department, and we're asking for a variance to the office. And the same thing. We have a tenant who has an office. He runs an asset recovery business out of that office. He has three employees. All of his business is conducted inside the office. If he gets a phone call from a lending institution to go out and recover an asset, he goes and he picks up that asset, he brings it back to the yard. His conditions under his license, which are also in your packet, is he has to be in a secure yard inside a fence, which he is at that Blackman site, which is a total of six parcels. Again, he brings this asset back. He holds it for X amount of times where the person who lost it has the ability to come back and pay for it and get it back. If not, the lending institution then tells him where to bring it. So he would bring it to a location where they might have an auction off-site or back to a dealership or whatever that might be. So basically, he's picking up, whether it be a car or a truck, or a boat or a camper, whatever kind of asset he's charged with recovering. But again, his business is totally run out of this 500-square-foot office that I proposed, that I put in the building for him. That's where the records are kept. That's where it's constant phone communication with the different lenders, with insurance companies, and with the state of New York. So our question, our ask here today, is when we were denied, first it took like, and the reason why I'm sure it's going to come up, is why initially we started at 940, now we're at 946, is because from the time of my building permit application, it took approximately eight months, again, there are other paperwork in here, to get this formal denial to get me here, to ask you for the interpretation. So basically our ask is, if you have an office, which is permitted in the PRC, and outside storage suitably screened is permitted in the PRC, and you have a permit in the PRC, and you have a permit in the PRC, and his asset recovery business requires him to store outside vehicles, and his business is totally run inside the office, and his business is totally run inside the office, that's what we did not agree with. It was to take that it wasn't an accessory use. It was to take that it wasn't an accessory use. We firmly believe that the outside storage is accessory to the office. Excuse me. Did you look at the determination of the Zoning Board of Appeals for 2010, where they talked about this area? Yes. Relief granted, sought subject of the following conditions. The pre-existing non-conforming use of outdoor storage of equipment and material shall remain in its existing rear yard location and shall not be expanded. There is nothing mentioned of any trucks or vehicles or anything in that. These were applied, their business, whatever their business was. Blackman Plumbing's business was in their office. They sold plumbing equipment. I understand what they were. I know who they were. And in their backyard was all of their delivery trucks and forklifts that every day those... They didn't have very many delivery trucks and things like that, sir. So have you... Let me just understand, and assets that you understand, they were trucks and cars and stuff like that? Boats? Whatever this asset called for repossession. I just want to make it clear, that's what you're talking about. We're not talking about television and stuff like that. No, no, no, no, no. If there's any... Like I said, his license is included in there and it specifically says... Oh yeah, just something for the record. We know what assets means. Secondarily, it's my understanding that wholesale business storage does not include cars, trucks, stuff like that. But offices are permitted use and this is an... Storage is the accessory to the office. And the third thing I have problems with is that I think that the area that you're addressing is not embraced by the specific decision of this court, this board the last time. This is outside that determination. We're asking for the... to make the determination tonight based on it is in office use and we believe... Initially I was told, we were told you wanted it based on the last determination of this board. Now you're telling me no? I'm going by what the agenda says. Is Mr. Berg going to put the hazards down as the board is going to give us an interpretation of whether or not the trucks parked out or the vehicles parked outside is accessory to an office. Parking of the cars has storage. The storage of these temporary storage of these vehicles is the accessory used to the office. That's what we're... According to our zoning declaration there. Really, come on. They're talking about their business as far as what they're storing, their equipment and they have one or two trucks. I don't know, but they didn't have a fleet of trucks back there. But with Blackman's decision aside, the current zoning in PRC is an office is permitted and outside storage suitably screened is permitted. So when we submitted for this building permit for the office, why wouldn't the outside storage be permitted as an accessory used to this office? Because it's not the actual It's not a It's a permitted use in today's PRC. It's not accessory. It's a use in and of itself. In the paperwork that you submitted with the company and their license, they have an East Mauritius address. Correct? Yeah, where's the office? According to the paperwork you submitted, they have an office in East Mauritius. Of course, their building permit, or my building permit for their office to be built at this location has been held up for nine months. So, you took, you made statements that this property was formally used for the storage of vehicles. I made a statement that Blackman Plumbing Supply was... Did you research any of the files before making that statement? What files are you referring to? I'm referring to the in the packet, there is a there is a variance that was given to Blackman Plumbing Supply to use outside storage space. And it was limited to 1700 square feet and not to be expanded. True? That's the one that was given to Blackman. Correct. So, when I submitted a building application for an office, and I wanted the same exact thing that was granted to Blackman, that's what I'm here to say, that's what I'm here tonight asking for. Council, if you prefer, I'll direct the documents to you. I want to show you documents that are part of the file. I prefer that you allow us to take off to continue. So, this is a stack of photographs taken in 2020-10 at the time of the application. Here's an affidavit from the owner, dovetailing off the original 2006 CBA grant for outdoor storage.
