Planning Board Approves Atria Expansion

The Huntington Planning Board has approved a 2.5-story, 20,000 sq. ft. addition to the facility in East Northport, which will connect the two main buildings of the nursing home.

The plans take up relatively unused open land on the property,  and since the institution does not intend to significantly increase occupancy,  no increase in traffic is expected in the surrounding neighborhood.

The property also contains a sewage treatment facility which will be updated with the new renovations.  Though the extension will include new beds for the facility, a spokesperson for the Atria facility said there will be no additional residents on premises following the expansion.

"The area between the two buildings is simply open space," a spokesman for the property said. "The expansion will take up none of the parking lot. It will just create one horseshoe-shaped building."

There had been some discrepancy as to whether some of the issues addressed fell under the jurisdiction of the board, but the issue was settled prior to the meeting, according to Anthony Aloisio˛the town's director of planning.

Two other site plans that were supposed to be discussed at Wednesday's meeting, Skillaire Nursing Home and the Medical Office Building in Commack, were both postponed to the next meeting because representatives from the planned facilities were unable to attend. While the Commack office is in its final "resolution" stage, the discussion continues on the Skillaire property.

The board also addressed a number of potential property subdivisions, carrying resolutions on the Gadaire-Sog property lot line change, as well as the resolution on the J.M.M. Estates at Dix Hills. Discussion continued on the proposed private road that will be a part of the Red Barn Estates development off of Pulaski Road. A resolution on the Lawrence Hill Road Estates (Section 1) was postponed due to a lack of representation, but Aloisio strongly urged they be prepared for the next meeting.

At the end of the meeting the board addressed a number of miscellaneous items pertaining to zoning and new construction, including proposed changes to the now closed post office on Larkfield Road in East Northport, a lot which was purchased by the owners of the adjacent 357 Larkfield. The board said it welcomed proposed architectural changes to the building, but had concerns about the surrounding neighborhood, as the property's parking lot borders a largely residential area.

The board also dismissed the request of a property held by Sagamore Holdings (W. 11 St and 6th Ave., Huntington Station) to divide into residential and commercial zones, as the property does not currently comply with code, as inspections concluded that despite being called a "nursery," no plants are actually grown on premises. The decision falls in line with that of the zoning board.

Sagamore will either have to bring the property to code, or will faces fees and penalties. Its proposed zoning changes came only after the property was deemed out of concordance with code.