Board holds decision on Valvoline drive‑through oil change in Mastic after traffic, parking and environmental questions

The Town of Brookhaven Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday closed the public hearing and put off a decision on an application from EXPNY LLC to convert an existing motor‑vehicle service building at 1650 Montauk Highway in Mastic into a Valvoline Instant Oil Change drive‑through.

The applicant requested variances from multiple zoning and design rules, including relief for substandard lot area and frontage, front‑yard setbacks and compliance with the town’s Main Street Business District Design Manual. The applicant’s attorney, Andrew Levitt, told the board the 3,491‑square‑foot parcel is improved with an existing 1,617‑square‑foot building that has a certificate of existing use dating to the 1950s and that the conversion would not enlarge the building footprint.

“We are proposing to use the three existing service bays and construct a lubrication pit,” Levitt said, adding that staff and the applicant have prepared façade and landscaping improvements for the downtown district and that the Chamber of Commerce of Mastic and Shirley sent a support letter. Architect John Riley described the proposed lubrication pit as an “environmentally friendly oil change facility” and said the business plans to use waste oil to heat the building.

Planner testimony noted several areas where the application seeks relief. The planner reported the parcel falls short of the 4,000‑square‑foot minimum lot area and that the proposed basement increases floor‑area ratio to roughly 93 percent where 60 percent is allowed. The staff report also flags a lack of conforming on‑site parking (the board’s packet listed a nonconforming parking situation) and several departures from the Main Street manual that the applicant says it has tried to address.

Traffic and operations were a focus of board questioning. The applicant’s traffic witness, Sean Mulrion, said the Valvoline model is a low‑volume, drive‑through oil‑change operation with a typical service time of about 10–15 minutes. He said the applicant expects 3–4 employees at the location and plans to provide car service or transit connections for employees instead of on‑site staff parking. Mulrion pointed to a letter from the Suffolk County Department of Public Works saying a county permit will be required for any access on Montauk Highway; he said the county submitted that response after the applicant addressed DPW comments and that a driveway permit remains to be filed and approved by DPW.

Board members pressed the applicant on how queuing and spillover onto Montauk Highway or Mastic Road would be handled in busier periods, and on state environmental approvals for floor‑level lubrication pits and bulk oil storage. Riley and the applicant said they would apply to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and to the county health and building departments as required if the board and town board permit the use. The applicant said copies of engineering reports and fully executed interconnection agreements had been delivered to staff for a different rooftop solar case; he committed to supplying necessary DEC and building‑code documentation for the oil‑pit work.

Real‑estate witness Michael Lynch testified the site has been used as an automotive facility for decades and that a refurbished building could improve the downtown streetscape. The applicant also provided a prototype elevation and said the Mastic Park Civic Association’s board did not object to the proposal.

After roughly 90 minutes of testimony and questions from the board, Member Cooney moved, and Member Casey seconded, to close the public hearing and place the matter on the board’s decision calendar; the motion carried.

The BZA did not vote on variances at the meeting. A close‑and‑hold motion means the public hearing record is closed and the board will deliberate and issue a written decision within the statutory period. The board asked the applicant to supply outstanding permit correspondence and technical materials for the record before the board’s decision.

What’s next: the matter will return to the BZA’s decision calendar for written determination. The applicant and staff were asked to provide any outstanding DPW, health‑department or DEC correspondence and the engineering reports that bear on roof, pit and drainage work.