I would just say as an attorney, while these pictures are delightful and in color, they don't tell us much because we don't have any metadata about when they were taken and what directions they were taken and what was occurring at the yard that day. Was this the day where Blackman was moving most of their trucks to Southampton? It was a picture, Rob, it was a picture during the day when all the fleet of delivery trucks were on the road. You could see one truck here and a trailer there. That's not, I still am just asking, if the current zoning allows for an office, and the current zoning allows for outside storage suitably screened as an accessory use, our ask to you is, is the zoning office correct in saying that you have an office, but you can't have vehicles parked that he picks up, brings in, and then takes to another office? That's not the location. It would be the same as a U-Haul. You have an office and the trucks are parked outside. The trucks are not the business. The business is the U-Haul office. This is not a U-Haul business, that's the problem. It's a business that operates out of an office that needs to have a yard to park its equipment for a period of time. Do you have a certificate of occupancy for the office? I submitted for a building permit and was denied on a building permit, so I don't have... So, the office which you're claiming is the principal use does not have a certificate of occupancy or a use permit. I have applied... But it doesn't exist. Because I can't apply for it. What about... Are there other businesses located on that property? Yes. And do any of them have use permits or certificates of occupancy? Yes. I can provide COs and use permits, everything. You do? Yeah. And what are they for? Advanced imaging. Okay. Let's focus on the Blackman site right now. Those building permits are submitted. At what... So, presently, you don't have a certificate of occupancy for any use on that site, correct? Nor do you have a use permit, correct? I have applications in that are being applied and held up on... And what applications do you have in? I have applications in for a cabinet, a warehouse. I have applications in for a beauty salon. And I have applications in for an office. And I have applications in for a vanilla box. Any of those business and operation in Blackman's building now? Yes. Advanced imaging is open and a barber shop and a salon. Is a barber shop there also? Yes, it's a barber salon. So, none of them are operating right now, correct? No, they are. Advanced imaging is the separate parcel. No, no. I'm trying to focus on the Blackman site. Blackman building. They're operating. Without certificates of occupancy, without building permits, without use permits. Permits are pending. We applied for these permits seven, eight, nine months ago. And they're legally operating at this site. Is that true? Bob? I don't have enough information to speak intelligently. I'm sorry, what? I don't have enough information to speak intelligently. Perhaps we should. No, I don't. Discuss the application or can we discuss the application? I don't think we should. [transcription gap] We'll adjourn and come back with more information. I was going to say, if you want to adjourn it, we'll come back. No, I think we're good. I don't think we need to adjourn. I just have a few more follow-up questions. So, in your application, you actually cite to six parcels one of the properties wherein you want this auto-repossession. One of the properties is sub-county tax map number 600-125-2-5.2. [transcription gap] Would you agree that in 2010 that was not that was not you didn't own that property? That wasn't part of the Blackman site? Would you agree with that? That's a good question. That's a good question. All of those properties were owned by Blackman. Even The ones to the west? The ones to the west, all six parcels were owned by Blackman. But that property was not the subject of the application for zoning board of relief in 2010? No. It was only for the Blackman supply house alone. It didn't have anything to do with any of the parcels to the east. Correct? If I may, I have the determination in front of me. 10-22 was specific to Suffolk County tax map number 600-124-3-1 200-124-3-1 2, 3, 4, and 5. So it included those parcels but did not include the other parcel, 125 to 5.2.
So at the present time So at the present time Are you storing vehicles on lot 600-125 to lot 5.2? Yes. Without a use permit? Without a certificate of occupancy? With our permit applied for, yes.
