The public will have a second chance to speak out tomorrow about a controversial Mattituck proposal that has some neighbors up in arms.
The Southold Town planning board will hold a public hearing at its 6 p.m. meeting at Town Hall on a proposal by Harold R. Reeve & Sons, Inc., which calls for a standard subdivision on a 5.1 acre split zoned parcel into four lots.
The plan asks for a change of zone, where zoning on Lot 4, which fronts Route 48, would be rezoned from R-40, or residential, and B, or business, zoning to limited business zoning.
The proposal is before the Southold Town board for the change of zone, and before the planning board for the subdivision component of the plan.
The property is located at 1605 Wickham Avenue, on the north side of County Road 48, approximately 190 feet west of Wickham Avenue.
In early July, neighbors who live on Maiden Lane and on the adjoining parcels came before the board at a public hearing with concerns regarding how potential development would impact not only the fragile Mattituck Inlet, but also, their quality of life and property values.
At the hearing, attorney Abigail Wickham, representing the applicant, said her client has owned the property for quite a number of years; the proposal is for a four lot subdivision in a mixed zoning use district on Country Road 48, and complies with town zoning code, with no variances needed.
The plans have been put forth to the planning board, as well as to the town board, with a request for the zone change.
The first three lots, she said, are sited on Mattituck Creek, each with a single family dwelling planned. Lot 4, which fronts Route 48, is currently zoned for business and residential, and the portion of the parcel currently zoned for business consists of an existing building, once a Mattituck laundromat and now a building used for the Reeve construction business.
As for Lot 4, Wickham said, the applicant is willing to give up business zoning on that property in favor of limiting use on the lot for to limited business, which, she said, is “much more restrictive as to uses that could occur.”
Bill Toedter, president of the North Fork Environmental Council, said while the applicant has asked for a change of zone, not a lot of information was provided as to what type of business was being considered. “Those questions are important,” he said, so the impacts of nitrogen loading, lighting, noise and other issues could be considered and weighed.
“Without full disclosure there can be no determination of impact,” he said. “This is about process, and not the particulars of the plan.”
Toedter said that “given the lack of information” the NFEC was calling on the planning board and the town board to dismiss the application and begin again, “with proper and meaningful procedures” adhered to.
Neighbors expressed concerns about what types of businesses could evolve at the site, and said they were fearful that their quality of life might be shattered. Environmental impacts were another major concern.
The planning board left the hearing open so that the public could weigh in further tomorrow.
