OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Huntington Planning Board Meeting – February 25, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, February 25, 2026
BodyHuntington, New York
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, February 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 31:22

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Good evening, everyone.

0:02

Welcome to Huntington's Planning Board.

0:06

February 25th, 2026.

0:08

I'd like to ask you all to please rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:25

Thank you, everyone.

0:26

We're going to start off the meeting with a appointment.

0:31

Elgwood Estates.

0:34

Representative for Wood Estates that would like to address the Planning Board.

0:46

Mr.

0:46

Chairman and members of the Planning Board, Michael McCarthy, I'm an attorney representing the applicant, Elwood Estates, with offices at 444 New York Avenue.

0:56

Mr.

0:56

Chairman, between the time that we requested the appointment and tonight, we have been working with the planning department staff, the director, Mr.

1:03

Alosio, and his attorney, Mr.

1:06

Gathman, and Craig Turner, who works quietly behind the scenes.

1:10

And I wanted an opportunity to talk to the board.

1:13

You were so kind to let us come and speak to you back in early December 2025 to talk about the development of the property that is before the board this evening.

1:30

And tonight standing before you we have proceeded to uh tighten up the um the uh the potential application because we still haven't applied for preliminary subdivision approval.

1:41

But what we did do, Mr.

1:42

Chairman, is we made an application, uh a pre-application to the planning department staff, and that pre-application entailed a steep slope analysis, um, yield analysis, and a cluster map that uh Chris Robinson, who's the project engineer here tonight, uh, you know, prepared and submitted.

2:00

Um a question arose, Mr.

2:03

Chairman, regarding um the the efficacy of the um of the yield analysis and at what point in the process this board would be looking for a park dedication uh or or um or a fee in lieu thereof or some kind of combination.

2:22

Um I think we've adequately worked it out with the planning department staff, I trust, but we showed a map that that demonstrates it's before you, and it's got uh 46 fully conforming residential lots.

2:35

Now, as I indicated to the board back in December, it's going to be the intention.

2:40

Any chance, Ben, you can show us the cluster map that we want to proceed with?

2:44

That's it.

2:45

No, I think we updated that one too, then, to show that um that there's uh two additional lots.

2:55

We went from 44 to 46.

3:02

In any event, long story short, all we did is we demonstrated two fully uh conforming residential lots on Jericho Turnpike.

3:10

Now, to be fair, um, if the cluster configuration is adopted by the board and we're requesting it, and we hope that you will, because it will preserve 21 acres of the most steeply sloped portion of the property, and it will allow for the development on lots that will uh exceed about a half acre in size.

3:28

Fairly, Mr.

3:29

Chairman.

3:30

Uh thirteen of those lots on the cul-de-sac that Mr.

3:33

Robinson designed will still have uh backyards that uh that come up onto Jericho Turnpike, and uh and we have those two lots that were showing uh on the uh west side of the road coming into the cul-de-sac.

3:46

Um we discussed it at length as to as to you know whether or not they would be developed in a residential capacity, uh, whether there might be some future plan for some type of a commercial development.

3:57

Um of course that sparked some um chatter in the community as to what it might uh be used for um and dialogue back and forth that we can put whatever restrictions are on it.

4:08

It doesn't escape anyone's observation sitting here on the board uh that that piece of property that we're talking about immediately adjoins the commercial property that's located on the corner of Manor Road and Jericho Turnpike.

4:21

Succinctly stated, members of the board, we don't have a plan.

4:24

We don't have a plan to make a plan.

4:26

Um all we're trying to do is proceed with a 44 lot subdivision in earnest.

4:31

Uh the way Chris Robinson drew it, it's gonna be uh um 46 lots with the two lots on Jericho Turnpike.

4:38

Um when we discussed it back in December, we had them together as one large two-acre parcel.

4:44

We've since divided them.

4:46

Can you not find it, Ben?

4:49

Okay.

4:50

It's all right.

4:51

In any event, um, so so we were here this evening to discuss the yield analysis and and and whether or not the board was satisfied with the map that Chris Robinson and his firm uh designed, and whether or not we could move forward.

5:07

Now, the importance of the yield analysis, as the board knows, is that we're looking for the consensus so that we can move forward and make the application for preliminary subdivision approval.

5:16

We're ready to go.

5:17

We feel that we've given the uh the planning department and its staff everything they needed.

5:22

Uh, again, from a steep slope analysis, lot configuration, um, fully conforming map, cluster uh map, and uh and at this point, um, you know, we're here to to say, you know, thank you for your efforts.

5:35

And uh do you have any questions before we move forward and maybe try to resolve that issue?

