The developer of the Tuckahoe Center is appealing a dismissal of his lawsuit against the Suffolk County Planning Commission alleging that several members were biased against his proposal to build a shopping center, including a supermarket, on County Road 39.
The application has bounced between the commission and the Southampton Town Board ever since a more ambitious proposal failed to win the Planning Commission’s support last December. A revised version, slightly smaller, proposes to rezone three adjoining properties along the southeastern side of County Road 39, from highway business to shopping center business zoning. Additionally, it asks for a change of zone for a fourth lot to create a 50 foot buffer zone that adjoins the northeastern side of Magee Street—which would have to be changed from residential to shopping center business zoning. The change of zone would clear the way for a grocery store and additional commercial space in three separate buildings, all on 7.26 acres.
Developer Robert Morrow of Southampton Venture LLC recently submitted an appeal of the dismissed suit, which alleges that two of the commission members who originally rejected his application should have recused themselves due to personal bias.
At its October meeting, the commission labeled the revised application “incomplete,” an atypical decision, as it generally votes to recommend only that a town either approve, reject or call for modification of a project. One of the concerns raised in the commission’s decision was the pending lawsuit from Mr. Morrow and what legal implications that would mean for any decision made by the commission.
The commission then sent a letter to the Southampton Town Board saying it lacked the information it needed to make a final recommendation. Then, in November, town officials sent a letter back to commission, asking its members to take action on the revised Tuckahoe Center application beyond simply labeling it as “incomplete.” In the letter, town officials said the commission had all the information it needed to make a final recommendation.
According to James Burke, the town attorney, the commission needs to take action within 45 days of the receipt of the letter, which was dated November 3.
Because there has been no ruling by the commission, it’s unclear whether the board would need a supermajority to allow the change of zone. Jennifer Casey, the Planning Commission’s chairwoman, said earlier this month that due to the revised nature of the application, she believed the previous vote against the zone change would remain in effect without an updated ruling to approve or reject the revised plan. That would mean a supermajority of four Town Board members would be required to approve the zone changes.
However, Mr. Burke said that since the commission did not make a determination on the revised plan, it is possible that, because no rejection was issued, the Town Board may need only a simple majority vote to approve the zone changes. But he noted that the board does not intend to make a decision on the application without feedback from the commission.
Now, with Mr. Morrow appealing the dismissal of the lawsuit—which brings the litigation back into play—it is unclear what the next step will be for a decision on the project.
“They got an opinion from the town—I have no idea what they’re going to do,” Mr. Morrow said last week. “I have no idea what to expect. This has never happened before.”
Both times the application has gone before the commission, a staff report filed by the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning recommended approving the change of zone. Typically, the commission goes along with the recommendation of the staff, so this also makes both rulings on the project highly unusual.
Ms. Casey declined to comment before deadline, explaining that she needed to discuss the next steps with the county’s legal team because of the project’s “unusual situation.” The Tuckahoe Center proposal is on the commission’s agenda for its December 7 meeting at 2 p.m. at the Riverhead County Center. However, Ms. Casey said that the agenda is not finalized yet.
“My main concern is the lawsuit with the pending application,” she had said earlier this month. “A developer shouldn’t use litigation as a tool to try to influence us. It’s unfair.”
on Nov 21, 2016