Mr. Ditkoff, we also got some other pictures here. I guess they were taken recently. I got them. We can put them up on the screen. Do that, please. There seems to be like hundreds of garbage cans there. There seems to be like hundreds of garbage cans there. It looks like a recycling kind of thing going on. It looks like a recycling kind of thing going on. Maybe you can fill us in on what this is all about. [transcription gap] See the two pictures up there? You got all the green cans? Yes. Those cans are There's no trash or garbage of any kind at this property. The owner of all of these properties is the owner of Go Green Sanitation. Those are Go Green Sanitation pails. They are stored there. They go out, they come in, they go out, they come in. Most of them probably new pails, actually, waiting to go out to new customers. Does Go Green have an office on this property? No. Go Green, again, the principal is the owner of the entire parcel. The person that owns Go Green owns Fisher? Fisher owns Go Green Sanitation. Fisher owns Go Green. So, what you're telling the board is these are just new cans that are empty? Yes. They get delivered somewhere? They get delivered out. We have accounts on the North Fork and on the South Fork. And there's no garbage? No, no, no. There's no garbage. There's no garbage trucks. There's no garbage whatsoever on the site. What about the container? You see, like, the containers in back of it? You got the They look like they got roll doors on them. Like they're almost being used like an office kind of thing. No, those, again, are storage. Those are, again, are owned by Fisher. I see the first picture there on the left. It's got, it's like, uh, orangey color in the back right. It almost looks to me like it's got, like, vents on top of it. Like air conditioning vents or something. That's actually, uh, What is that? You can see it on, there's one on both containers. Those are, uh, pontoons. They're boats. What? They're boats. They're not boats. They're just, just the pontoon itself. They're a replacement part for a boat. Oh. The heat. So inside those containers, you got the ones in both pictures. It's unusual to me to see containers with, uh, the roll-up, commercial-style doors you would see on a commercial storefront like that. What's actually in them? We have them, and we use them on different constructions. They're currently all empty, but, right, we would use them, uh, I have some up at the, uh, another site, another construction site with the same roll-up doors. We get deliveries of material, we put it inside there on construction projects. Those are currently empty. How many of those you got on the property? I believe four. Okay.
All right, Bob, you can go.
What do you want to do? Tell them to reserve this area on the 23rd. Yeah.
All right. Do you want to return these pictures, Bob?
Uh, ask her, ask her to suggest that it's cold. Uh, I don't know. Do you have matters pending in, uh, Riverhead Justice Court? Yes. And how many matters do you have pending in Justice Court? I would have to talk to the attorney on that. I don't know. Okay. And how long have matters in Justice Court been pending? Again, I would have to ask the attorney. I don't follow that. I don't know. Okay. All right. [transcription gap] Is Board of any other questions? No. Not at this time. We do a lot of investigating, not looking under covers, but we're looking at the records and things like that. And, uh, Thank you. There have been reports made down there. You've been issued, I heard, summonses. I want you closer to the record. Yeah, we are in court. So the attorney does go to court on this problem. I don't know. When I heard about the Blackman Building, I understand there's four or five different people operating businesses in there. Apparently none of them are approved for that zone. And apparently they don't have the documentation as Ann Marie was asking you about. And, uh, you know, they're just operating. I mean, it's, uh, it's a, it's a, it's the processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing I believe there was approximately, I don't know the exact number, but it was maybe 8,000. Would you know it? I'm sorry? There was some square footage of trees that were taken down. Oh, in the north? The violation was issued, and there was a penalty issued, and it was paid. I believe $20,000-some-odd was paid. Well, more information. I mean, that's, you know, like I say, we look at this. We just don't look at these papers and listen to people that talk. We're trying to make good decisions for our town and for the people that are applying for the variances. And there's a lot of questions on this site, a lot of questions. Again, you know the entire property is in for a site plan for redevelopment. That is the plan. It was purchased two years ago, a little over two years ago, and it immediately went in for a site plan. We've been going through this process for two years. In the meanwhile, the Blackman building itself was CO'd. We filed for use permits for several buildings a year, nine months ago. We got pulled into this variance conversation back and forth about the outside storage. And we are still in for building permits. And we're doing everything we can to legalize what's there. Again, we paid the additional monies due for those trees. And our goal is to redevelop the property. So all of this really is, it's getting us from today until the building can come down and the property can be redeveloped the right