West Babylon Transfer Station Replacement Proposes Larger, Clear-Span Building; Board Hears Details on Hours, Odor Control and Variances
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Summary
Winters 19 Nancy LLC presented plans to replace a fire-damaged transfer station at 19 Nancy St with a 28,800 sq ft pre-engineered, clear-span transfer station that would rise to 44 ft 6 in; the applicant requested relief on hours and a refuse-enclosure requirement and described odor-control, ventilation and fire-safety measures. The informational hearing was closed for board review.
At an informational hearing Jan. 12, representatives for Winters 19 Nancy LLC told the Town of Babylon Planning Board they plan to replace a fire-damaged transfer station at 19 Nancy Street, West Babylon, with a 28,800-square-foot pre-engineered transfer building and a 720-square-foot scale house and employee trailer.
Attorney Michelle Pfeiffenberger told the board the prior transfer station was destroyed by fire and the applicant seeks an in-kind replacement. ‘‘The proposed project includes a 28,800 square foot pre engineered transfer station and a 720 square foot scale house and employee trailer,’’ she said, and added the team has responded in writing to a set of planning office questions received Oct. 15, 2025.
Engineer Eugene Kempe (Kempe Engineering) said the replacement will be a clear-span design requiring a height increase to 44 feet 6 inches (up from a previously approved 35-foot height) and that the increase is driven by the clear-span structural approach; the applicant intends to apply for the required height variance. Kempe listed site repairs — roughly 4,000–5,000 square feet of concrete pavement repair along Otis Street, curb replacements on Nancy and Otis Streets, fence and landscaping restoration, and limited turning improvements — and said the scale house footprint will increase slightly from 680 to 720 square feet for modular building requirements.
Kempe asked the board to consider relief from a covenant limiting truck deliveries between late evening and morning hours, saying transfer operations typically start early: ‘‘the trucks are on routes at 05:00 in the morning, so we had previously had that we would need, you know, 05:00 in the morning as a starting point because that's the nature of the operations.’’ He also requested relief from installing a refuse enclosure, saying the transfer station’s operations typically move refuse into piles for transfer and that the town has granted similar relief historically.
Board members pressed on odor and fire-safety measures. Kempe said the facility will maintain an interior odor-control spray system (roof- or ceiling-mounted sprays) and a door spray system referenced as ‘‘Hispilon,’’ expand upblast ventilation (required by the DEC) from two to six upblast units, and design a fully sprinklered building in line with building and town codes. He said residential properties on Perry Street are about 500 feet from the site. Kempe said Winter Brothers has historically operated the facility without significant parking problems and that overflow could be shifted to a previously approved site on Green Street if needed; he said the operation typically has eight employees on-site.
Frank Santos moved and Juan Leon seconded a motion to close the informational hearing; the motion carried. No final approvals or variances were granted at the Jan. 12 meeting; applicants indicated they would apply for the noted variance(s) and provide additional materials for the board’s review.
