Owners of Southold Farm + Cellar File Notice of Claim Against Southold ZBA, Commence Article 78

NORTH FORK, NY - The Meadors are fighting back.

A month after the owners of Southold Farm + Cellar saw the variance they'd requested denied by the Southold Zoning Board of Appeals, Regan and Carey Meador have filed a notice of claim against the ZBA.

The Article 78, filed on April 14 by attorney William Moore with the New York State Supreme Court in Suffolk County, is a "request for judicial intervention"; the notice of claim alleges that the ZBA "acted outside its jurisdiction" . . ."in violation of lawful procedure in violation of state law and Southold Town's local laws and ordinances and regulations, and was arbitrary and capricious in its determination, when it determined that a variance was necessary for the Petitioner's property use and therefore denied a variance application."

In March, the Meadors expressed their dismay at the ZBA's decision on their Facebook page: "Tonight the Southold Town Zoning Board of Appeals saw fit to deny us a variance from a very recent interpretation of their bulk schedule. This effectively means that Southold Farm + Cellar will cease to exist as many of you have come to know us; our property is effectively closed to the public. Our hearts are broken, to say the least, we do not know what will come next or how/if we will be able carry on, but we will certainly let you know when we do," Regan and Carey Meador wrote on Facebook.

The battles have been constant: In February, the Meadors received notice that they must appear before the New York State Liquor Authority at a hearing to determine whether their liquor license would be revoked or canceled.

The Meadors had their tasting room shut down last year by Southold Town code enforcement because they opened without necessary approvals, the town said.

The winery had a certificate of occupancy for a single family dwelling and an open permit for a farm stand, according to Michael Verity, Southold’s chief building inspector, who sent out code enforcement to their business.

“They do not have the certificates to do what they’re doing or approval from other agencies,” Verity said.

The enforcement went out after receiving “multiple complaints” in the past, according to Verity.

According to a post on the Facebook page, the winery shut down after the Southold Town officials asked them to “cease all operations or face fines and/or jail time.”

The winery opened in 2014 after the family purchased the land in 2012.

“We had sought guidance with the town and have been completely upfront with what we intended to do,” a Facebook post on the Southold Farm + Cellar page read. “We have been working with the town for over a year to correct an earlier error and have now found ourselves mired in grey areas, far past our simple understanding of town code.”

According to Verity, the town asked for compliance and made a verbal request for the couple to shut down.

The Meadors initially received a notice of disapproval for a building permit for construction of an agricultural production building at less than the code minimum required setback of 100 feet from a major road, according to the ZBA.

“Rather than purchasing additional land and building beautiful facilities that could host large crowds and weddings, we would save ourselves the overhead, stay small, rely on word of mouth and just farm and sell our product, nothing more, nothing less,” the family wrote on the Facebook page.

The winery continued to sell wine on their website even when closed.

Open for business

The business later reopened and faced no pushback due to a “loophole” in the code that says if an application is before the ZBA, no enforcement action can be taken, town officials said.

The Meadors put a notice on their Facebook page in September, stating that they were open for business.

The couple had been before the zoning board of appeals for months, seeking variances.

Pat Moore, attorney for the Meadors, has protested the number of adjournments and said the lengthy process had dealt a financial blow to the couple.

The Meadors have asked the ZBA to approve two variances, one for front yard setback of the new building, second for bulk schedule because the town wouldn't allow a parcel of land they purchased to be counted towards the total acreage. The parcels were merged in September and are now a single 23.7 acre property. The second variance is a determination that was made by the town in November.

At each hearing, a strong showing of support has come from friends and neighbors who have rallied to the Meadors’ defense, stating that their small winery is just the kind of family business Southold Town should be promoting.

A few have expressed reservations about the business, but the overwhelming majority of residents who’ve turned out at past hearings voiced strong solidarity with the Meadors.

Regan Meador has spoken passionately about how he had no desire to turn his operation into a Vineyard 48 type of affair, and has promised that no large crowds or buses would ever be allowed on-site. Instead, he has always maintained that he was looking toward a boutique approach, much like what’s found in Europe.

The Meadors did not immediately return a request for comment.

Photo: Google maps