Crowd Turns Out For Sports East Hearing

MATTITUCK, NY — A crowd turned out Thursday to speak out on an application for the proposed Sports East facility — with many residents imploring zoning board of appeals to green light the plan, and saying it's critically needed. Others expressed concerns that the intended use is not appropriate for Main Road in Mattituck.

And this time, the application was back before the town with a new addition to the plan — a proposed second, outdoor swimming pool was pitched.

The Southold Town zoning board of appeals held a public hearing after applicants for the Sports East proposal, which has been before the town for months, asked for a request for interpretation after the town building inspector issued a notice of disapproval in April.

The notice stated that the proposed use, as applied for, is not a permitted use in the R-80, or residential zoning district; the property is located at 9300 New York State Route 25 in Mattituck.

For months, parents and residents have implored Southold Town to allow the application to move forward, citing a dearth of opportunities for young people, seniors and the community at large to enjoy healthy activities Sports East would provide, including a pool and tennis courts.

Other feel the project, while worthy, is not the right fit for that particular location.

Leslie Weisman, chairman of the Southold ZBA, said the sole purpose of the hearing was to determine if the notice of disapproval should be overturned or upheld.

Attorney Charles Cuddy, representing the applicants, said a private "membership club" is not defined in the dictionary, while country clubs and golf clubs are. "It's hard to talk about a membership club because there's no definition," he said.

He said the ZBA must give attention to every part of the definition and a membership club, according to the town code, could allow tennis, golf, swimming, fishing and hunting and, under that premise, could have a building for a hunting club or building onsite.

"Based on the language" of the code, "we can have more than one sport and that's what we propose," Cuddy said.

The proposal, as it now stands, is for a tennis and swimming club, "with some outdoor activities," including a golf practice range, he said; the outside area is double the inside dimensions.

Paul Pawlowski, one of the partners in Sports East along with Joe Slovak and Steve Marsh, said the denial in April was based on an old application. "They outright denied the new application," he said.

As the town code reads, Pawlowski said, "we can have a membership club" and engage in outdoor activities including swimming, fishing and hunting.

He and his partners, he said, have "worked hard" to meet the definition in the code, "even though the definition in the code is vague."

However, he said, "We are proposing a private membership club."

The best way to describe the uses proposed for Sports East, Pawlowski said, is to walk the ZBA through a typical day for a member, which would be comparable to Laurel Links, a sports club that got a special exception in order to operate.

A day would include golf, practice in the practice area, putting, a visit to locker rooms, the pro shop and small cafe, tennis, the gym, swimming and a multi sport indoor field for exercise.

Laurel Links and Sports East are much alike, save the fact that Laurel Links features a golf course and Sports East, a 20,000 square foot indoor sports field, he said.

"Their footprint dwarfs ours," Pawlowski said.

The new application

The new application put forward for Sports East no longer features batting cages, a rock wall, or outdoor soccer field.

The 82,500 square foot facility is now a proposed single floor building, Pawlowski said — and now features a second, outdoor pool.

"We need your support," he told the ZBA. "I'm asking you to improve our quality of life. We're doing this for the community. Not for personal gain. I ask you for an open mind."

Weisman ran through the plan again to be sure the ZBA had the current specifications, noting that the outdoor synthetic field is off the table; she said the ZBA had no info on the new pool and would need details.

Pawlowski said a golf practice area had been added to the plan, as well as exercise trails.

The plan currently features a 3,500 square foot adult gym, a 16' x 46.5 ' kids' gym, a 3,500 square foot space for sports such as pickleball, a kitchen and 32 seat cafe, a pro shop, five offices, a reception area, and a 66' x 90' multi-use sports court indoors, as well as a women's and men's locker room, a 41' x 75' indoor pool, 5 indoor and 9 outdoor tennis courts, and 2 pickleball courts.

The new outdoor pool would be roughly 30' x 50', Pawlowski said; there would be 242 parking stalls and the property would not be seen from the street due to 500' buffers.

Residents speak out

Residents took to the podium to air their views on both sides of the issue.

Joy Ellinghaus, who has long voiced her opposition to the plan, said Pawlowski has been in "persistent and relentless pursuit of this project," and said a proposal for a use not allowed in a residential zone should not be rewarded; there is no public benefit such as a library or school, she said.

"This is a want, only by those who choose to join. The primary benefit would be to the developers," she said.

Pawlowski, who has proposed two other projects on the parcel, "never intended" to build the 8 to 10 homes allowed by current zoning, Ellinghaus addded.

