After months of debate, the Southold Town planning board gave the go-ahead to two controversial site plan applications on Monday during a special meeting.
Plans for the expansion of the Galley Ho in New Suffolk — a topic that has generated a public outcry in recent months — were okayed, as was a plan to allow a restaurant at the Blue Inn in East Marion to open the public.
The Galley Ho site plan was approved with a condition, that the applicants work with the town on drainage easements. In addition, Planning Board Chair Donald Wilcenski said he hoped the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund would continue, “for the good of the New Suffolk Community,” to help with the parking issues faced by residents.
NSWF President Pat McIntyre smiled after the decision was rendered. “It’s been a long road and we made it,” she said.
SWF members Barbara Schnitzler, who is former chair of the group, added, “We’re just really pleased and we think the project will have a great outcome for everyone.”
New Suffolk Waterfront Fund, Inc.’s approved site plan is for the re-location, renovation and addition of 47 square feet to the historic Galley Ho restaurant building, totaling 1,725 square feet to include a 66-seat restaurant and a marina on 2.3 acres in the M-II zoning district. The property is located at 650 First Street, on the corner of Main Street and First Street, in New Suffolk.
The approved, amended site plan for the Blue Inn expands the current 1,070 foot restaurant to be open to public use pursuant to a decision by the Southold zoning board of appeals. Also on site are an existing motel and inn on 1.37 acres in the resort residential zoning district. The property is located at 7850 New York State Route 25, just west of Old Orchard Lane.
In September, planning board staffers talked about revisions to the originally proposed plan for the Galley Ho, including 15 slips, rather than the initially proposed 16, at the marina, as well as a revised plan for the sanitary system in front of the Galley Ho building that would be 18 to 24 inches about ground level as opposed to 48 inches — lowering the proposed height of the Galley Ho by a foot.
The plan now features 38 parking stalls on site.
At first the board discussed perhaps requiring additional spaces for those visiting the community garden, park or utizlizing boat storage.
Planning board staff also initially said that no more than three special events should be permitted per year, with signature fundraisers more clearly specified.
Other recommendaitons including replacing incandescent light fixtures with more energy efficient lightbults, and installing the electric underground, rather than overhead.
Parking remained an issue, according to planning board staff, who said the site plan does not account for all the parking that would be required; future events must also provide more parking, staff recommendations said.
One suggestion was that the NSWF could dedicate some of its First Street property to additional parking, to benefit the general public, planning board staff said.
Wickham said she was “surprised” that additional parking had been suggested for the community garden and small boat storage; parking for both was minimal and both uses could be elminated, she said, “but that would be very unfortunate.”
The public parking suggestion for First Street presented “serious issues,” Wickham said.
She said the issue of parking on that land would delay the process, and would involve other agencies as the land had been donated.
Wickham asked, in light of the “huge reduction in density and intensity of use” the NSWF was bringing to the table, that they could possilby not be asked to address that First Street parking issue until “we get further along in the process.”
Wilcenski asked the board how the felt about asking for additional parking for the boat storage, community gardens, and park, and the board agreed the parking on the site plan was adequate without any designated specifically for for those areas.
Next, Wilcenski said, while the planning board did not want to “slow this project down,” parking is a “major point of the whole site plan.”
Wickham said the First Street parking issue needed further discussion among the NSWF.
“We understand the cicumstances but we understand there is a serious parking area in whole waterfront area,” Wilcenski said, adding that it was the planning board’s job to achieve balance.
Next the board discussed the signature fundraisers. Wickham said the nature of the events, which are part of the community benefit of the plan, are constantly changing. She also said they are “self-limiting” because each requires at least 80 volunteers and the NSWF does not have the “capacity” to organize and execute more than what’s done now.
She asked that the board consider the signature events a function of the NSWF board. “They are self monitoring and self influencing,” she said. “I’d hate to see a restriciton on a board whose whole mission is to protect and enhance the waterfront.”
She addressed the planning staff’s recommendation of limiting the NSFW to three special events and said “it’s self regulation and should not be limited by us.”
Planning board member Martin Sidor said the town code already provides enough regulation for special events; the planning board agreed they would agree to no conditions on special events.
In closing, Wilcenski said, ” I hope you consider the entire community when you look at parking on First Street. Our job is to mitigate problems when you have the opportunity.”
Meanwhile, in August, the owner of the Blue Inn in East Marion was back before the Southold Town planning board again, discussing plans to open a restaurant at his establishment — and with planning board members offering assurances that they hoped to “wrap up” the process by November so the eatery could be open for next season.
Residents have turned out at two public hearings in opposition to the plan, which they said coud spark traffic, noise and safety concerns and disrupt the bucolic quality of life in the sleepy hamlet.
Owner Sam Glass and the planning board went over a series of staff recommendations and Zoning Board of Appeals conditions, including bullet points such as total number of individuals in the restaurant of 48, and only guests of the hotel able to use the pool. No buses will bring guests to the eatery, and all parking will be on-site, with a parking attendant on the premises, directing cars not to park on Route 25. No signs will be allowed to advertise the restaurant, which will only be open for the summer season, through Labor Day.
A special exception granted by the ZBA will expire after one year, after which a public hearing will be held to garner input.
Although the planning board had initially discussed valet parking, with an attendant parking cars in the total of 51 stalls, at the work session, planning board chair Wilcenski and board members agreed that the local community is not accustomed to valet parking, and a concern was raised that some customers, fearful of valet charges, might end up parking on the street.
Glass said he’d tell diners that there was no charge for valet parking and said those that are adverse to tipping would probably not be coming to eat at a restaurant, anyway.
“It’s not our business to operate your business plan but we have done a lot of parking with wineries and most people out here are not looking for a valet,” Wilcenski said, adding that two attendants onhand to keep parking orderly would suffice. “That’s the way we should go,” he said.
Southold Town planning director Heather Lanza added that cars could park in two rows of 11 vehicles each on the grassy area.
The approval dictates that there will be no egress onto Old Orchard Lane on Friday through Sunday while the restaurant is open. Lanza said there had been much public concern over Old Orchard Lane.
“This whole process has cost you a season,” Wilcenski said.
At two previous public hearings, members of the community have cried out against the plan, raising a host of concerns including traffic, noise, music, light pollution, parking, and access to Orchard Lane – and stating vehemently that quality of life in bucolic East Marion could be forever altered by the eatery.
The restaurant, Glass said, has not been operating this past summer. “We really can’t utilize the restaurant without having outside guests come in,” Glass said, adding that mid-week, not many guests were present at the hotel.
The restaurant, he added, “would be very helpful to us and to the business community.”
After a previous meeting, Glass added that if the town wanted to avoid empty parking lots, “they need to do something.” His other business in Montauk, he said, exists in a “vibrant” community, with a Chamber of Commerce that encourages new business.
