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Discussions continue about proposed subdivision of Cutchogue property

A public hearing will continue May 6 on a plan to divide 84.7 acres on Oregon Road in Cutchogue into six residential lots and two agricultural lots.

Big Bing LLC & Little Bing LLC are applying for the conservation subdivision on the tract, saying they plan to preserve 75% of the land. Houses may be built on the residential parcels, but the applicant will sell the agricultural land’s development rights to Suffolk County.

Attorney Patricia Moore said the Planning Board staff’s recommendation for an additional 50-foot setback on top of the 100 feet required by code would diminish property values of waterfront homes and obstruct homeowners’ views. In an interview, town engineer Jamie Richter said that may not necessarily be the case. 

The property’s slope, he said, means that the higher up a house is, the better its view toward Long Island Sound and Connecticut.

“You will never be high enough to see the beach because it goes down that steep … I didn’t think it made any difference if they were back a little bit further, but that certainly — it was for their thought and consideration only, and if they don’t choose to do that, that’s fine by me,” Mr. Richter said. 

Once construction begins, he said, it can become difficult to stay far enough away from the buffer and still have room to work.

“If you let the building envelope go all the way to that buffer where there’s not supposed to be any activity, if somebody chooses to build the house right along that line, how do you actually build it without any activity going on within that stretch of property?” Mr. Richter said.

Mr. Wilcenski agreed to a meeting involving the town engineer, two board members and Ms. Moore, which was set for last Friday.

In an interview last Friday, Ms. Moore confirmed that the group had met and will be addressing matters pertaining to the subdivision at the Planning Board’s next work session, Monday, April 22, at 4 p.m.

“We are going to follow the code as far as the 100-foot setback,” Ms. Moore said.

The application was first filed in January 2015.

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