OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Huntington, NY Planning Board Meeting – June 17, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, June 17, 2026
BodyHuntington, New York
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, June 17, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 46:57

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Good evening, everyone.

0:06

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:14

To the Republicans and Justice.

0:22

Thank you, everyone.

0:24

So before we get into our regular agenda, we have an appointment for the Indian Hill subdivision.

0:35

Is that my queue?

0:36

That's your cue.

0:38

Thank you, Mr.

0:38

Chairman, and members of the planning board.

0:40

It's uh good to see you on a uh on a June evening.

0:43

And uh my name is uh Michael McCarthy, for those that don't know me, and I am a partner with the law firm of uh for Chelle, Deegan, and Tirana with offices at 444 New York Avenue in Huntington, though.

0:57

So uh keep my Huntington roots.

1:00

Kept my office, keep my Huntington roots.

1:02

I really appreciate the opportunity to come and speak to the board.

1:04

I thought maybe things weren't uh busy enough for you, so I thought I'd come down and stoke it a little bit about Indian Hills.

1:11

Um and all kidding aside, um, you know, we went through a really long uh process for Indian Hills to get it approved.

1:20

Uh if anyone has driven by, you can see that the condominiums are under construction on the northwest portion of the property.

1:26

Mr.

1:27

Tunis, who's here with Tom Dixon, who is their uh project engineer with Nelson and Pope uh is here to answer any questions.

1:34

Um any chance, Vin, you've got the uh the plans.

1:37

Maybe you can uh why don't you start with uh can you start with the um with lot five on the map, the approved plan.

1:46

If you remember when Indian Hills was approved, it was a series of condominium lots.

1:52

Uh Mr.

1:52

Black, I know you're new to this, so you'll you'll be absorbing a lot of this, but there was, I think if I recall, and I'm doing this by memory, there were six condominium lots, which contemplated the preservation of the golf course, and it contemplated condominiums in duplexes on three different, I'm gonna call them locations on the property, we'll call them neighborhoods.

2:14

Um was um at the northwest corner, uh access from Mystic into the Indian Hills Golf Course.

2:22

Those condominiums are under construction.

2:24

If you ever visit the property or take a ride down Mystic, you can see that that's happening.

2:28

Um a smaller cluster of condominiums off of Fresh Pond Road, and and then of course the condominiums that are being demonstrated here on the approved plan, that is the approved map.

2:41

It's just colored for your ease of looking at it, and that shows 18 duplexes with a total of 36 condominiums.

2:48

Now, if you remember, just to kind of back up a little bit, Mr.

2:52

Chairman and members of the board, Indian Hills, when it received preliminary subdivision approval and conditional final subdivision approval, had a total of 154.56 acres of property.

3:05

And the idea was to preserve the golf course in perpetuity and to develop, you know, kind of on the periphery.

3:11

Um that materialized and and that's that's happening presently.

3:15

And along the way, uh this board engaged in a very extensive environmental review.

3:21

It started with um a long form environmental assessment form, then it went into um a positive declaration pursuant to CECRA.

3:30

Uh there was a draft environmental impact statement, there were public hearings on the environmental impact statement.

3:38

Um, and then it culminated in a final environmental impact statement with findings.

3:44

To say the least, this board uh probably conducted not less than five public hearings, and uh the zoning board of appeals as well, I think conducted at least one and maybe two.

3:55

Uh and there might have been an information meeting along the way, and I just it's been so long I can't remember.

4:00

But importantly, and this is the most important part, and this is the reason why we're here tonight, is um even though the lot yield analysis back in the day, if if Mr.

4:09

Chairman you can remember, was 99 lots, um, the applicant and the planning department staff um settled in on the development of 86 lots.

4:21

And of the 86 lots that were granted approval in the preliminary and subdivision approval and conditional final, 74 units were slated to move forward with 12 units to be held in reserve.

4:35

And the resolution that granted preliminary subdivision approval dated May 12, 2021, um, indicated that you know, of the remaining uh 12 units, um, that um that these these townhomes may be constructed at a future date uh with an application back to the planning board.

4:57

So this is an introduction of this proposed application that we're going to make.

5:01

We would like to introduce the 12 additional condominiums at this time.

5:06

But there's more.

5:12

This was volunteered as such, and the property is owned R40.

5:15

That was a self-imposed restriction that Mr.

5:17

Tunis and his partners had put on the property.

5:21

So the question begs, where do the 12 condominium units, where do they best land?

5:28

We feel, my client feels, the consulting engineer feels, that the best place to site the 12 additional units would be on the south side of Breeze Hill Road and add them to the 34 previously approved for now a total of um of uh of uh of 48 units uh on the south side.

