Smithtown officials said plans for a $22-million apartment complex in downtown Kings Park can proceed without a\u00a0full\u00a0environmental impact study, a decision that accelerates the project’s timeline.<\/p>\n
Town officials reviewed the site plan for Cornerstone Kings Park, a planned three-story<\/a> apartment complex with underground parking, David Barnes, the town’s\u00a0director of environmental protection, said in a memo dated July 8. The complex would be built on a 2.26-acre lot on the corner of Meadow and Indian Head roads.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the town board voted 5-0 to effectively waive the need for a more rigorous environmental review. The town issued a “negative declaration” under the state’s Environmental Quality Review Act.<\/p>\n The town’s review, Barnes wrote,\u00a0shows that “any potential adverse environmental impacts” arising from the proposal “do not rise to the level of significance” to require an environmental-impact statement.<\/p>\n Kings Park-based Tanzi Properties LLC and Farmingdale-based Terwilliger & Bartone Properties are the developers behind the project. The town’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-0 to approve the project in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n Barnes said in the memo the project “does not appear to significantly threaten any unique or highly valuable environmental or cultural resources.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The town’s department of environment and waterways determined that the project would not involve building or construction on lands which have “any severe environmental development constraints,” Barnes said. That could include areas with poor soil properties and unmanageable slopes, according to the memo.<\/p>\n The project “will not result in significant impact and furthermore no decrease in the level of service on the surrounding roadway network,” Barnes wrote. Town officials view the proposal as unlikely to negatively affect the environment due to its “limited size and nature,” the memo said.<\/p>\n The proposal also is compatible with key planning documents such as the Kings Park Downtown Revitalization Master Plan and the updated Smithtown Comprehensive Plan.<\/p>\n Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said next, the developers will apply for building permits.<\/p>\n Tension over development in Kings Park emerged as a key issue in the June 24 Republican primary<\/a> for town supervisor and council races. Suffolk County Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) unsuccessfully challenged Wehrheim<\/a> on a platform opposing the project and other developments planned for Kings Park. He had said\u00a0changes to the area’s master plan<\/a> could encourage more density in the hamlet.<\/p>\n