Residents to address Planning Board on Sports East proposal
The Southold Town Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing Monday night to discuss a private sports facility planned for Mattituck.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at Town Hall. During the hearing, residents will be able to discuss Sports East’s site plan application for an indoor/outdoor athletic complex on Main Road.
Last winter, Sports East LLC partners Paul Pawlowski, Steve Marsh and Joe Slovak first proposed building the facility.
Mr. Pawlowski had previously proposed a mixed-use development for the Sports East property and, before that, an affordable rental complex. He withdrew both applications after receiving pushback from the community.
The town’s first public hearing on the Sports East proposal occurred during a Feb. 4 Southold Town Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. Although few people raised concerns about traffic and membership fees, reaction to the project from those in attendance was overwhelmingly supportive, as people said they believe there’s a lack of local recreational activities.
The developers won’t need to seek a change of zone from the town because the property’s existing residential zoning allows annual membership clubs with a special exception from the ZBA.
Following the Feb. 4 meeting, the ZBA decided to leave the public hearing open for comment and is awaiting a study about potential environmental impacts, known as SEQRA, which the Planning Board has required as part of its own review of the site plan application.
The ZBA is expected to hold an additional public hearing to discuss SEQRA findings.
The developers have said the facility and membership pricing will be similar to the Southampton Youth Services recreation center, which is more than 40 minutes from Mattituck.
Sports East is proposing outdoor athletic fields closer to Main Road, including a synthetic field for multiple sports, as well as tennis and pickleball courts. Lighting for the outdoor fields isn’t included in the proposal.
Several athletic facilities are also proposed for the building’s interior, including a synthetic field for multiple sports, a basketball court, four tennis courts, two batting cages, a gym, space for yoga and spin classes and locker rooms.
Mr. Pawlowski has also said he’s looking into include a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment system and a saltwater pool.
While hours of operation haven’t been finalized, Mr. Pawlowski has estimated the facility could be open between 5:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. A 32-seat healthy cafe for members and pre- and after-care programs for schoolchildren are also planned for the sports complex.
Check back later for full coverage of Monday’s public hearing.
