[0:00] Uh we're going to begin the um since we

[0:02] have a public camera, we're going to

[0:03] begin the meeting with the pledge of

[0:04] allegiance. Uh Julian, could you lead us

[0:09] >> to the flag of the United States of

[0:11] America and to the republic for which it

[0:14] stands, one nation under God,

[0:17] indivisible, with liberty and justice

[0:19] for all.

[0:25] » Um could you take the role?

[0:31] Julian,

[0:33] I'm sorry.

[0:35] Robert Manacusco,

[0:36] >> present.

[0:37] >> Edwin,

[0:38] >> present.

[0:38] >> Juan Leon,

[0:39] >> present.

[0:40] >> Dan Chosian,

[0:40] >> present.

[0:41] >> Frank Santos,

[0:42] >> present.

[0:43] >> Matt Espazito,

[0:44] >> present.

[0:44] >> Greg Axiola,

[0:46] >> and Rich Casey,

[0:48] >> do we have a quorum?

[0:49] >> Yes, we do.

[0:50] >> All right, you call the first thing.

[0:53] >> Item A is a public hearing. site plan

[0:55] review gas station convenience store car

[0:57] wash job HPLN-2325-22

[1:02] AN global Montello Group Corp proposes

[1:06] to make site alterations to an existing

[1:08] gasoline service station with a

[1:10] convenience store

[1:11] >> and since this is a public hearing I

[1:13] have to read this into the statement the

[1:14] planning board shall have the right to

[1:16] rely on any information that is pres uh

[1:18] presented by the applicant if any such

[1:20] information is later found to be

[1:22] inaccurate or incorrect the planning

[1:24] board may determine that any approvals,

[1:26] building permits, or other actions

[1:28] previously granted in connection with

[1:29] the application are null and void. Who's

[1:32] here for the applicant? Good evening. Uh

[1:35] on behalf of the applicant, Matthew Ing

[1:37] from the law firm of Sir Tilman, Balon,

[1:39] Adler, and Heyman, 90 Merrick Avenue,

[1:42] 9th floor, East Meadow, New York. Uh

[1:45] with me this evening is the project

[1:46] engineer who's sitting behind me. It's

[1:48] uh Mr. Larry O'Brien Brian from High

[1:51] Point Engineering. So this uh

[1:53] >> before you get started, have you

[1:54] received the memo from uh the planning

[1:57] commissioner dated March 10th, 2026 with

[2:00] all the uh conditions, covenant and

[2:02] restrictions?

[2:03] >> Yes, we have.

[2:04] >> Are there any issues, concerns or

[2:06] anything that your client has?

[2:07] >> There is one issue on proposed covenant

[2:10] number five which when based off my

[2:12] conversation with the plan examiner

[2:14] today, uh my concern will be removed in

[2:17] the in the final version.

[2:18] >> Okay.

[2:19] >> Great.

[2:21] Okay, proceed.

[2:22] >> So, uh, this evening, the applicant

[2:24] requests approval, uh, to add new

[2:26] landscaping along the side yards and

[2:28] rear yard as well as make drainage,

[2:31] curbing, and parking area improvements.

[2:33] Uh, in addition, improvements are

[2:35] proposed to the existing trash enclo

[2:37] enclosure to meet current town

[2:39] standards. No modifications are proposed

[2:42] to the gasoline station or to the

[2:44] convenience store.

[2:46] Uh, prior to today's hearing, our office

[2:48] submitted the following documents, all

[2:50] prepared by High Point Engineering,

[2:52] which help show the proposed landscaping

[2:54] and site improvements. We have a there's

[2:57] an aerial plan dated February 10th of

[2:59] 2026,

[3:00] a color site plan rendering last dated

[3:03] December 1st of 2025,

[3:06] as well as a copy of the landscape plan,

[3:09] also dated uh December 1st of 2025.

[3:12] So, the subject property is located at

[3:15] 1160 Straight Path in West Babylon and

[3:18] based on our review of records, it has

[3:20] been used as a gasoline station since at

[3:21] least 1985.

[3:23] The current the site is currently

[3:25] improved with a gas station that

[3:26] includes four fueling positions and a

[3:29] 1,295T

[3:31] building that is used as a convenience

[3:33] store. as will be could be more

[3:36] discussed by the project engineer. The

[3:39] proposed applications uh seek minor modifications to the previously

[3:44] approved 2000 site plan which was

[3:47] granted on August 7th of 20 of 2000 by

[3:50] resolution 2000-112.

[3:54] Um as previously noted um no

[3:56] modifications are proposed to the gas

[3:58] station, convenience store, fuel pumps

[4:01] or the fuel canopy.

