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Board approves expanded auto‑dealership plan with covenants to limit neighborhood impacts
Summary
The town board approved a special‑permit and rezoning application to expand the Catalonado car dealership with 212 added spaces, fences and landscaping and operational covenants restricting test‑drives and employee parking; a nearby resident urged keeping test drives off Smithtown Avenue.
The Islip Town Board approved the Catalonado Trust's application (TC 5469) to expand an existing motor‑vehicle dealership at 731 Smithtown Avenue, permitting additional parking and operational covenants intended to reduce neighborhood impacts.
Eric J. Russo, counsel for the applicants Joseph and Darlene Catalonado, described a revised site plan that preserves existing residences, adds approximately 212 parking spaces, proposes perimeter screening (Leland cypress and an 8‑foot fence), and implements operational covenants limiting on‑site practices such as in‑neighborhood test driving. Russo said employees were instructed not to test‑drive vehicles in the residential neighborhood and that violations could lead to discipline.
Kevin Shapiro, a neighbor at 851 Smithtown Avenue, urged the board to keep the dealership's active business on Sunrise Highway rather than on the residential Smithtown Avenue, citing proximity to John Pearl Elementary School, a senior residence and a recreational facility that holds day camps. "I just ask that you keep the car dealership's business on the highway," Shapiro said.
Russo responded that the revised plan increases buffers and fencing, that no residences would be removed and that covenants include enforcement mechanisms; he said summonses and enforcement would be handled through planning and the Town Attorney's Office if necessary. After questions and a public comment, the board closed the hearing, adopted a negative declaration and approved the application; the vote passed with one recorded abstention in the transcript.
Staff and the applicant will coordinate on implementing the covenants and monitoring compliance.
