Moratorium To Be Discussed At Suffolk Planning Commission Meeting

PATCHOGUE VILLAGE, NY — The Suffolk County Planning Commission will be discussing the proposed 18-month moratorium for certain businesses in downtown Patchogue Wednesday afternoon. The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Rose Caracappa Auditorium in the W.H. Rogers Legislature building on 725 Veterans Memorial Highway in Smithtown.

In January, Patchogue Village officials decided to move forward with the proposed 18-month moratorium on new restaurants and bars during the board meeting. Mayor Paul Pontieri told Patch that he had met with the Chamber of Commerce restaurant committee to discuss the businesses located on Main Street and how some are struggling due to concerns about parking.

"We need to slow it down, give us a little time to gain control over the parking issue and allow us to make some hard decisions on how we have to deal with it," Pontieri said.

As a result, the moratorium was proposed on applications for those types of businesses looking to open in the village. The village board held public meeting and decided to move forward with the proposal to the Suffolk County Planning Commission, who will review it and give their recommendation to the village board. The board can then either accept it or override it with a majority vote.

The moratorium will apply to all future applications, meaning anybody who is looking down the road to open a business they will have to wait 18 months under the proposed moratorium.