Dec 9, 2015 11:13 AM

Despite a favorable report from its own staff, the Suffolk County Planning Commission last week voted against a proposed zone change to allow the development of Tuckahoe Center, a supermarket and retail complex on County Road 39.

While the Planning Commission’s 8-5 vote last Wednesday, December 2, does not kill the shopping center proposal, it does mean that a supermajority of the Southampton Town Board—four out of five board members—would be required to approve the zone change application. Before the commission vote, three votes could have allowed the 40,000-square-foot supermarket on property near the intersection with Magee Street.

The project was first brought to the Town Board in 2010 by developer Robert Morrow and his partners, Lance Nil, Lyle Pike and Mark Zucchero. The current application, which has been scaled back considerably since the initial presentation, calls for the construction of a 40,000-square-foot grocery store, 15,000 square feet of small retail stores, a 3,500-square-foot bank, and more than 200 parking spaces.

For the developers to accomplish the project, the Town Board would have to approve changing the zoning of 7.2 acres of land along the south side of County Road 39 from highway business to shopping center business. With approval of the county’s Planning Commission, a simple majority would have been all that was required for the Town Board to allow the change of zone.

In addition to the Suffolk County planning staff, who supported the zone change in a report to the Planning Commission, the chairman of the county’s Department of Public Works, Gilbert Anderson, addressed the Planning Commission in person prior to its vote last Wednesday, arguing in favor. He said his own staff had studied the project’s potential traffic impact—a key issue for opponents of the project, and for Town Board members considering the change of zone—and concluded that traffic on busy County Road 39 would not be significantly increased as a result of the proposed development.

But a final plea, opposing the project, seemed to have swayed the Planning Commission to outright reject the proposal. It came from Planning Commission member Barbara Roberts, who represents Southampton Town on the committee.

“In my opinion, the applicant has not demonstrated the community benefit and need for a 40,000-square-foot grocery store and 12 retail stores at this highly congested and already dangerous stretch of our main artery in and out of the South Fork,” she said in a lengthy prepared statement to her colleagues. “As this is the main and most important artery to the entire South Fork and southern route to Shelter Island, this decision has major regional significance … In my years of service on this commission representing the Town of Southampton, this unquestionably is the most important decision we have had to make for a regionally significant impact for the East End of Long Island.”

Ms. Roberts reminded fellow commission members that the current highway business zoning for the site allows only low-traffic businesses and buildings no larger than 15,000 square feet. “This zoning change request goes against 40 years of successful and consistent zoning on [County Road 39],” she said, adding later, “There are no shortage of other development options for this site.”

Citing her expertise on business and economic development as a reason for her appointment to the commission, Ms. Roberts targeted the applicant’s market analysis report, suggesting that it skewed the parameters of the study to demonstrate a need for a new supermarket. “This report was written by consultants who do not know our community,” she added.

“The focus on our decision should not be the 4,200 households near Tuckahoe requesting a new grocery store slightly nearer to their homes. We have a bigger responsibility to ensure that the 55,000 drivers who come through this corridor each day can move as safely and quickly as possible,” she said.

In her remarks, Ms. Roberts acknowledged that “it is unusual for a majority vote to occur that overrides the staff’s recommendation.” A majority of eight votes is required for a final decision by the commission; if a vote falls short of that number, even if it’s a majority decision, the matter would be referred back to the town or village “for local determination,” she noted.

The board went on to provide the necessary eight votes to outright reject its planning staff’s recommendation, and the change of zone proposal.

The final vote among commission members was cast by Chairman Dave Calone—who resigned the day after the vote, sources have confirmed. Mr. Calone did not return calls seeking comment this week.

Mr. Calone is a candidate for the Democratic nomination to seek the 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016—and he is battling with Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst for that nomination.

On Tuesday, Ms. Throne-Holst, who has expressed support for the project in the past, pointed out that it is highly unusual for the Planning Commission to vote against a project that has been supported by the county DPW staff.

This week, after the vote, one of the property’s owners, Mr. Morrow, said he was “more than surprised” by the outcome, adding that he was “dumbfounded” that the Planning Commission would go against the planning staff’s recommendation.

“We thought that the members of the commission would look favorably on the project and approve it,” Mr. Morrow said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ve got to figure out what to do.”

“We don’t think the decision is consistent with what was presented,” John Wagner, attorney for the applicants, said this week. “The planning staff made a presentation to the commission that was basically favorable, and there was testimony before the commission that was also favorable from county officials. So, given all of the evidence, the commission should have been in support.”

He declined to say if the applicants would consider legal action against the county and the town if the measure ultimately fails to pass in Southampton.

With the rejection by the Planning Commission, general municipal law will require a majority plus one vote, meaning four of five members of the board would need to agree for the project to move forward, according to Southampton Town Planning and Development Administrator Kyle Collins.

Currently, however, the Southampton Town Board is in a state of flux. Two of the sitting board members—Ms. Throne-Holst and Councilwoman Bridget Fleming—are leaving the board at the end of the month, to be replaced by Supervisor-elect Jay Schneiderman and Councilman-elect John Bouvier, respectively.

Meanwhile, a vacant board seat will be filled in a special election on January 26, because Councilman Brad Bender was forced to resign last month after being charged with distributing prescription painkillers.

Ms. Throne-Holst said that until Mr. Bender’s seat is filled, the four-member board will not vote on any substantial projects, like the Tuckahoe Center proposal. One member who won reelection in November, Councilwoman Christine Scalera, has said she will not support the Tuckahoe Center change of zone because of concerns about the traffic impact.

For now, opponents of the project are reveling in the county’s opposition to the project, saying they hope the Town Board also will vote against the shopping center.

“Thanks to everyone who lent their time, support energy and effort to this campaign to protect what little traffic capacity we still have and further protect the value of comprehensive planning across the region,” Robert DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, said via email on the night of the vote.