Planning director outlines several upcoming public hearings, including canine‑care expansion and proposed subdivision

The planning director told the Town of Brookhaven board that four planning‑board public hearings will be posted and described several development applications for upcoming hearings.

On 42 Cobbler Lane in East Setauket, the applicant seeks an increase in allowable clearing from 55% to 75%; the planning director said the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recommended a 70% limit and noted the property is not in an environmentally sensitive area. The director said nearby properties have received similar relief.

A site plan for Canine Companions, a nonprofit that trains companion and guide dogs on Little Island Road south of Granny Road, proposes roughly 7,000 square feet of additional dormitory space and about 3,000 square feet of additional kennel space and expanded parking to meet town standards. The director described the organization’s work and said the expansion will increase capacity for training and housing both dogs and the people who come to be matched and trained.

The Islamic Center of Shirley submitted a revised site plan that increased parking; the director said the center was required to provide 98 spaces and will supply 124, avoiding the need for a variance. The director said elevations and other materials were provided and described the submission as meeting the town’s standards.

The Our Greatest States subdivision has been before the board multiple times and will be before the planning board again; the director said notices and procedures are in order. He described the proposal as a 10‑lot division (it could have been 11 under past calculations) that uses clustering to avoid building a new road and to preserve an area of open space; stormwater will be handled with a low area intended to collect runoff, described as more like a rain garden than a conventional recharge basin.

Other items previewed included a request to release a covenant for a property known as Medford Sills (original rezoning occurred in Feb. 2019; board action in May 2024 amended covenants to allow individual lots) and a site‑plan/rezoning action at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Center Reach (Belkin) seeking to add a drive‑through by acquiring two adjacent residential lots; the director said the applicant may adjust landscaping and fence lines to address concerns of nearby homeowners. The director also noted a waiver of site‑plan review being sought by the Terryville Fire District for redevelopment of a substation; engineering and highway reviews were described as complete and a small dedication remains to be completed.

The director said some items will return with additional details such as buffer area sizes and tree surveys; several proposals were described as meeting technical standards but still subject to the planning‑board public‑hearing process.