The property address 1015 & 1019 Fort Salonga Road (North Fort Plaza) located at the corner of 25a and Norwood Rd. is seeking a variance to convert the 2nd floor of the shopping center into an apartment building! They seek relief from conditions imposed in ZBA decision #13265 and relief from parking requirements under section 198-47. 216 parking spaces are required for what they would like to do and 149 parking spaces are proposed. They are 67 spaces shy, which is 31% less parking than required, amounting to a substantial variance request! Meanwhile, our neighborhood is already stretched thin and dealing with major parking, traffic, and congestion issues. The Town Zoning Board, Town Planning Board, and Town Code Enforcement have failed us with every commercial expansion for years! Del Vino Vineyards, Arlo, The Learning Experience, and now this!

The health, safety, and welfare of our neighborhood are in jeopardy and we must take action!

An area variance in this case would be:

1.      Out of Character! The applicant wants to build 19 apartments; these apartments are mostly less than 550 sq. ft. one-bedroom apartments that will bring an influx of people to our current small community. The ensuing detriment to the community's quality of life and our property values is obvious. This is an undesirable change that would be out of character to the surrounding neighborhood and a detriment to nearby properties. The surrounding area is primarily zoned R-40, 1-acre properties, alongside The Colony Club, with beautiful townhomes and HOA amenities. These apartments are very different from the surrounding neighborhood and are not an enhancement to our community. They do not maintain the character and value of the surrounding properties which should be safeguarded. Development in this area should enhance existing residents’ lives and not merely developer’s wallets and variances should not be utilized to profit developers to the detriment of residents! 

2.      Create 24/7 Activity! The current shopping center shuts down at 10 pm on most days when the last shop closes, currently Fattusco’s Pizzeria. Most stores/offices shut down earlier. It has been like this for over 20 years. Apartments will create a 24/7 active parking lot, constant light pollution, noise from cars and people, increased sidewalk usage, increased traffic on Norwood Rd and 25A, foul smells, and black flies from additional sanitation containers, and 10 of these apartments will have outdoor balconies with no restricted usage times directly facing our beautiful residential zone with insufficient screening to the North and absolutely NO screening to the West. All residences within a reasonable distance will suffer from all of this newly initiated activity.

3.      Increase Traffic! The current traffic situation already has a separate petition circulating. The backup of cars currently can extend at certain times of day on Norwood Rd up the hill to 70 Norwood Rd! That is ALL THE WAY up the hill, around the bend, and past The Colony Club entrance. AND remember, Norwood Rd handles all traffic heading East to the Sunken Meadow Parkway from the Norwood Rd community and its side streets, all of Crab Meadow, all of Eaton’s Neck/Asharoken, and a portion of Northport Village. This is THE WAY to travel East. We must stop this increase in traffic and with a shortage of parking spots, where will the overflow park? Where will the bus stop be for Northport High School and other schools that require busing? This will bring traffic to a halt.

4.      Create an excessive burden on our Neighbors' Sidewalks! What sidewalks will be used to walk to Norwood Elementary School and Northport Middle School? What crosswalks are in place to ensure safety? Currently, there is NO crosswalk east/west on Norwood Rd. There is NO WAY to get to the elementary school. Currently, homeowners on Norwood Rd are saddling the burden of commercial expansion with Town regulations that require these homeowners to be responsible for the sidewalks. Some of these sidewalks are excessive in length (some over 300ft in length belonging to just one homeowner). There is NO reason one homeowner should bear the risk and liability of these sidewalks when a public expressway of cars and pedestrians has been initiated by the Town and will be even worse if this variance is approved! THIS IS AN EXCESSIVE BURDEN TO SURROUNDING NEIGHBORS AT UNREASONABLE COST AND RISK!

On top of this! The owner of this property has not built trust within our community. Proof of this is in a complaint by a neighbor to the Town of Huntington Code Enforcement: 1. The parking lights were shining directly on residential properties 2. The parking lights were on all night. The owner addressed this situation with Huntington Town Code Enforcement. The applicant first complied, but ONE WEEK LATER - they turned all of the lights back on, all night long, when specifically asked by the Town to turn them off 2 hours after the last shop closed, so issue #2 remains today! 

There is ABSOLUTELY NO BENEFIT to our community if such variance were to be granted. The only benefit is to the applicant. Our community will be changed FOREVER! Do not let this happen.

By signing this petition, I implore the Town of Huntington Zoning Board to DENY ZBA APPLICATION #23230.