Smithtown Officials Hold Public Hearings for Downtown on Main, Whisper Vineyards

Smithtown residents have the chance to voice their opinions on plans for Smithtown Main Street and Whisper Vineyards on Thursday night. 

Smithtown Town Board is scheduled to host three public hearings Thursday night on changes of zoning and special exception permits for new and upcoming businesses in town. 

Developer North Fork Management & Maintenance has submitted a change of zone request to the Town of Smithtown on Jan. 15 requesting permission to remove an existing covenant on the property to build an apartment building and an office space on the former Nassau Suffolk Lumber Yard. 

The developer is looking to divide the property off West Main Street to construct two buildings: one 30 feet off of West Main Street that would be used for retail space on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors, and the other building in the rear of the property between Planned Parenthood and the Assessor's Office that would be used for small offices and apartments.

The former lumber yard building was condemned in the beginning of October 2012 after the town deemed it unsafe.

Whisper Vineyards, part of Borella's Farm Stand on Edgewood Avenue, is seeking a special exception permit to host outdoor events, such as weddings. If the permit is approved it would include limitations that prohibit live music after 9 p.m., bars parking on neighborhood roads and limits events to the warmer months. 

The winery is still awaiting its license to operate and sell wines from New York State. The plans for the 18-acre vineyard include a 19,000-square-foot, energy-efficient winery, tasting room and seasonal café. The facility will be housed in a renovated version of a mid-19th century barn that is currently standing on the family's land delegated to grapes on the south side of Edgewood Avenue. 

A third public hearing will be held for a change of zone from Wholesale Industrial to Neighborhood business for a Commack property on the north side of Jericho Turnpike near Plymouth Avenue. 

The town board meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Eugene A. Cannataro Senior Citizen Center, 420 Middle Country Road, Smithtown.