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Neighbors concerned about runoff near proposed North Fork Woodworks

Neighbors of North Fork Woodworks in Southold expressed concern for planned expansions to the property on 810 Traveler St. during a public hearing Monday night.

North Fork Woodworks has proposed to convert an existing 2,195-square-foot building to an office with an accessory apartment, with 18 parking spots on .46 acres in the Hamlet Business zoning district.

Two neighbors were worried about the runoff from the proposed site to their own properties.

While Paulette Ofrias is not opposed to the application, she said she does not want any runoff to affect the building she owns on the south side of North Fork Woodworks.

“My concern is with the proposed garage and the back part of the building, that the runoff will affect our building,” she said.

“They’re responsible for retaining all the runoff on their property,” Planning Board chairman Donald Wilcenski said.

She also asked what the use for the basement of the garage would be, but planning staff said that it would only be used for storage.

Andrew Charrow was also concerned about his home that he and his fiancée just purchased in May that borders the North Fork Woodworks property.

“We’ve invested a lot of money into restoring it,” he said. “So we’re a little concerned about the commercial development in the area.”

He added that although he supports small businesses in the area, he feels that 18 parking spots could lead to a lot of potential traffic.

“As it is now, this doesn’t happen every day, but there are mornings we are woken up in the mornings by noise,” Mr. Charrow said.

He also pointed out that he would like to see more trees on the property because those already there are not sufficient.

Mr. Wilcenski said that all comments would be recorded and sent to the applicant.

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