Planning board approves 7‑11 North Ocean site plan with fence and maintenance conditions

The Town of Brookhaven planning board on March 25 approved a site plan that will replace the existing 7‑11 at 3000 North Ocean Avenue in Farmingville with a new 2,693 sq. ft. convenience store and a covered fueling canopy with six dispensers and two 20,000‑gallon underground storage tanks. The board added a specific condition requiring submission of a revised site plan showing a paddock‑style fence enclosing the landscaped monument sign area and a town‑approved maintenance plan.

Planning presentation and applicant remarks Planning Director Don Hoehn described the proposal as a rebuild that slightly expands the site footprint and includes landscaping, lighting and drainage improvements; he noted a 100‑foot vegetated buffer to the north and a proposed relocation of the curb cut on North Ocean Avenue to improve safety at the intersection. Applicant counsel Lisonbee Lapointe said the design includes substantial planting to screen views from North Ocean Avenue and that the owners are willing to strengthen maintenance commitments to address neighborhood concerns.

Neighbor concerns and board response Council members raised concerns about post‑construction maintenance — litter, trampled landscaping and signage — and asked whether the board could require specific maintenance times, more cameras or other enforceable measures. Lapointe said the franchise standards described on the site plan (SP‑1) will control maintenance; she agreed to ask the client to accept stronger, enforceable maintenance obligations and to return a revised site plan showing the paddock fence around the monument sign. Planning staff confirmed the maintenance plan is on the site plan and that the applicant must comply.

Votes and conditions The public hearing was closed and a motion to approve carried. The board's approval included an added condition — submitted as a numbered item in the approval — requiring an updated site plan showing a paddock‑style fence along the landscaped monument sign area; final details are subject to review and approval by the town's commissioner of planning, engineering and municipal services. The applicant also agreed to maintenance plan commitments and screening plantings indicated on the site plan.

Ending The project will proceed with the approved site plan revisions and recorded conditions; the planning office will require the applicant to submit the updated site plan and maintain the vegetation, fencing and any required lighting and monitoring systems as part of the approval.