Proposed Mattituck athletic club receives its first approval
A proposed multi-sport membership club in Mattituck got a unanimous vote of approval last month from the Suffolk County Planning Commission.
Sports East Fitness Club is proposed for a 20.8-acre site on the south side of Main Road, just west of Sigsbee Road.
The club would consist of an outdoor soccer field and five tennis courts, along with an 82,500-square-foot building that would house a pool, basketball court, soccer field and space for physical fitness activities.
The applicant is Sports East LLC, which is headed by Paul Pawlowski, Steve Marsh and Joe Slovak.
“It seems like a good project from what I can tell,” said Nick Morehead, chief operating officer for the South Ferry and the Shelter Island town representative on the planning commission.
The commission voted 10-0 in favor of the project, with five members absent, including Southold Town representative Nick Planamento. The body gives recommendations on site plans that can only be overturned by a majority-plus-one vote from the local Town Board or Planning Board, in this case the Planning Board.
The county planning department’s staff report recommended approval, but offered seven “comments,” including a suggestion that the applicant use advanced wastewater treatment systems to reduce the amount of nitrogen discharged into groundwater. It also suggested that a traffic impact study be prepared with the application.
“It’s an appropriate place for a sports club, on a state highway,” said Samuel Kramer, the East Hampton Town representative. “My only issue is with respect to the screening on the east end, along Sigsbee Road. Because the houses do come right up against this parcel, so I’d like to see appropriate screening.”
There is a 75-to 80-foot wooded buffer proposed, noted Andrew Freleng, the county’s chief planner.
“I like the site plan,” said Michael Kaufman, an attorney from Huntington who represents incorporated villages on the commission. “As long as there’s adequate buffer.”
The land is zoned for two-acre minimum lot size residences, but annual membership clubs are permitted with a special exception from the ZBA.
No one from the audience or the applicant spoke about the project at Wednesday’s meeting.
At public hearings before the Southold Town Planning Board and Zoning Board Appeals earlier this year, the majority of speakers said this type of facility is needed, but there were some speakers who feared it would bring traffic and noise to the area.
The sports facility still needs approvals from the Southold ZBA and Planning Board.
