BETH YOUNG PHOTO | The town Planning Board is considering an application for a convenience store on Cox Lane in Cutchogue.

A Cox Lane, Cutchogue, office building could soon be a convenience store, although neighbors are none too pleased with that idea.

The proposed Tikal 1 Convenience Store would be about 200 feet north of Route 25, on the east side of Cox Lane.

Carlos Gonzalez is proposing to convert the 3,200-square-foot building, which is in a general business zoning district, into a 1,244-square-foot convenience store and a 1,956-square-foot storage space.

Neighbor Leonard Dank, who lives on a farm next door, was adamantly opposed to the proposal at a public hearing before the Southold Planning Board Monday night.

He said most of the property on Cox Lane is preserved farmland and the new store was not in keeping with the “very quiet country farm road.”

He added that he and his wife often walk on the road at night, where they have had no difficulty with traffic.

“It could be a poster child for exactly what Southold is trying to preserve,” he said of the street. “Why anyone would want to change that … astonishes me and just about everybody I’ve talked to.”

He added that there are already six food stores in Cutchogue, including convenience stores at the Citgo and Valero gas stations and a 7-Eleven.

“Cutchogue is a really small village,” he added. “The need for additional convenience stores is redundant.”

Daniel Glover, who also lives near the proposed store, agreed.

“To me, that’s no place for it,” he said. “There’s no room in front for parking. They’ll be open all kinds of hours.”

Southold architect Anne Surchin, who has been working on the site plan for Mr. Gonzalez, said store would not copy 7-Eleven.

“It’s a much smaller scale,” she said. “The scale is such that I don’t see this competing with 7-Eleven at all.”

She added that the property is zoned for business, not farming, and that site changes, including new lighting, parking and signage, were all required by the Planning Board.

“We have tried to conform with every last thing required by the town,” she said.

byoung@timesreview.com