[4:03] Um,

[4:05] so as more fully depicted on the color

[4:08] site plan rendering, the applicant will

[4:10] be providing a continuous row of

[4:12] alternating green juniper and e emerald

[4:15] arborvite along the southerntherly

[4:18] sideyard property line which when which

[4:21] will will then extend along the rear

[4:23] curb line behind the the convenience

[4:25] store and then extend along the westerly

[4:28] sideyard.

[4:33] Um the rear yard already includes a ve a

[4:37] vegetated buffer area primarily of uh of

[4:40] grass area and mature trees. Um this

[4:43] application will supplement the rear

[4:45] yard buffer by adding an additional four

[4:48] trees which will include two golden rain

[4:50] trees and two Japanese lilac trees. Um,

[4:53] an additional three trees will be

[4:55] planted along the uh the westerly side

[4:58] of the convenience store to help further

[5:00] screen um the convenience store from the

[5:03] abuing residential property. Uh, in

[5:06] regard to site access, um, no changes

[5:08] are there no changes. There's two

[5:11] existing uh, curb cuts on straight path

[5:14] and one uh, driveway on Little East Neck

[5:18] Road. Um both of the all all three

[5:20] driveways will remain.

[5:23] Um so with that um we have our project

[5:25] engineer who's available to uh answer

[5:28] any questions that the board or public

[5:30] may have.

[5:39] » Okay.

[5:42] >> Sure.

[5:43] >> Hi. Good evening.

[5:44] >> Good evening. Can can you uh talk a

[5:46] little bit about the um covenant and

[5:49] restriction number five?

[5:50] >> Sure. So, as the um there's a a a line

[5:55] in covenant number five talking about

[5:58] the applicant and or the property owner

[6:00] or applicant being responsible to

[6:01] maintain an automatic fire uh sprinkler

[6:04] system. That is not required for this

[6:07] project um because we're not proposing

[6:09] any changes to the existing convenience

[6:11] store. Um just for the record that this

[6:14] Different versions of that covenant were

[6:16] included in prior planning department uh

[6:18] memos. Um it was previously removed and

[6:20] this just this was one remaining hold

[6:23] over. So we wanted that that portion of

[6:25] that covenant to be removed to avoid any

[6:27] confusion in the future.

[6:32] » Um

[6:34] parking uh as far as what's allowable

[6:37] and what you have.

[6:38] >> Sure. Um let me see. We have

[6:43] 12 stalls are proposed and the town code

[6:46] requires uh

[6:51] seven stalls are required. 12 are

[6:52] proposed.

[6:54] >> Thank you. And then in the um

[6:57] information we received, there's been

[6:59] some prior issues with uh overnight

[7:01] parking in the vehicles.

[7:03] >> Correct. So um I could have the engineer

[7:06] talk more about the site layout to help

[7:08] prevent that. Um, but the additional

[7:10] landscaping um and fences that are going

[7:13] to be located uh behind the convenience

[7:16] store will help uh prevent that in the

[7:19] future.

[7:19] >> Okay, great.

[7:22] >> Excuse me. Sure.

[7:24] >> You had the opportunity, sir, to go over

[7:27] the commissioner's memo dated March 10th

[7:30] and went over all the conditions and

[7:31] covenants and restrictions, I assume.

[7:34] >> Uh, yes. And

[7:35] >> that's great. and including um covenant

[7:39] number 18 that there should be no

[7:42] storage

[7:44] or other vehicles that are not permitted

[7:47] tires equipment.

[7:48] >> Correct. We have no objection.

[7:54] » Are you um requesting any kind of

[7:56] variances of any kind?

[7:58] >> No.

[7:59] >> Okay. Thank you.

[8:00] >> Okay. Thanks. Um, is there anyone from

[8:02] the public that would like to present or

[8:05] ask questions regarding this

[8:06] application?

[8:09] Right. Seeing none,

[8:11] I'm going to need a motion.

[8:16] >> We'll need a motion to um

[8:20] close a hearing.

[8:21] >> Reserve.

[8:23] >> Motion by

[8:24] >> Motion to close the hearing.

[8:25] >> Yep. Second by Ed.

[8:28] >> Second.

[8:29] >> All in favor? Hi.

[8:30] >> Hi.

[8:30] >> All right. Okay.

[8:31] >> Uh I have to read this in a statement.

[8:33] Um this public hearing has now been

[8:36] closed. The decision has been reserved

[8:38] in order for us to review the feedback

[8:39] we have received this evening and any

[8:41] open site plan issues. The record will

[8:43] remain open for written comment. The

[8:45] follow to follow up on the status of

[8:47] this application or submit additional

[8:49] written comments. You can contact the

[8:51] planning department in either of the

[8:52] following methods. In person planning is

[8:55] located in the west wing of town hall.

[8:57] Applications, documents, and plans are

[8:59] available for inspection between the

[9:00] hours of 9:00 am and 4 pm via telephone

[9:03] at 631-9573103

[9:07] or via email at planning comments town

[9:10] of Babylon new york.gov.

