Full Transcript

Thank you. All right, here we go. Good evening, everyone. I'm glad that we have a crowd this evening. It's such a beautiful night. It's good for me to be here. And, Carissa, welcome. This is your first meeting with us guys. Huh? Marissa. Oh, Marissa. Somebody wrote Carissa on my envelope. So, Marissa. Okay, thank you. I'll be frank if you'll be honest. So, if anyone has a cell phone, please put it on off, and it will stand and honor our flag. Marissa, you want to start? Oh, okay. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Heather, is Anne-Marie on? We don't have her on Zoom. So do you want me to just start with correspondence? Yeah, sure. Play ball. All right, play ball. So we had acknowledged this at the last zoning board of appeals meeting on June 11th, 2026. We received correspondence for appeal number 2025-043, Breezy Hill, which is 1792 Middle Road, Calverton, from the attorney. So we're just putting that on this agenda and acknowledging that we received it. Does the board want to move on to the hearing? Any other options? I'll do that. Okay. So, public hearing tonight is appeal number 2026-013, the RC Adventures LLC, 365 Middle Road in Riverhead, Suffolk County Tax Net number 600-101-111, business center zoning for proposed monument directory signs, applicant request variances and or relief from town code chapter 301-249, where three monument slash directory signs are proposed, one for each side entrance, where only one is permitted. Chapter 301-249C4, where one proposed sign is 15 feet from sideline of property, Old Country Road, where minimum required is 25 feet. And Chapter 301-249E3, where proposed tenant panels are 10 square feet, maximum allowed is 8 square feet. Right? Okay. Who's speaking? Chair. Please raise your right hand. You solemnly swear to tell the truth, to hold truth, and not to put the truth, so help your God. I do. Please state your name and address. My name is Richard Israel, and I am the managing member of Learcy Adventures, LLC, with offices at 889 Harrison Avenue, Riverhead, New York. I am the lessee of the parcel. We have provided an affidavit of posting and mailing for the property, and that was done. The property is on the northwest corner of Mill Road and 58. Its address is known as 365 Mill Road. The property consists of seven acres. The property has received site plan approval for a Chick-fil-A restaurant on the corner parcel and there are three additional buildings on the balance of the property. The property has three entrances, A limited access entrance and exit on Route 58 and two entrances on Mill Road across from the exits corresponding with the Riverhead Center entrances on Mill Road. The first intersection has a traffic signal. The most northernly entrance does not. This signalized intersection on Mill will be the main entrance for the site. We are seeking relief of the Town Code Chapter 301-249 for three directory signs where one is permitted by code. Also, Chapter 301-249C4, where one sign is 15 feet from the sideline of Old Country Road, where the minimum required is 25. The other variance we are asking for is in reference to Chapter 301-49E3, where proposed tenant panels are 10 square feet, where maximum of 8 square feet is allowed. This parcel contains 200 feet on Old Country Road and has over 1,000 feet on Mill Road. The property curb cuts on Route 58 to the western, the curb cuts for the property are on the westerly boundary and is limited to a right turn in and a right turn out. The first directory sign is on the corner of the intersection of Mill Road and Route 58. The sign will identify the tenants in the center. The main entrance to the center is on Mill Road and drivers have to be directed to turn at Mill Road intersection to enter the center. The second directory sign is at a signalized intersection on Mill Road. The sign directs people into the complex. Most traffic will use this intersection to enter the complex. The third directory sign is on the northerly curb cut, which will be important for tenants to the north of the property, and will direct vehicles heading south on Mill to use this entrance. The need for the relief for the side yard variance is the intersection of Mill and Route 58. This intersection is extremely wide with five lanes dedicated to the eastbound traffic and two lanes heading west. The streets are also skewed to each other, which further blocks the corner's visibility. The line of sight and visibility of these signs is imperative to directing traffic to the Mill Road entrance. signs visibility is crucial if we expect them to keep the proper traffic flow the signs being presented today have been approved by the Riverhead ARB the sign panels will be opaque with only the chick-fil-a name being lit up and basically we're here to answer any questions that you or the public might have in reference to what we're asking. Where exactly is the entrance off of 58? If you look right next to the Harley-Davidson dealer, there's an access road that leads from the Mill Road lid intersection down on the Westerly line and leads out. So if a person is heading to the expressway, it was basically that that they wouldn't go out and have to deal with the intersection of Mill and 58, that they could just exit that way and they wouldn't be involved. It's a very busy intersection. So they would make a right at the motorcycle place? Is that it? They would make a right and head towards the expressway. And a person who might miss the mill, if you're heading east and you miss turning onto Mill Road, you at least have the opportunity to get into the complex without, you know, it's virtually impossible to do a U-turn on Route 58 unless you go past the expressway almost to Splish Splash, and there's a roundabout there. But most people don't know that. Thank you. Mr. Israel, the planning board, they issued like six conditions. They've all been complied with. Is this the recording? All those conditions, I believe, have been met by this time because we have final site approval. We're actually building this site. I just want to direct the purpose of the record. They've all been deployed. Yep. And additionally, you mentioned about the three additional businesses. Just curiosity, what else is coming in? Do you have any idea? We do not have any tenants for the northern parcels yet, and a lot of people are waiting to see Chick-fil-A. Okay. So.