5:51

Now access to that section of the condominium complex was approved to come off of Breeze Hill Road.

5:58

So if you're driving north on Mackamaw Road, you make a right on Breeze Hill Road, any cars that are visiting Indian Hills Golf Club, any cars or people that are visiting the uh the new clubhouse to be built, and anybody that's traveling home to their 34, I'm sorry, 36 condominiums and the additional 12 we're talking about would make a right on Breeze Hill Road, and and that traffic will kind of have you know it reaches that that intersection.

6:25

What Mr.

6:25

Tunis has arranged to do is he has bought um a property that's 5.6 acres with frontage on Mackama Road.

6:33

And what we're proposing, thank you, Vin.

6:35

What we're proposing, and it's right next to the golf course, right next to the land area of Mrs.

6:39

Amendola, that's south of Breeze Hill Road.

6:42

So the idea would be to annex the additional acreage to the to the club property.

6:48

We provided the planning department with a um a yield analysis.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Procedural███████████17%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████7%
Environmental Protection███4%
Public Engagement█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Huntington, NY Planning Board Meeting – June 17, 2026

The Huntington Planning Board convened on June 17, 2026, opening with the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda included a pre-application appointment for The Preserve at Indian Hills Phase II, approval of prior meeting minutes, 90-day filing-time extensions for four subdivisions, a three-month lot-line extension, conditional site plan approval for 1044 New York Avenue, a transfer of density flow rights (TDFR) approval, four subdivision items, one lot-line change, and two Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) referrals. All resolutions on the regular agenda passed unanimously. Note: the meeting is time-stamped 11:00:00 UTC on June 17, 2026, while the transcript opens with 'Good evening,' indicating a local evening session.

Appointment – The Preserve at Indian Hills Phase II (Pre-Application Discussion)

  • Attorney Michael L. McCarthy, Esq. (accompanied by developer Vinny Tunis and project engineer Tom Dixon of Nelson & Pope) presented a conceptual resubdivision of lot five to construct the 12 condominium units held in reserve when The Preserve at Indian Hills was approved.
  • Background: the original project received preliminary and conditional final subdivision approval covering 154.56 acres, with the golf course preserved in perpetuity. Although the lot yield analysis was 99 lots, the applicant and planning staff settled on 86 lots, with 74 units approved to move forward and 12 units reserved. The preliminary approval resolution dated May 12, 2021, contemplated a future planning board application for the reserved units.
  • The applicant recently acquired a parcel of about 5.6 acres (described as 5.67 acres, 'just shy of six acres') with frontage on Mackama Road, adjacent to the golf course, and proposes to annex it to the club property.
  • Concept: convert the approved duplex buildings to triplexes, reducing the building count from 18 to 17 while increasing units from 36 to 51 — the 12 reserved units plus 3 additional units justified by the added land. Nine units (three triplex buildings) would be clustered on the newly acquired property with access from Mackama Road; six units (two triplex buildings) would be sited on the approved 18-acre lot five, bringing the combined section to just under 24 acres.
  • Stated benefits: residents would no longer need to turn right onto Breeze Hill Road to reach the community; the setback of the nearest building would increase from 62 feet to 274 feet from a neighbor's property line; building count would drop; and units would avoid the coastal erosion plain on the north side, the subject of prior stability concerns that had been studied by three engineers (the applicant's engineer, a town engineer, and a third reviewing engineer).
  • Mr. McCarthy noted the board had already contemplated a future application for the reserved units and argued the added acreage is a positive attribute rather than a negative one. The units are age-restricted and part of the preserved Indian Hills Association.
  • Board members asked clarifying questions about the unit math (one additional triplex building of three units), buffering of nearby homes, wider triplex buildings, and code conformity. The Chairman and other members expressed no objection to the concept; one member observed that neighbors may have concerns about increased traffic on Mackama Road.
  • The Chairman concluded the board was 'good' with the concept. The applicant will submit a formal resubdivision application for staff review, which will include environmental review and at least one public hearing.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of the June 3, 2026 Planning Board meeting: approved unanimously (motion by Mrs. Amendola).
  • Minutes of the May 20, 2026 Map of Greenlawn Center public hearing: initially deferred when a board member noted they had not attended that hearing; the vote proceeded after another member confirmed attendance, and the minutes were approved unanimously.
  • 90-day filing-time extensions: Country Hollow Estates (CFA 1/22/2019), Roberg Estates (CFA 7/9/2014), and Yasso Plat (CFA 1/5/2022) extended to September 21, 2026; 449 West Main Street Plat (CFA 4/2/2025) extended to September 28, 2026. Motion by Mr. Tantillo; unanimous.
  • Oster–Oster lot-line change extension: extended to September 18, 2026. Unanimous.

