New Plans for Sports East Fitness Coming Soon: Paul Pawlowski

MATTITUCK, NY — Despite a decision last week by the Southold zoning board of appeals that put the brakes on the current proposal for the Sports East Fitness facility in Mattituck, developer Paul Pawlowski confirmed Monday that new plans are coming soon.

Last week, the ZBA ruled that the current application would not be allowed in a residential zoning district, because it did not meet the town code's definition of a private membership club.

"The decision by the board is what it is," Pawlowski said. "We will be be submitting a new application in the near future to align with how the ZBA defines a private membership club. We look forward to this re-submission as we still feel strongly about our application."

He added that the goal is to align with how the code is perceived by the ZBA.

Joe Slovak, on of the partners in the project, addressed the ZBA's decision on Facebook: "I will simply say the decision has been made whether I agree with it or not. The only thing I know how to do is accept it and find ways to work with what the ZBA has decided. That means find another way to get this done. The decision and the explanation behind it makes it clear that we have to modify and craft a proposal that is in line with how the code was interpreted."

He added that enthusiasm for the sports facility remains strong: "In the end, we have come too far to quit now. There's too much at stake for our community and we have put too much time and effort and money to stop now. We will continue to push ahead and reach our goal of making Sports East an integral and amazing part of our community."

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the town code only provides for membership clubs that are primarily outdoors. A commercial recreational facility isn't referenced in the code as an allowed use, he said.

Pawlowski, he said, was unhappy, after the ZBA meeting, about the way the application "was handled by the town. He has every right to be. No board should have let him get this far only to determine that it's not an allowed use. People deserve an answer at the beginning of the process not at the near end, especially when the answer is 'no.'"

The ZBA met in October to discuss two requests from the planning board for an interpretation of whether the proposed uses applied for on the site plan for Sports East, proposing to construct an "annual membership club," met the definition of a "membership club" as defined by town code, with uses permitted by special exception in a residential district.

Plans for the indoor-outdoor private sport facility, pitched by partners in the project Pawlowski, Slovak, and Steve Marsh include indoor tennis, an indoor swimming pool, multi-sports fields, pickle ball courts, a gym, rock wall, yoga, batting cages, a locker room and an organic juice bar.

A code definition
The definition states that the club has as its "principal purpose," members that engage in outdoor sports such as golf and tennis, ZBA Chair Leslie Weisman said in October.

"Our job today is very narrow, to decide if it is legally permissible, or if it is not, by special exception," she said. "That is the essence of what we are looking for today."

Neighbors have stood up for and against the project at numerous hearings in past months.

Some parents believe a controversial proposal for the Sports East Fitness facility in Mattituck is a dream that should be realized.

Although developer Pawlowski withdrew his application before the Southold Town planning board in July, one Southold mom launched a petition online recently to keep the project afloat.

"We Want Sports East," has a Care2 petitions page.

"Sports East will be a fun place for the whole family to enjoy and exercise while being together. It can also be used to hopefully keep kids off drugs and out of gangs if they have something fun and positive to do," the page reads.

The petition was kicked off by Southold resident Jennifer Moore Giovanniello-Becker. "I started it when I saw a friend share a post about asking people to go to the town meeting next week to show support" for the plan, she said."

Questions raised by the public who spoke out against the project included whether the use, as described by the applicant, is truly a membership club.

Several people asked how such an apparently intense commercial use could be allowed in a residential zone, whether daycare or childcare was allowed, and whether soccer teams that weren't members would be allowed to play on the fields. Other concerns included tournaments, special events, and traffic or congestion issues.

Members of the community showed tremendous support at a ZBA hearing in February. In May, the public came out to speak passionately on both sides of the proposal for the Sports East Fitness Club on Main Road in Mattituck.

While some have voiced concerns over the facility, parents have pleaded for Sports East, stating that sports and physical activity are way to keep kids engaged, away from drugs and active in healthy activities. Seniors, too, have said a facility closer to home would help them to exercise more frequently.