Islip approves 144-bed Sayville facility

After hearing almost two hours of mostly impassioned pleas from residents opposed to a bid to build a large assisted-living facility in Sayville, the Islip Town Board ruled in favor of the developer early Thursday.

Garden City-based Engel Burman is cleared to build its seventh Bristal assisted-living project on Long Island, on 5.5 acres off Lakeland Avenue.

About 10 residents of surrounding streets told the final Islip Town Board meeting of the year that the complex -- at 144 beds and more than 96,000-square-feet -- will dwarf their modest homes; and they said they worry the center's residents will not support future school budgets.

But the proposal, backed by the planning board and the town's planning department, was granted a zone change in a unanimous vote brought by outgoing Supervisor Phil Nolan, a Democrat, and seconded by Republican Trish Bergin Weichbrodt. Both said Thursday they believed the development was good for the town.

Bill Mannix, Islip's economic development director, said he expects Engel Burman to apply to the town for tax exempt bond financing. The developer is also likely to receive tax abatements once the facility is built.

"There's a demonstrable need for these facilities to handle the aging population in our towns," said Mannix. "They're expensive, and most assisted-living facilities are financed using tax exempt bonds."

The company will spend $2 million to fund a mile-long hookup to the closest sewer treatment plant.

The application faced bitter opposition from residents in the immediate neighborhood of Joseph and Manton streets and Lakeland Avenue, several of whom spoke before the board voted after midnight Thursday.

The application was controversial because just one of the site's five parcels was zoned to allow such a facility. A second was zoned to permit a 30,000-square-foot retail center, but a 2.5-acre parcel was zoned for single-family homes.

"When I built here 14 years ago, the worst I assumed was one day there might be homes built at the back of my house. Never did I envisage this," said Michael McEnerney. He was one of several residents who argued their opposition was not based on a "not-in-my-backyard," rejection, but that the complex was wrong for the hamlet.

Residents also said they expect more traffic, particularly from service trucks.

But Jeanmarie Buffett, the town's deputy planning commissioner, said a retail center half the size of the one that had been permitted would generate even more traffic. "This would be an improvement on what they can build . . . ," she said.

The developer agreed to plant three rows of evergreens, required to be 10-feet high at planting, along a border with the closest residences and increase other buffer zones. It will also preserve most of the area zoned for single-family homes as open space.