5:40

Well, I'm glad you brought up the fact that this is fully conforming, just to be clear that we have established the yield analysis based upon not the clustered map, based upon it in a non as a non-clustered map, so we could demonstrate that it's really a conforming as-of-right uh yield uh determination, which takes into consideration a full steep slope analysis.

6:02

Well, Mr.

6:03

Ehrlich, thank you so much for pointing that out.

6:05

And I I take it for granted, you know, what I know as far as the process, and you you tend to you attempt to join jump from point to point.

6:11

Um but for anyone that's uh in the audience interested, or or maybe you know watching from home, uh before the this board can make a determination on yield, it's incumbent upon the applicant and its engineer to show the the uh planning board and the planning staff what this property can fully and completely yield as a matter of right.

6:32

Now, to be clear, we're talking about a 55-acre piece of property, and in that 55 acres of property, we have to subtract from the yield analysis um roads, uh recharge basin, and uh and those portions of the of the steep slope portion of the property that would require a larger lot.

6:51

Now, under the town of Huntington's steep slope ordinance, the largest lot you're gonna get is gonna be two acres anyway.

6:57

I'm sorry, one acre anyway.

6:59

So when Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Procedural███████████████████24%
Environmental Protection██████████████18%
Summary of Proceedings

Huntington Planning Board Meeting – February 25, 2026

The Town of Huntington Planning Board met on February 25, 2026, beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance and a pre-application appointment for the Estates at Elwood subdivision. The board also approved meeting minutes, a filing extension, a landscape bond, several subdivision actions, and a lot-line change. All motions carried without opposition as reflected in the transcript.

Public Hearings & Appointments: Estates at Elwood

  • Attorney Michael McCarthy, representing Elwood Estates, and engineer Christopher Robinson presented two yield maps for a 55-acre property. The as-of-right yield analysis, based on the non-clustered map and a full steep-slope analysis, produced 46 fully conforming residential lots on Yield Map B, revised January 23, 2026, up from 44 lots.
  • McCarthy said the applicant has not yet applied for preliminary subdivision approval; the pre-application included a steep-slope analysis, yield analysis, and cluster map. The cluster option would preserve 21 acres of the steepest part of the property while allowing residential lots generally exceeding about half an acre.
  • McCarthy stated the applicant has no plan and no plan to make a plan for commercial development of two lots shown on Jericho Turnpike; the property remains R-40 residential, and the applicant is not seeking an endorsement of any commercial rezone during this application.
  • Board member Amendola said she is personally not in favor of the C6 zone change for the commercial piece and stressed that approving the yield map is not an endorsement of any commercial proposal.
  • McCarthy said the 21 acres may eventually be kept, dedicated to the Town, or dedicated to Suffolk County to add to adjacent Berkeley Jackson Park; the applicant hoped no additional park dedication would be required on top of the 21 acres. Amendola described the cluster outcome as the most benign and favorable compared with a development like Villa Dome.
  • In response to a letter from Patrick Deegan, the board raised the question of whether a nitrate-loading analysis showed the site can safely support 46 septic systems. Robinson answered that the Suffolk County Health Department nitrogen-loading standard for this property would allow one single-family home equivalent to 300 gallons per half acre, supporting 90 homes; the proposal would build 46, about half that number.
  • McCarthy recommended scheduling an additional public hearing on the expanded environmental assessment form before the board makes its state environmental review and SEQRA determination. He noted the applicant has engaged Nelson Pope and Voorhees and Carrie O'Farrell; the expanded EAF would resemble a draft EIS. A prior proposal for 385 condominium units had generated a draft EIS for the same property, but no findings were issued.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Patrick Deegan's February 25, 2026 letter of objection was received; it asked whether the nitrate-loading analysis had been performed to verify the site could safely support 46 septic systems without degrading the aquifer.
  • The Huntington Manor subdivision public hearing had no speakers, according to the chairman.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of the February 4, 2026 Planning Board meeting were approved.
  • Filing time for the 770 Park Avenue plat was extended to June 1, 2026, a 90-day extension.
  • A landscape bond for Stone Ridge at Dix Hills III in the amount of $13,000.00 was accepted.

Subdivisions

  • Map of Huntington Manor, Lots 40-43: Received conditional approval as an expedited three-lot subdivision on an existing filed map in Huntington Station, next to Columbia Street Park, after all town departments signed off.
  • Map of Cold Spring Hill Development, Lots 9-11 and parts of Lots 8 and 12: Introduced for a project. The owner proposes to split an oversized lot on Route 25A in Cold Spring Harbor into two conforming lots, with the new house accessed by a 15-foot shared private driveway as the DOT requested. The board noted the driveway was on the original filed map and cannot be dedicated to the Town.
  • 8 Ruth Plat: Granted preliminary approval after the applicant submitted a revised map showing street lights requested by the board, with the new light placed logically relative to an existing corner light.
  • Map of Greenlawn Center, Lots 14-23: Introduced. The application received area variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals for undersized lots in the R-40 zone; the planning board will process it as an expedited subdivision because it follows previously filed map lots.

