Owner defends barn for revamped farm project as Southold neighbors push back

The owner of a scrapped Southold chicken farm pressed ahead with plans for an organic produce operation — but neighbors continued to cry fowl over where he builds his barn.

At a contentious Southold Planning Board hearing Monday, Grant Callahan said the location of a proposed 2,100-square-foot agricultural storage barn at 2340 Ackerly Pond Lane would allow a water connection from Jasmine Lane.

Mr. Callahan’s new application, announced in a Sept. 4 letter from his lawyer, calls for an organic fruit-and-vegetable operation along with the barn. His LLC bought the 16-acre property for $650,000 last year.

“We fully intend to design the farm and our water usage to remain within the capacity of that one-inch residential line, which is the same maximum water capacity that any of my neighbors can have in their own residential homes,” Mr. Callahan said.

He said the revised application reduces the requested water service from a four-inch line to a one-inch line.

The site plan replaces Mr. Callahan’s proposed 6,000-hen operation, which drew months of opposition. The town issued a stop-work order June 29 after Mr. Callahan’s LLC began building a hoop-style chicken shelter without Planning Board approval. The status of that order remains unclear.

Hansley Mohan, an attorney with Farrell Fritz who represents Mr. Callahan, told the board the barn would hold farm equipment and supplies, including fencing and tools customarily associated with row-crop production.

“The barn remains in this location solely to facilitate the required water connection from Jasmine Lane,” Mr. Mohan said. “We respectfully submit that the proposed setback, coupled with the change to row crops, will substantially mitigate any potential adverse impacts to the surrounding properties.”

But residents of Jasmine Lane, a cul-de-sac development that abuts Mr. Callahan’s property, said a barn used for storage should be moved to the Ackerly Pond Lane side of the site, farther from their homes.

“In January, when we came to this public hearing, the first thing out of Grant Callahan’s mouth was that he wanted to be a good neighbor,” said Rodney Herrlin, whose father-in-law John Reichert lives on Jasmine Lane. “A good neighbor would move that barn away from the neighborhood. There’s no reason for it to be there.”

Mr. Herrlin’s wife, Leslie, said the barn’s description as a storage structure only strengthened the case for moving it.

“Now we are told this is essentially a storage barn with no bathroom, no water inside, and perhaps only a simple spigot. Then explain why it has to be beside our homes,” she said. “There are approximately 16 acres to choose from. He can move the barn.”

Don Bracken, another Jasmine Lane resident, noted that moving the barn to the Ackerly Pond Lane side would be more practical for an organic farm and would eliminate the need for a fire-access road on Jasmine Lane.

Brett Kehl, who also lives on Jasmine Lane, suggested that bringing water from the other side of the property should not be a problem.

“You cannot irrigate with a one-inch line on that property. That’s ridiculous,” he said.

Mr. Reichert, who has been among the most vocal opponents of the project, said the barn’s location also raises safety concerns.

“It should not be on Jasmine Lane, where there are children who play in the street, ride their bikes, and use scooters,” he said.

Neighbors have also questioned the ownership of the LLC and whether a chicken farm could be proposed again, as The Suffolk Times previously reported. Mr. Reichert accused Planning Board officials Monday of dismissing those concerns.

“We are citizens of Southold, too, and you have treated us absolutely terribly,” he said. “No matter what we say, you shut us down, and you sit there and look at me like I’m talking Greek. I live next door to this mess. It never should have been proposed in the first place.”

The planning board voted to close the oral portion of the public hearing, but to leave it open for written comment for two weeks, until Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.