Ellinghaus said the goal should be to preserve what is left; the town, she said, should not allow developers to dictate parameters. A decision to move forward would set a precedent, she said. "If we allow a domino effect, where will it end? Nothing we have here or could build is more valuable than our pastoral beauty. Once it's gone you can't get it back."

A large majority of those present Thursday, however, spoke out in favor of the project. "I've lived here for 30 years — 30 dark, cold winters. I would just be so happy if there was a place to exercise, where young people could get together and play basketball and for the high school swim team. I see so many positive aspects of this," said Maureen Brisotti.

She added, "I don't think we need 7 or 10 more houses."

Joseph Townsend, a former Southold town board member, spoke of the opportunities for a recreational facility that didn't come to pass on Peconic Lane or at Laurel Lake in previous years. "I am familiar with the needs of the town and we have needed something like this for residents for at least 40 years," he said.

He added that since other, similar facilities were granted special exceptions, the ZBA should consider doing the same.

Julie Dooney, however, said her focus is on preservation. "It breaks my heart. We're starting to look like the South Fork," she said.

Steve Marsh, one of the applicants for Sports East, said Pawlowski has taken "a lot of heat" from those who say he's in the project to make a profit. The three partners, he said, "will likely not profit from this endeavor. This is not about making money."

The project, he reminded, includes preservation of 70 percent of the parcel.

The goal was to provide healthy recreational opportunities for kids and the community, Marsh said.

"My children can only watch so many movies at the Mattituck theater," he said.

He added, "This is effectively a gift to the community — and it's not going to be on the table forever."

Linda Mule, who lives on Sigsbee Road, responded: "When I heard the number of parking spaces, my head almost exploded. A gift to the community? This is a membership club where people pay dues. If you want to give a gift, put it on public property. You cannot call a membership club a gift because if you can't afford the dues, you can't go there. This is a smokescreen to put a not-permitted use on private property."

She said if the business was not profitable, she was afraid the building would become abandoned and questioned what kind of activity would take place behind the structure.

Susan Toman, a substance abuse counselor who runs the Guidance Center in Southold, spoke out in favor of the project, and said healthy alternatives for young people are critical. Her child travels to Southampton for travel team basketball, she said, and added that there are too few such opportunities locally. "This is necessary," she said.

Weisman interjected that the purpose of the hearing was not to evaluate the merits of the project, only to determine if it was permitted on the property for which it was proposed.

Bruce Carleton, who also lives on Sigsbee Road, asked the board to uphold the original ruling.

Partner Joe Slovak said he was the one who first conceived of the idea, a dream of his for more than a decade. "This is a need," he said. Listening to supporters speak about health and wellness, he said, "This is not frivolous." He added that the facility would be built with private funds at no cost to the town. "I'm doing this from my heart," he said, adding that he created a Facebook page to explain the project and dispel the "flat out lies."

Resident Chris Rehm said other such projects had sailed forward. "This seems to be a very easy decision to make."

Jerry Diffley, a member of the Mattituck board of education and president for more than 10, implored the ZBA, if there was any ambiguity in the code, to "allow the application to go forward. This is a need."

Greenport resident Mindy Ryan spoke of all the missed opportunities for an indoor pool on the North Fork. "All of those opportunities are gone now. The ball is in your court. I have been campaigning for an indoor pool for 25 years, and people I have spoken to have been doing so for 60 years. It's about the pool. We need an indoor pool. This is not a want, this is a need. This is a gift," she said.

Peggy Toner said she was not opposed to the facility, but to the location.

Realtor Fred Markham said the proposed site was the only one on the North Fork suitable for the project.

Joe Pfaff, who worked on the creation of Laurel Links, said he didn't understand the hesitation, as Laurel Links applied for a special exception, and "it seems to me, this is the exact same situation. There's a huge need for this in the community."

"Hopefully, this project will go through," Jim Fogarty said.

Weisman adjourned the hearing to allow for written comment. A special meeting on the issue will be held on August 17, she said.

After the hearing, Pawlowski told Patch, "Today was great — there was 90 percent support in the crowd and normally only the naysayers show up when it's during a workday. We feel we have aligned well with the code."

The plan is Pawlowski’s third for the site: First, he pitched a plan for workforce housing on the land. Next, he proposed a second concept, which would have included stores and affordable apartments on the section of the parcel fronting Main Road, with a goal of preserving 17 of the 20 acres, and a gazebo. Pawlowski withdrew that application after residents turned out to voice fierce opposition to the zone change, citing concerns over traffic, density and quality of life.