[9:13] >> Okay.

[9:14] >> Thank you.

[9:16] Give him a second.

[9:18] >> You can call the next one.

[9:20] Item B, public hearing site plan review

[9:22] change of zone job HPLN-342-05

[9:27] AE NJC scrap metal recycling of Lynen

[9:30] Hurst proposes to legalize existing

[9:33] buildings and proposes associated site

[9:35] work for a change of use to a scrap

[9:37] metal processing facility.

[9:40] >> Who's here on behalf of the applicant?

[9:42] >> Good evening. Uh Jr. Dissio with the law

[9:45] firm of Greenberg Charig, 900 Stewart

[9:47] Avenue, Garden City, New York, 11530.

[9:51] >> Great. Have you uh received the um

[9:56] >> memo from the commissioner?

[9:58] >> Yes, we have.

[9:59] >> Are there any objections or concerns

[10:01] with any of the covenants restrictions

[10:03] or anything?

[10:03] >> No.

[10:04] >> Okay, proceed.

[10:06] >> I also I should introduce I have Rob

[10:08] Shioone here with me. He's the project

[10:10] engineer from IMEG Engineering. And I

[10:13] also have uh my clients in the back over

[10:16] there. Okay, great. So, tonight we're

[10:19] seeking u site plan approval for the

[10:21] property located at one Bahama Street in

[10:24] Lindenhurst for use as a scrap metal

[10:27] processing facility. Um our client is uh

[10:30] the contract vendee of the property.

[10:33] They don't occupy the site yet. Um the

[10:36] subject property is zone G industry and

[10:39] is situated within an established

[10:41] industrial park um just north of

[10:44] Railroad Avenue and just west of uh

[10:48] Great East Neck Road. The property

[10:50] measures approximately 1.3 acres and has

[10:54] frontage along uh three streets, Bahama

[10:57] Street to the south, Henry Street to the

[11:00] uh east, and Thorborn Avenue to the

[11:03] north.

[11:04] In uh November of 2025,

[11:08] the town board took the initiative on

[11:10] its own motion um to include the subject

[11:13] property into the RMM area 3 overlay

[11:16] district. So, as a result, um we're no

[11:20] longer seeking a change of zone to H

[11:22] industry, but obviously we do still

[11:25] require a site plan approval from this

[11:27] board as well as a special exception

[11:29] from the zoning board of appeals.

[11:32] Um, at present the site is improved with

[11:36] a 2400 square f foot one-story building

[11:39] as well as two uh open air structures.

[11:43] Uh, each of them are about 1,900 square

[11:46] ft.

[11:47] So, our application seeks to legalize

[11:49] the existing structures on the site um

[11:52] and more importantly bring the site into

[11:55] uh into compliance with um with town

[11:59] standards um through some muchneeded

[12:01] site improvements. Uh, as you can see

[12:04] from the proposed site plan, we will be

[12:06] adding

[12:08] curbing and striping, drainage, um, a

[12:11] landscape buffer around the perimeter of

[12:13] the property, uh, dark sky compliant

[12:16] lighting, new driveways at each

[12:19] entrance,

[12:21] um, and ADA ramps at the corners of

[12:24] Henry Street and Bahama Street and Henry

[12:28] Street. Uh well, Thorborn Avenue and

[12:32] Henry Street and Henry Street and Bahama

[12:34] a and Bahama Street.

[12:37] Um so the application in in our opinion

[12:41] um represents a significant investment

[12:43] into the property and we believe that

[12:45] the improvements will uh enhance the

[12:48] surrounding area.

[12:50] So with that, I'd be happy to answer any

[12:52] questions the board may have and you

[12:54] know, Mr. Shioone is also available to

[12:56] answer any site plan specific questions.

[13:03] Good evening. Can can you describe to

[13:05] the board the hours of operation?

[13:07] >> Um, we agreed to 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

[13:11] Monday through Friday and Saturday is in

[13:16] the conditions. Hold on one second.

[13:25] Monday through Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to

[13:26] 5:00 pm.

[13:30] >> Other questions for the board.

[13:32] >> Yes.

[13:33] >> Go ahead.

[13:34] >> Can you just talk a little bit about

[13:35] what you're going to do there?

[13:36] >> Um the operation.

[13:37] >> Sure. So, it's a a scrap metal

[13:39] processing facility. Um customers will come in in their, you know,

[13:44] personal vehicles. They'll enter the

[13:46] site. They'll get on the scale. They'll

[13:49] um you know weigh their product. They

[13:52] will offload it. They will then exit the

[13:55] site. Um and then we'll use uh 20ft

[13:59] rolloff containers to remove the product

[14:01] from the site.