Site Plan – 1044 New York Avenue (2023)

  • Conditional site plan approval for demolition of a one-story strip center in the Huntington Station redevelopment area and construction of a new building similar to adjacent structures.
  • The board had previously asked for windows on the north elevation where an interior stairway had none; the revised architecture complies with that and other staff and town-reviewer requests.
  • Board member Mrs. Amendola noted a condition requiring a cross-access easement from the adjacent neighbor for two required parking spaces. Staff confirmed the applicant cannot proceed to building permits without finalizing that easement; the neighbor's property is reportedly for sale.
  • Motion by Mrs. Amendola; unanimous approval.

Transfer of Density Flow Rights – 1019 Fort Salonga Road

  • Resolution approving the purchase of additional TDFR credits for the commercial strip center at 1015–1019 Fort Salonga Road at the corner of Norwood Road.
  • Background: the applicant previously converted second-story office space to residential units and, having exceeded sanitary capacity as required by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, bought TDFR credits to permit the conversion. The new credits provide reserve capacity in case new first-floor commercial tenants require additional sanitary density.
  • Unanimous approval (motion by Ms. Amendola).

Subdivision – Harbor Road Plat

  • Preliminary approval resolution, held over from the prior meeting, incorporating requested waivers of curbs and sidewalks and a waiver of street lighting.
  • A board member asked that the fire district request be referred to the town board to ensure communication, and requested reflective lighting or similar treatment at the dark, wooded dead end so drivers can see where the road ends.
  • Staff agreed to add a condition requiring the end-of-road treatment at final application and to route it through traffic reviewers.
  • Motion as amended by Mrs. Amendola; unanimous approval.

Subdivision – Rose Plat

  • Conditional final approval for a subdivision previously approved as the Louis G. Perry subdivision. The lots contain existing homes on Suffolk County tax map lots, many created without planning board approval; new owners, unaware of the incomplete application, now wish to file the subdivision map and obtain town recognition of the approved lots.
  • Unanimous approval (motion by Judge Lifson).

Subdivision – Estates at Elwood

  • Resolution scheduling a public hearing for August 5, 2026 — the first of at least two hearings, for SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) purposes — for the property commonly known as the Media Villa property (north side of Jericho Turnpike, across from the end of Old Country Road, east side of Manor Road).
  • The board supported the extra step of a formal scheduling resolution because the application is high-profile and has drawn public interest.
  • Board members requested hard copies of the expanded environmental assessment form (EAF); staff agreed to request copies from the applicant.
  • Unanimous approval (motion by Mrs. Amendola).

Subdivision – Map of Greenlawn Center, Lots 14–23

  • Conditional approval of an expedited subdivision re-establishing old filed map lots. The public hearing was held May 20, 2026, with no objections raised, and all staff requirements have been met.
  • Unanimous approval (motion by Mrs. Amendola).

Lot Line Change – Growvogel–Gilmartin

  • Conditional approval to resolve a deck and pool patio encroachment by establishing a new lot line with an equal exchange of land, leaving both lots the same size. The ZBA previously approved a small setback variance; the planning board had reviewed the proposal at a prior meeting.
  • Unanimous approval (motion by Mrs. Amendola).

ZBA Referrals

  • ZBA #23721 – Galioto lot-line change: the board agreed with staff that there is no objection to the requested area variances. The proposal involves an undersized 40-foot-wide, 4,000-square-foot lot in a Greenlawn R-5 neighborhood purchasing a portion of a larger neighbor's lot; the neighbor's remaining long, deep lot would have frontage on a second road (Derby Avenue), triggering lot frontage and width variances. No new homes are proposed, the conditions are existing, and the neighbor is already on an undersized lot.
  • ZBA #23645 – Nivo Properties (1598 New York Avenue, Huntington Station): the property holds a single-family certificate of occupancy and was formerly used as a hairdresser (a permitted home occupation) and then as a military recruiting center (exempt from town zoning), but never obtained commercial permits. The owner seeks to legalize a first-floor commercial tenant plus three apartments. The small 50-by-100-foot lot requires variances related to a narrow driveway (10 feet proposed, versus 12 feet minimum for one-way and 24 feet for two-way travel under planning board regulations) and setbacks; the revised plan cuts off a front corner of the house to widen access.
  • Board members expressed no objection to the parking and setback variances, noting they reflect existing conditions. They decided to keep concerns about the wood-frame building's condition and safety for commercial occupancy out of the ZBA recommendation, potentially flagging them separately for the building department, so the property can be legalized.
  • The referral memo will be revised and brought back at the July 1, 2026 Planning Board meeting; the ZBA hearing is scheduled for July 9, 2026.

