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Newburgh ZBA split 3–2 over variance for proposed Lakeside Road gas station after traffic experts raise safety concerns
Summary
The Town of Newburgh Zoning Board of Appeals rejected a motion to approve a variance allowing a new gas station at 2 Lakeside Road to sit closer than 1,000 feet to existing stations after a contentious hearing that included technical testimony about turning capacity and queueing. The motion failed in a 3–2 vote; counsel said the applicant may seek reconsideration.
A divided Town of Newburgh Zoning Board of Appeals failed to approve an area variance Jan. 23 sought by Prime & Tuvel for a new gasoline station at 2 Lakeside Road, after several residents and traffic experts urged the board to weigh safety and traffic impacts.
The company sought an exception to the town's 1,000-foot guideline that limits new motor-vehicle service stations near existing stations. Prime & Tuvel argued the project had been pared down since its first appearance and that off-site intersection improvements included in its plan would reduce overall congestion.
Why it matters: Board members said the request raises practical questions about traffic circulation at the nearby Route 17/17K/ I-84 ramp complex, a corridor already known to experience signal queueing and capacity constraints during peak periods. Those concerns were the central focus of public testimony and expert reports.
The hearing included competing technical input. Michael Maris, a traffic consultant engaged by a neighboring stakeholder, told the board he found the project's traffic study incomplete in places and identified specific safety issues: unusually wide curb cuts that can confuse drivers; the presence of three driveways where the study modeled fewer; the feasibility of a double-left-turn lane on Lakeside Road into Route 17 given the existing pavement width; and chronic short left-turn storage onto I-84 that already causes queueing. "There are some issues there that need to be analyzed," Maris said, pointing to turning-path and queueing analyses that he said were missing from the submission.
Prime & Tuvel's traffic consultant, Matthew Seckler, told the board the application team had responded in writing to detailed review comments and was working with New York State Department of Transportation on geometry and signal timing. Seckler said design upgrades, including lane widening and channelization, could address the turning-path concerns and that several items would be finalized during site-plan and DOT review.
Board action and vote: After closing the public hearing and holding that required SEQRA (environmental) procedural review, the board considered the five statutory area-variance factors. A motion to approve the 1,000-foot variance was made by Member James Eberhart and seconded by Greg Hermance. The roll call showed three votes in favor and two opposed; the motion did not carry. Chair Darrin Scalzo and Member John Masten voted "no," and legal counsel later advised the board on the option to seek reconsideration within the statutory window.
What happens next: Counsel told the applicant and public that the Planning Board will carry out a full site-plan and environmental review if a variance is later granted, and that DOT review may add further conditions. The transcript records board guidance that the applicant may request a revote or decide whether to pursue the matter under the statutory reconsideration process.
