Residents Speak Out About Proposed Brewing Facility on Oregon Road

SOUTHOLD, NY — A small group of residents turned out Monday to air their concerns regarding a new beer production facility proposed for Oregon Road in Cutchogue.

A public hearing was held at the Southold Town Planning Board meeting Monday on a site plan application by Threes Brewing East.

The application calls for the proposed construction of a 100' x 65', or 6,500 square foot, steel building for production — brewery, with no retail — office and storage, with 21 parking stalls on 0.96 acres in the town's light industrial zoning district in Cutchogue.

The parcel is located at 12820 Oregon Road, on the south corner of Cox Lane and Oregon Road.

Attorney Charles Cuddy, representing Threes Brewing East, said the proposed application has already been approved by the town's Architectural Review Committee and was permitted under current zoning code on the site.

Neighbor Jennifer Bank said she lives diagonally across from the proposed operation and has lived in her home for 23 years.

She asked about plans for access in and out of the facility, which would have trucks moving product. She said she was fearful of a blind curve. "Trucks won't see us and we won't see them," she said.

She also asked whether or not a traffic study about the impact of the increased traffic and said her primary concern was safety. "Oregon Road is not super busy and this is going to impact that particular sector of Oregon Road," she said.

Southold Planning Board Vice Chairman James Rich said the board would not answer questions directly at the hearing but would include the questions in its research.

Bank added that it was important that research into visuals and other traffic concerns be done, with an eye toward safety. "People will be coming to work, and jobs are a great thing, but we need to be careful because this is something very new to this spot," she said.

Greg Doroski, head brewer and managing partner in Threes Brewing, which has its retail location on Douglass Street in Brookyn, said the road in question is the road for the entire subdivision, with other businesses likely to be utilizing that road, as well.

"We are definitely willing to work with the community," he said, adding that the facility is meant for production, with trucks coming in and out between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., "normal business hours."

Doroski said vehicles would access the facility from Cox Lane, and he did not foresee vehicles exiting onto Oregon Road. "It doesn't make sense from our standpoint and our neighbors' standpoint." Trucks, he said, have more than enough space to turn. "It shouldn't pose an issue. " He added that other establishments are operating in the same facility.

He anticipated weekly, not daily, deliveries, Doroski said.

When asked by Rich if the proposal absolutely had no retail component, Doroski answered, "This is about manufacturing.

Threes Brewing, he said, has an 8,000 square foot retail establishment in Brooklyn, but does not have the ability to produce enough beer right now for the site in Brooklyn and for retail partners.

"There's a big demand right now for our beer and we feel a sense of urgency to get this production facility up and running, before someone else jumps in and does, at our expense," Doroski said. "We are willing to sit down and work through what works best for everyone."

Lora Schiavetta of Oregon Road said there had been no sign of a public hearing until the day before; she did not believe the wind had knocked any signs down announcing the hearing.

In addition, she said Oregon was "very rural. We don't want another Vineyard 48."

Schiavetta said she was worried because Threes Brewing East had submitted an application in the past for a retail component that would have been open to the public, and she was fearful they could do so again.

"We have asked repeatedly if there was retail and they said 'no'," Rich said. "I can only take them at their word. That's what this permit is for."

Schiavetta asked if the applicant could possibly open a retail establishment, anyway.

"The application is for a commercial, not a retail, business. If they go into retail they will have violated the application and their permit. If they do that, they'll be in violation of their site plan, and will be subject to whatever powers the Town of Southold has to enforce that site plan," Rich said.

Schiavetta reminded that the town is still focused on issues at Vineyard 48.

"This is not about Vineyard 48. This is about what's in front of us," Rich said.

Vineyard 48, Schiavetta said, "is an example of what can happen. Why can't we nip it in the bud preemptively?"

Doroski headed back to the podium to assure those fearful that there was "no room for a retail space in there right now. This application is for production, it is manufacturing," he said. "There is no reason to talk about 'what ifs' when we have a very clear plan of what we want to do."

Doroski added, "I grew up in this town. I don't want to see it turn into a bunch of Vineyard 48s. I share the community's concerns. We we want to raise our kids out here. This is not what we intend to do here. I don't know how much more clear we can be."

Cuddy added that he had personally hung signs on Cox Road and Oregon Road announcing the hearing more than 12 days earlier.

Neighbor Joanne Maguire said Oregon Road was one of the last roads in Southold Town to ride up and down, enjoying the working farms and seeing tractors. "I'm selfish. I don't want to see Oregon Road turn into Route 48. The last think I want to see is big, gigantic beer trucks."

She asked if there was a way to prohibit trucks over a certain weight.

Rich said any vehicle has a right to use a public road.

"This building is an approved subdivision," Rich said. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there are probably going to be five or six" such businesses, when all is said and done, he said.

"That's a shame," Maguire said.