Lot Line Change

  • Tiziana Estates Lot Line Change: Approved to increase the size of previously approved lots in the Tiziana Estates subdivision.

Key Outcomes

  • The board approved both Estates at Elwood yield maps, Map A and Map B, as meeting subdivision regulations and the R-40 zoning code; neither map shows commercial land. This allows the applicant to submit a preliminary subdivision application.
  • All listed resolutions and approvals carried without opposition on the record.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Huntington's Planning Board. February 25th, 2026. I'd like to ask you all to please rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, everyone. We're going to start off the meeting with a appointment. Elgwood Estates. Representative for Wood Estates that would like to address the Planning Board. Mr. Chairman and members of the Planning Board, Michael McCarthy, I'm an attorney representing the applicant, Elwood Estates, with offices at 444 New York Avenue. Mr. Chairman, between the time that we requested the appointment and tonight, we have been working with the planning department staff, the director, Mr. Alosio, and his attorney, Mr. Gathman, and Craig Turner, who works quietly behind the scenes. And I wanted an opportunity to talk to the board. You were so kind to let us come and speak to you back in early December 2025 to talk about the development of the property that is before the board this evening. And tonight standing before you we have proceeded to uh tighten up the um the uh the potential application because we still haven't applied for preliminary subdivision approval. But what we did do, Mr. Chairman, is we made an application, uh a pre-application to the planning department staff, and that pre-application entailed a steep slope analysis, um, yield analysis, and a cluster map that uh Chris Robinson, who's the project engineer here tonight, uh, you know, prepared and submitted. Um a question arose, Mr. Chairman, regarding um the the efficacy of the um of the yield analysis and at what point in the process this board would be looking for a park dedication uh or or um or a fee in lieu thereof or some kind of combination. Um I think we've adequately worked it out with the planning department staff, I trust, but we showed a map that that demonstrates it's before you, and it's got uh 46 fully conforming residential lots. Now, as I indicated to the board back in December, it's going to be the intention. Any chance, Ben, you can show us the cluster map that we want to proceed with? That's it. No, I think we updated that one too, then, to show that um that there's uh two additional lots. We went from 44 to 46. In any event, long story short, all we did is we demonstrated two fully uh conforming residential lots on Jericho Turnpike. Now, to be fair, um, if the cluster configuration is adopted by the board and we're requesting it, and we hope that you will, because it will preserve 21 acres of the most steeply sloped portion of the property, and it will allow for the development on lots that will uh exceed about a half acre in size. Fairly, Mr. Chairman. Uh thirteen of those lots on the cul-de-sac that Mr. Robinson designed will still have uh backyards that uh that come up onto Jericho Turnpike, and uh and we have those two lots that were showing uh on the uh west side of the road coming into the cul-de-sac. Um we discussed it at length as to as to you know whether or not they would be developed in a residential capacity, uh, whether there might be some future plan for some type of a commercial development. Um of course that sparked some um chatter in the community as to what it might uh be used for um and dialogue back and forth that we can put whatever restrictions are on it. It doesn't escape anyone's observation sitting here on the board uh that that piece of property that we're talking about immediately adjoins the commercial property that's located on the corner of Manor Road and Jericho Turnpike. Succinctly stated, members of the board, we don't have a plan. We don't have a plan to make a plan. Um all we're trying to do is proceed with a 44 lot subdivision in earnest. Uh the way Chris Robinson drew it, it's gonna be uh um 46 lots with the two lots on Jericho Turnpike. Um when we discussed it back in December, we had them together as one large two-acre parcel. We've since divided them. Can you not find it, Ben? Okay. It's all right. In any event, um, so so we were here this evening to discuss the yield analysis and and and whether or not the board was satisfied with the map that Chris Robinson and his firm uh designed, and whether or not we could move forward. Now, the importance of the yield analysis, as the board knows, is that we're looking for the consensus so that we can move forward and make the application for preliminary subdivision approval. We're ready to go. We feel that we've given the uh the planning department and its staff everything they needed. Uh, again, from a steep slope analysis, lot configuration, um, fully conforming map, cluster uh map, and uh and at this point, um, you know, we're here to to say, you know, thank you for your efforts.

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