way. So is your justification for illegally occupying and having business operate out of the site without use permits or certificate of occupancy is because you don't yet have a final plan approved? That's not what I said. I think I'm done. Bob, do you have anything you want to say? I have nothing else. I appreciate the time on the board. On the board's time. I'm dyslexic. Leroy, have you got any comments up there? No. You know, there's things I talked about before. You know, I just want to, are all those lots merged, right? No, they are not. They're under different names, right? No, they're not. They're under one name. Fisher Realty Group owns that property. Leroy, they're sectioned. They're different lots pursuant to the Suffolk Tax Map book, and they have never been merged. So when you say merged, did you file a deed when you took title to those properties that covers all contiguous parcels? We have all. Yes, we do. Under Fisher Realty Corp. Yes. [transcription gap] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So there was one deed to cover six lots? No. No, that I don't have that in front of me, no. All six parcels are mentioned in the contract, and all six parcels are mentioned, I believe, on the deed. But, I mean, at the end, the site plan shows it as one parcel. So moving forward on the redevelopment, it is all being redeveloped under one site plan. Right. Okay, but the question is, are they all on the same name now? No, they're not. The question is, are they all on the same name now? They're all owned by the same company, the same entity as . Well, entity is one thing, but how they're recorded and how they're written in the deed is another thing. That I would have to get back to you. That I don't know. Okay, fair enough. Depends on how the assessors and real property tax service agency clarified and recorded those deeds, and are they considered as a deed? Accordingly, the processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing processing [transcription gap] !
finish our inquiries or whatever and put it together you think Ann Marie
hello holy go ahead can you hear me yes hi Frank Fisher the owner of the project I don't know if I need to be sworn in yes we sworn in last time I don't think so go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead go ahead on 3rd Street and Riverhead, four apartment complexes. We took down a dilapidated drug-infested den, and we put up a beautiful complex where everybody in the town, police officers are complimented. I have a $20 million project going on on Cromer Avenue, the propane terminal. It took me seven years to get that permit. We finally got the permit and we're under construction. This project, just to give you a little background, I've grown up in Riverhead. I've been in Riverhead my whole life. I graduated Riverhead High School. I'm not an out-of-towner. I've lived here, I've worked here, my businesses are here. My projects, I'm building these projects to keep. Everything that I do has pride of ownership. I'm not looking to build these, flip these, get rid of them. We're building these projects. I mean, soup to nuts, I'm putting my heart and soul into these things. We're just having a tough time with the permitting. We're just not, we're getting treated like criminals, to be honest with you. We come into the town, it's just less than helpful. It's just taking the heart out of doing business. Where, I mean, you want to talk about hardships. Seven years to get a permit, I had to carry a property on. We're talking millions and millions of dollars I'm laying out. This particular property here, the hardship. I mean, this is something that's so, really in my eyes, just so silly. I'm trying to go through the permit process. I mean, it's taking us, we're into this for over two years already, just trying to get the permit. And it's, and we're still not even close. We're coming in on the 23rd to get a variance for a basement, which, okay, we're going through the process, but we're not, I mean, I'm not doing anything illegal. I mean, yes, I need a couple of tenants in there that are, I have a $38,000 a month mortgage on this place, and it takes years to get a permit. So we're just trying to carry it, until we can get to the permit and knock it down and get a construction loan. Though you're talking about the containers, those are just empty storage containers that we use. I mean, it's just, I park them in my, in the yard there, because I mean, there's really no reason not to. There's nothing in them. The garbage cans, those are empty cans that I just put there because they go out to new customers. We get a new customer in business. My North Fork and South Fork business, like in Riverhead, the garbage is in taxis. On the South Fork and North Fork, it's private sanitation. So as we pick up customers, we give them a new pail, and it's included in their service. They don't even come back. They just go out as we get new customers. I mean, we're just, the thing with the cars, when I bought the property, it came with the, what do we call it, the variance. And to me, that's what it read, outdoor storage. So we're not trying to do anything underhanded. We're not trying to do anything, you know, not try to pull the wool over anybody's eyes. I mean, you can't hide that. In my eyes, when I read that variance, it was outdoor storage is permitted. So that's where we, what we went with it. Then when it came up to, you know, when it came to this, we applied for every