The Town of Brookhaven Planning Board heard a proposal for permission to seek a two‑lot subdivision at 5 Grand Street in Port Jefferson Station and did not grant final authorization at the meeting, instead adjourning to allow additional fact‑finding about a detached garage that straddles the proposed new lot line.

Planning director Don Hone explained the property was subject to a prior land division covenant that requires planning board authorization before any further subdivision. The applicant, represented by Amy DeVito of Woodhull Expediting, said the proposed two‑lot split would require minor variances to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for about 1,000 square feet of lot area relief and a roughly 3.5‑foot rear yard variance due to an existing garage location.

Neighbor Elaine Ankewitz asked for more time and information; she said she had received the application less than a week earlier and was concerned about rental use, parking, septic and utility locations, and effects on neighborhood character. She asked the board to postpone action to allow neighbors more time to review plans.

Adjacent homeowner Scott Dakers said the existing detached garage is an “eyesore” and that the lot split could improve the street; DeVito said the garage has a valid certificate of compliance from 1976 for a one‑story detached garage and she did not know whether the space contained living quarters or was being rented. “It is very likely that the board would actually recommend that we even out the lot lines so that we can have two conforming lots,” DeVito said, and acknowledged the Zoning Board of Appeals may require inspection and possible remediation of the garage.

Planning board members expressed concern about creating a lot with an accessory structure on it without a principal residence and suggested the applicant talk to the client about demolishing the garage. The board agreed to adjourn the application to the next meeting and asked the applicant to consult the owner about either removing the garage or ensuring it remains on the primary lot; the applicant said she would discuss those options with her client.

The board’s action was procedural: it did not authorize a subdivision but granted the applicant leave to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals only after follow‑up, or will return the matter to the planning board with clarified lot lines and an inspection if necessary.

Neighbors will be notified again if the application proceeds to the Zoning Board of Appeals, the board said.