Brookhaven OKs zoning changes for East Patchogue retirement community plan

Brookhaven has granted a key approval for a 64-unit East Patchogue retirement community after rejecting a similar proposal on the same site more than 20 years ago.

The town board voted 7-0 on Thursday to approve zoning changes for a scaled-down version of the earlier proposal, which had called for 88 units south of the South Service Road of Sunrise Highway, just east of the St. Joseph's College sports complex.

The board changed the wooded, 13-acre property's zoning from one allowing standard single-family homes to the Planned Retirement Community category, which allows both single-family and multifamily housing for residents who are 55 and older.

The vote followed a three-hour public hearing at which nearby residents raised concerns about traffic, and environmentalists voiced worries about wastewater possibly contaminating streams, ponds and the Great South Bay.

Farmingville developer Mike Kelly and supporters of the project said the complex, including ranch-style houses and multifamily units, would help address a growing need for senior housing.

"This proposal is about accommodating a need that allows our seniors to stay in their home communities and remain next to their loved ones, their children, their grandchildren," Kelly told board members before the vote. "It allows people to transition away from that home that's probably 30, 40, 50 years old that needs extreme maintenance."

But residents of nearby Hewlett Avenue and Sheldon Avenue said traffic from the retirement community would clog their already busy streets as its residents drive south to downtown Patchogue.

Matthew and Gina Nelson said they had bought their Hewlett Avenue house about five years ago, thinking only single-family homes would be allowed on the land where the retirement homes will be built.

"More and more exceptions are being made in this area to the point where it seems like no one is following the rules," Matthew Nelson said.

Gina Nelson, alluding to the town's rejection of a similar proposal on the property in 2001, said, "Residents said no 20 years ago, we're saying no now."

Sayville lawyer Eric Russo, representing St. Joseph's College, said school officials had "strong concerns" about the project, citing traffic. He said college officials also are concerned about retirement home residents being affected by bright lights from the sports complex. 

Representatives of Babylon nonprofit Save the Great South Bay said nitrogen from sewage generated by the retirement home could flow south and contaminate the bay.

"The bay cannot protect itself," said Lauren Gaffary, the nonprofit's development director.

Consultants for the developer said an on-site sewage treatment plant would safeguard local waterways, and they said traffic generated by the complex would be minimal.

A wetlands area on the site will be transferred to the town for open space protection, said Charles Voorhis, a Melville environmental consultant for the developer. Kelly later said additional land would be set aside for open space to prevent future development.

Alison A. LaPointe, the project's Hauppauge lawyer, said the development would include a clubhouse with a swimming pool and amenities such as bocce ball and pickleball courts and horseshoes. The plan also sets aside units for reduced-rate affordable housing and for people with intellectual disabilities, she said.

The project's supporters Thursday included Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri and members of Long Island construction and plumbers unions.

Experts have said attempts to build affordable housing on Long Island are blocked by overly restrictive zoning and community opposition.

"You can't build an affordable house on Long Island anymore," Donna Karatas, a board member for the Long Island Builders Institute, a trade group, told the town board before the vote. "You have to have apartments."

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.