permit and every use permit for each one of the tenants. They're not issuing us anything. They won't move us forward in the permit process until now we get this red, defined, however they want to call it. So we're stuck. And I'm saying we're doing it without permits, without, but that's not our choice. We're trying. No, listen, we put in the permits. We put in the application. We paid for the building permits. Can I finish? Yeah, finish. All right, so what I'm trying to say is we want to comply. We would just like a little help from the town. If you can't, we can't get a meeting. We go to meet with town board members and they won't even give us a meeting. They refer to us as a client. I'm not a client. I'm not a paying citizen. I'm not a client. I want to go in and comply. We've tried to get a meeting with the town board and they won't even give us a meeting. It's just like, it's torture. It's torture and it shouldn't be. When you get a developer who, right now, myself personally, I have no partners in any of these deals. I have $70 million worth of new construction going on in the town of Riverhead and I can't get any help from the town. Everything is an obstruction. I want to go in and comply. That is my question. So more than this variance, more than this. We have to figure this out, man, because it's just not fair. There is, I mean, this process bankrupts people. I'm not a huge corporation. I'm out dumping garbage, packing up a dumping, a propane business. I'm trying to hustle up to make. I just spent $20,000 to renew a building permit. $20,000 and it originally cost me 96,000 for the first year. That is not fair. I mean, it's just money after money after money, but we don't get any closer to the finish line. I mean, listen, I'm willing to comply. We want to comply. I'm here to comply. Work with us. Help us. Show us how to do it. If you want to move the cars from one lot to the other, it's all one big property under one property owner. Fisher Realty Group owns all the lots. We're going to knock that building down, and we're going to put up a new building. We're going to merge the lots. We're going to do a lot line separation. We're going to do everything 1,000% right. The new building is going to be so much nicer than that dilapidated 70-year-old building that's been added onto. The roof leaks. The walls leak. The building's a mess. It's an eyesore in town. I want to knock it down and put up a beautiful brand-new building that's going to be like a staple in town that I'm going to be proud that I did. I mean, I just wanted you guys to know where I'm coming from. Okay. Well, I appreciate your... Your content. You know, you're talking about this big building. You're going to build this beautiful building. The problem there, Mr. Fisher, is that 154,000 square feet are allowed, and you're proposing a 200,000-square-foot building. So there's a problem there, okay? That's a different appeal. Wait. [transcription gap] Not three to five, please. Well, he's talking about all these improvements he's making in the town. Wait. Wait a minute. Go ahead, Ann Marie. So that application is not before the zoning board tonight. Okay. That application is before the zoning board on the 23rd. Okay. All right. I'm sorry I brought it up. Listen, I'm an open book. I'm happy to speak on it. I have no problem speaking on it. No, that's it. I'm not a deterrent. I'm not trying to incriminate myself because I'm not doing anything wrong, so I have nothing to hide. Mr. Fisher, we've had enough. This has been the conversation. [transcription gap] we'd like to come back on the 23rd of January with reserved decision on this matter okay from now till then oh you can still we just adjourned it but oh well we asked for comments why don't you stand up okay well approach the podium please go to the podium please yeah yeah he's still on the road you're still on the road I am so under oath from the previous thank you I'm not here as a party to this application I'm not representing any of the applicants here I do represent them in some other matters I just happened and since my I just happened and since my work with them I sort of stuck around was listening the purpose of this hearing of this of this application is for an interpretation all of that stuff about violations what you're using this and that has nothing to do with this at all you're requested to interpret whether or not an office is a permitted use which it is and if storage is accessible processing processing processing processing processing processing processing [transcription gap] processing processing processing processing processing is accessory outdoor storage permitted yes or no and would you consider an office that does business regulated in the state of New York that needs an office to operate and then requires accessory storage in conjunction with that office business is that an accessory to that office that's the only question you have and that's really the only thing that should have been discussed here that's all I have to say thank you well thank you for your tutorial anyway so we're gonna have a reserved decision on January 23rd so moved second favor aye aye all right we have any minutes to approve the young lady yes we have the minutes from December 12 2024 have a second so moved all in favor aye aye termination so the next meeting is 20 a January 23rd 2025 we just need a motion to close so moved second good all in favor aye
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