[14:04] >> Okay. And um so any type of spills, oil

[14:08] or anything else, how will that be and

[14:11] will that be um how will that be handled

[14:13] if there's any problems with anything

[14:14] like that? Any type of spill when

[14:16] they're dropping? Um, yeah, we'll we'll

[14:18] clean it up. We have uh what what do we

[14:21] have?

[14:25] Yeah, we have, you know, we have an

[14:27] environmental plan in place. Um, they

[14:29] operate other facilities, so if there's

[14:31] any, you know, any sorts of spills will

[14:33] all be cleaned up to town and DEC

[14:36] standards.

[14:38] >> Thank you.

[14:40] >> Question. Go ahead.

[14:44] Um I I just want to um make sure that

[14:48] you are aware that one of the covenants

[14:50] and uh uh restrictions is no idling. Is

[14:54] are you are you aware of that in your

[14:55] client?

[14:56] >> Yeah. Um which covenant are you

[14:58] referring to?

[15:02] » Uh number 10. I just wanted to reiterate

[15:04] that that's one of the uh covenants and

[15:09] restrictions

[15:10] >> and there's no issue with that. Correct.

[15:11] >> No issue. Okay. Very good. You mentioned

[15:13] that you guys aren't currently the owner

[15:15] or operator of this site. Correct.

[15:17] >> We're the contract vendee. Yes.

[15:18] >> Okay. And how many employees are you

[15:20] anticipating on currently having or

[15:22] >> six?

[15:23] >> Okay.

[15:25] >> And we do have, you know, 25 parking

[15:27] stalls, which is compliant to town

[15:28] standards.

[15:30] >> And what's the anticipation of or

[15:32] anticipated uh flow of traffic that

[15:34] you're going to be actually having

[15:36] people cycled through the site? I I know

[15:38] there's multiple options here, but are

[15:40] you going to be closing off something

[15:41] and directing them in one direction

[15:43] since there's two ways throughout the

[15:44] site?

[15:45] >> Talk about the site circulation.

[15:46] >> Yeah, we we have a site circulation

[15:48] plan, but you know, Rob can address

[15:50] that.

[15:58] » Hi, I'm Rob Shaw. I'm from IMEG. I'm a

[16:00] site civil engineer. Can

[16:02] >> you say your address for the record?

[16:03] >> Uh, it's 177 Crossways Park Drive in

[16:05] Woodbury. And then do you sort of tell

[16:07] the whole truth? Nothing but the truth?

[16:09] >> Yes, I do. Go ahead.

[16:10] >> All right. So, there's going to be the

[16:14] vehicles will enter on the south side of

[16:15] the site on Bahama Street. Um, there

[16:18] will be no cues. There's no anticipated

[16:20] cues on site. Um, the general

[16:24] uh circulation. I believe we have that

[16:28] on here.

[16:30] Yeah. From behind. Um, I have the

[16:37] pro approximately five passenger

[16:38] vehicles will visit per hour. So there's

[16:41] pretty much no queue on site. Um that

[16:43] gives people ample time to circulate the

[16:45] site and exit while also uh removing

[16:48] their material from their vehicles

[16:50] >> and they'll most likely be exiting from

[16:52] Henry Street I assume.

[16:53] >> So most of the vehicles on site will be

[16:55] uh small vehicles either person

[16:57] passenger vehicles or SUVs or uh single

[17:00] unit trucks. they can uh circulate in

[17:02] internally using the circulation lanes

[17:05] that we have striped on the plan.

[17:07] >> Okay.

[17:08] Thank you.

[17:12] » Is there anyone from the public who

[17:13] would like to come up and talk about

[17:15] this application?

[17:17] Going once, going twice. All right.

[17:20] Seeing none, um can I have a motion to

[17:23] close the public hearing and reserve

[17:24] decision by Julianne?

[17:27] >> Motion to close the hearing.

[17:29] >> Second by Juan. Second.

[17:31] >> All in favor?

[17:32] >> I

[17:34] >> uh the public hearing is now closed. The

[17:36] decision has been reserved in order for

[17:38] us to review the feedback we have

[17:39] received this evening uh and any open

[17:42] site plan issues. The record will remain

[17:44] open for written comment. The uh to

[17:47] follow up on the status of the

[17:48] application or submit additional written

[17:50] comments, you can contact the planning

[17:51] department in either of the following

[17:53] methods. In person, planning is located

[17:55] in the west wing of the town hall.

[17:57] Application documents and plans are

[17:59] available for inspection between the

[18:01] hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. via

[18:03] telephone at 631-9573103

[18:07] or via email at planning comments at

[18:09] townofablon neww york.gov.

[18:12] >> Thank you. Have a good evening.

[18:13] >> You too.

[18:17] Uh and with that, that concludes our

[18:19] live stream portion and public hearings

[18:20] of

Planning Board Meeting - March 16, 2026

Agenda

Transcript