Mr. Israel, are there other locations, I'm going to say specifically the center directly across the street from the road, that have three signs? Well, Riverhead Center has a sign. I know their directory sign is at a lit intersection that is three times the height of, I'm sure they got a variance for that one. And each one of their entrances do have a pylon there. And I'm pretty sure if you go down 58 and things like that, I think Tanger has the same thing and the like. So I'm trying to think about Walmart. Walmart, I believe, has one at the intersection at the top of that road. and then one that matches up to yeah i just wanted to kind of get that on the record thank you yeah for the purposes of the record mr israel the need for the multiple signs is because when you turn on to mill road there's multiple entrances to this site and there's going to be multiple there's going to be multiple yes and the idea is to get a person in the right direction right of way so even the people heading south on mill if they can see that northern and know oh this is where i turn to go in for outback or whatever is there it would be better if they don't go to the the lit intersection just to make a right there and then you're avoiding a lot of backup of traffic with people that are confused about where to turn to get to which tenant right and that's what again that mill road route 58 intersection it's hard enough because there's two turning lanes that were designed for and that will help us because it already exists there for the home depot and the riverhead center and as long as we can get people to see that and that's one thing about getting that a little closer to the road then and it's our side yard for some reason so you know the idea is that a person sees that and says, okay, I'm here. Now, how do I get there? And they'll use the turning lanes to get in there and go. And the same thing as you're heading east, there's a lot of traffic coming at you. You've got to be able to see that sign from a good distance to determine, you know, hey, I'm going to turn here. Because even that intersection on Mill Road between the east and the west is multiple lanes again. I think there's five lanes there. So if you're driving west and, you know, we're required to put a lot of landscaping in today's world kind of thing. So things just come up on you. So we're hoping that eventually people will know what to do and they'll do. But we have a lot of visitors in our town. So we want to try. We don't want to see them try to make a left-hand turn into the restricted thing. and Suffolk County DOT has made us put up, you know, stanchions and stuff to say to the person, this is not for you. Go to the corner, you know. So. When do you think you're opening up completion? For Chick? Yeah, the whole place. We're hoping for early spring or early summer of next year. The other thing, you mentioned Riverhead Center. The permanent sign they have is on 58 in their entrance, and that's concrete or whatever. They can't change that sign. This sign is lit. Your signs are lit, and you can change the panels. And the one thing the ARB said yesterday is we don't really want this glaring light box. so we came up with an idea of hey the the red is opaque it doesn't the light doesn't come through and just the signature of chick-fil-a will be lit it'll be white so just the the letters are going to be lit and that was their idea and we thought about it we said that's a good idea So, you know, we always try to listen to what you guys and all your boards say. So, no Anne-Marie, right? So, Anne-Marie is on Zoom. So, we have our CBA attorney on Zoom. She just wanted me to, you know, for the record, go over. I do have the ARB review sheet that was provided to me. They had no objection to the variances for the signs. but again they did sort of want a final look at the final design of the monument signs and she also wanted me to just um include in the record you all visited the site and looked at it you also saw the home depot site and the different entrances that they had um and then the near map photos that she provided we all visited we went to all the people yes We don't have anyone else on Zoom. Anyone out there wants to speak? No. Anybody got this? Hi, Mr. Chairman. Respectfully, with regard to appeal number 2026-013, I move the appeal of Learcy Adventures LLC, 365 Mill Road, Riverhead, SCTM number 600-101-1-11, Business Center, B.C. Zoning. The variance is end or relief from Town Code Chapter 301-249, where three monument directory signs are proposed, and one for each site entrance, where only one is permitted, Chapter 301-249, C. Subdivision 4, where one proposed sign is 15 feet from sideline of property, specifically Old Country Road, where minimum required is 25 feet, and chapter 301-249E subdivision 3, where proposed tenant parcels are 10 square feet, maximum allowed is 8 square feet, be granted subject to final approval from the Architectural Review Board for design. And in accordance with the applications and sketches with amendments there too, If any as well with the building inspector

Hi I'm going to abstain because the property that this is on is owned by the Long Island cauliflower Association which I own shares of stock

Hi and I vote aye so your variances happen granted and good luck. Thank you very much nice presentation You did a good job.

Just for the board's record, the June 11, 2026 meeting minutes have not yet been received, so I'll just move those to the next agenda, if that's okay. And our next meeting date is July 9, 2026. Motion to close. So moved. All in favor? Aye. Okay.

Thank you.