The Southold Planning Board found the draft environmental impact statement for Strongs Yacht Center storage buildings to be incomplete.
According to the December DEIS, the proposal calls for the construction of two 1-story buildings measuring 52,000 and 49,000 square feet respectively to store an estimated 88 yachts in winter. Based on comments from staff, a memorandum by the Office of Parks Recreation Historic Preservation, and a memorandum of Nelson Pope Voorhis, LLC and Nelson + Pope Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, the Planning Department deemed the DEIS insufficient for public review.
N+P and NPV performed a preliminary examination of the DEIS in collaboration with N+P to assist Planning Board as lead agency in determining documents’ compliance with Final Scope requirements.
The groups shared their concerns with Strongs in a memorandum dated May 6. This was in response to factors such as hydrology, completeness, and traffic related analyses.
The review of seven pages found that there is not enough information about the groundwater quality in the area. It also recommends more information about peak times for marine traffic. It also questions how much water is required to maintain post-development conditions. Finally, it states that the applicant has not provided any meaningful or enforceable mitigation to mitigate the potential impacts of construction noise, dust, vibrations on quality of living in the area.
Additionally, the consulting group requests additional details in the traffic study and points out that Final Scope projects require that the traffic study include an evaluation barge use to mitigate construction impacts as an alternative to trucks.
OPRHP raised concerns about potential vibrations from construction vehicles causing damage to historic architectural resources in a separate memorandum on April 8. The office recommended the preparation and execution of a Construction Protection Plan to protect the Old Mill Restaurant and Water Tower, as well as the Building along West Mill Road. Both are eligible for listing in both the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.
In a May 9 summary, town planning staff pointed out similar reasons for finding the DEIS incomplete. The impact on quality-of-life during construction has not been adequately addressed, including the number of truck trips per hour during the project and mitigation measures to reduce the potential adverse impacts.
The staff also asked Strongs for explanations as to why meeting the market demand at that location was a public benefit. Strongs responded that the storage buildings would bring new jobs and tax revenue streams to the Town of Southold.
In recent years, the proposed storage buildings have been a source for community controversy. This has led to Save Mattituck Inlet being formed and a blue ribbon campaign against construction. As of May 10, nearly 2,800 people had signed a petition opposing the proposal.
Opposition has voiced concern about the environmental impacts of the project. The activists claim that it will impact dozens upon acres of woodlands and more than 630 mature trees. They will also remove 134,000 cubic yard of sand and remove a natural feature that protects against climate change. It will also impact coastal fish and wildlife habitats.
Save Mattituck Inlet has posted the impacts along with concerns from community groups on a website. These include the effects of strip-mining and destroying the hillside; surface water pollution; disruption of groundwater, flooding and erosion; community character; as well as impacts on infrastructure and pedestrian safety during construction.
Jeff Strong, owner of Strongs Marine, informed The Suffolk Times that the project is 100% compliant to Marine II industrial zoning, state Department of Environmental Conservation, Southold Town Trustee regulations as well as site-specific local waterfront revitalization programme recommendations.
We see the waterfront as a community. Strongs Marine plans on planting more than 100 trees on the site once construction is complete. He also referred to ongoing environmental initiatives. We are not going to do anything that will negatively impact the inlet. It would negatively affect my family.
Town records indicate that almost 150 letters of support and a few letters in concern were submitted to the project by local residents.
