Government

Phase one of plans for academy raises concerns in Mattituck

Neighbors of the Showalter Farms property are worried the dead end at Teresa Lane could be used as an entrance and exit for the riding academy. (Credit: Grant Parpan)
Neighbors of the Showalter Farms property are worried the dead end at Teresa Lane could be used as an entrance and exit for the riding academy. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

Ms. Lanza said the next steps for the Showalter Farms property, as the applicant seeks site plan and special exception approval, will include addressing concerns raised during the public hearing. The Planning Board may also require revisions to the site plan and for conditions to be agreed to before a decision is made, Ms. Lanza said.

“This will all be sorted out after the public written comment period ends on Aug. 18,” she wrote. “The timing on this application will depend on whether the applicant can address all the issues satisfactorily.”

Planning Board chairman Donald Wilcenski did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.

Ms. Lanza said the town was made aware of “phase two” of the project, which she said would include the indoor riding ring, but because that phase would also require approvals from the county Department of Health Services and the state Department of Transportation, the applicant asked to move forward with phase one during the warmer months, when they could provide riding lessons for boarders.

“Given the pressure from ag and markets, the [Planning] Board was willing to proceed with this in a phased manner,” she wrote. “It’s been done before, especially with subdivisions in the past.”

Ms. Showalter said that while there is a vision for some elements of phase two, much of that part of the plan has not been determined and there is no timeline.

“We could be talking a year from now or 10 years from now or 20,” she said.

Ms. Showalter said the advertisement in Today’s Equestrian announcing more amenities at the horse farm than those covered in the site plan was placed by potential lessees of the property without her family’s knowledge.

She said her family has discussed an arrangement with horse trainers Salvatore Gandolfo Jr. and Danielle Gandolfo of Hunters Creek East Riding Club on Bergen Avenue in Mattituck to lease the property and operate the farm. The Gandolfos thanked the Showalters in the ad for “making this new venture possible for us.”

In a phone interview Wednesday, Mr. Gondolfo agreed with the Showalters’ assessment that the ad was premature.

“I’d agree with that,” he said. “We didn’t know about the stop-work order. We just took the ad out because it was the beginning of the summer and we wanted to let people know what we’re doing.”

He said the work on the property has nothing to do with him or his current farm operation, but that everyone involved wanted to fast-track the application because of the warmer weather, pointing out that everything at the new farm is done outdoors at the moment.

“The Showalters happened to be a customer of mine and we agreed that when their place is ready one day, I will move from my place and lease their property,” Mr. Gandolfo said. He added that he’s been operating his Hunters Creek for six years and that it’s about the same size as the new location.

Mr. Showalter resigned from the Board of Ethics on July 15 so he could be appointed to a post on the Southold Town Republican Committee. Political committeemen are precluded from serving on the Board of Ethics and other appointed positions in Southold Town. His resignation was approved last week.

New York State campaign finance records show Mr. Showalter, a frequent contributor to local political campaigns over the past six years, donated $700 to the Southold Town GOP on July 3, 2014, four days before his application was first reviewed by the Planning Board. He said the donation was for participation in the GOP’s annual golf outing in June. He said he’s played the charity golf tournament for at least four years.

Southold Republican Committee chairman Peter McGreevy, whose law office worked the closing of the Showalter Farms property last December, confirmed the donation was for participation in the golf outing. Mr. McGreevy also said Mr. Showalter’s resignation from the Board of Ethics was not related to his horse farm proposal.

“It is not uncommon for an ethics board member to resign to become a committeeman,” he said, noting that he had resigned from the board for the same reason.

Mr. McGreevy said he has had no involvement in the planning process for the horse farm.

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with Michael White