Key Outcomes

  • All resolutions on the regular agenda passed unanimously: minutes approvals; filing-time and lot-line extensions; 1044 New York Avenue conditional site plan approval; 1019 Fort Salonga Road TDFR approval; Harbor Road Plat preliminary approval as amended; Rose Plat conditional final approval; Estates at Elwood public hearing scheduled for August 5, 2026; Greenlawn Center Lots 14–23 conditional approval; and Growvogel–Gilmartin lot-line change approval.
  • The board signaled no conceptual objection to The Preserve at Indian Hills Phase II; the applicant will proceed with a formal resubdivision application.
  • The Nivo Properties ZBA referral memo will be revised and reconsidered at the July 1, 2026 meeting.
  • Agenda item 14 (Current Communications), including HHPC minutes of June 2, 2026, emails regarding Cold Spring Hill Development and Park & Pulaski McDonald's, a Harbor Road Plat document, a letter from Allen Ahdoot, MD, and a Cold Spring Hill Development covenant restriction letter, was listed but received no discussion in the transcript.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. To the Republicans and Justice. Thank you, everyone. So before we get into our regular agenda, we have an appointment for the Indian Hill subdivision. Is that my queue? That's your cue. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the planning board. It's uh good to see you on a uh on a June evening. And uh my name is uh Michael McCarthy, for those that don't know me, and I am a partner with the law firm of uh for Chelle, Deegan, and Tirana with offices at 444 New York Avenue in Huntington, though. So uh keep my Huntington roots. Kept my office, keep my Huntington roots. I really appreciate the opportunity to come and speak to the board. I thought maybe things weren't uh busy enough for you, so I thought I'd come down and stoke it a little bit about Indian Hills. Um and all kidding aside, um, you know, we went through a really long uh process for Indian Hills to get it approved. Uh if anyone has driven by, you can see that the condominiums are under construction on the northwest portion of the property. Mr. Tunis, who's here with Tom Dixon, who is their uh project engineer with Nelson and Pope uh is here to answer any questions. Um any chance, Vin, you've got the uh the plans. Maybe you can uh why don't you start with uh can you start with the um with lot five on the map, the approved plan. If you remember when Indian Hills was approved, it was a series of condominium lots. Uh Mr. Black, I know you're new to this, so you'll you'll be absorbing a lot of this, but there was, I think if I recall, and I'm doing this by memory, there were six condominium lots, which contemplated the preservation of the golf course, and it contemplated condominiums in duplexes on three different, I'm gonna call them locations on the property, we'll call them neighborhoods. Um was um at the northwest corner, uh access from Mystic into the Indian Hills Golf Course. Those condominiums are under construction. If you ever visit the property or take a ride down Mystic, you can see that that's happening. Um a smaller cluster of condominiums off of Fresh Pond Road, and and then of course the condominiums that are being demonstrated here on the approved plan, that is the approved map. It's just colored for your ease of looking at it, and that shows 18 duplexes with a total of 36 condominiums. Now, if you remember, just to kind of back up a little bit, Mr. Chairman and members of the board, Indian Hills, when it received preliminary subdivision approval and conditional final subdivision approval, had a total of 154.56 acres of property. And the idea was to preserve the golf course in perpetuity and to develop, you know, kind of on the periphery. Um that materialized and and that's that's happening presently. And along the way, uh this board engaged in a very extensive environmental review. It started with um a long form environmental assessment form, then it went into um a positive declaration pursuant to CECRA. Uh there was a draft environmental impact statement, there were public hearings on the environmental impact statement. Um, and then it culminated in a final environmental impact statement with findings. To say the least, this board uh probably conducted not less than five public hearings, and uh the zoning board of appeals as well, I think conducted at least one and maybe two. Uh and there might have been an information meeting along the way, and I just it's been so long I can't remember. But importantly, and this is the most important part, and this is the reason why we're here tonight, is um even though the lot yield analysis back in the day, if if Mr. Chairman you can remember, was 99 lots, um, the applicant and the planning department staff um settled in on the development of 86 lots. And of the 86 lots that were granted approval in the preliminary and subdivision approval and conditional final, 74 units were slated to move forward with 12 units to be held in reserve. And the resolution that granted preliminary subdivision approval dated May 12, 2021, um, indicated that you know, of the remaining uh 12 units, um, that um that these these townhomes may be constructed at a future date uh with an application back to the planning board. So this is an introduction of this proposed application that we're going to make. We would like to introduce the 12 additional condominiums at this time. But there's more. This was volunteered as such, and the property is owned R40. That was a self-imposed restriction that Mr. Tunis and his partners had put on the property. So the question begs, where do the 12 condominium units, where do they best land?

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com