Smithtown officials said plans for a $22-million apartment complex in downtown Kings Park can proceed without a full environmental impact study, a decision that accelerates the project’s timeline.
Town officials reviewed the site plan for Cornerstone Kings Park, a planned three-story apartment complex with underground parking, David Barnes, the town’s director of environmental protection, said in a memo dated July 8. The complex would be built on a 2.26-acre lot on the corner of Meadow and Indian Head roads.
On Tuesday, the town board voted 5-0 to effectively waive the need for a more rigorous environmental review. The town issued a “negative declaration” under the state’s Environmental Quality Review Act.
The town’s review, Barnes wrote, shows that “any potential adverse environmental impacts” arising from the proposal “do not rise to the level of significance” to require an environmental-impact statement.
Kings Park-based Tanzi Properties LLC and Farmingdale-based Terwilliger & Bartone Properties are the developers behind the project. The town’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-0 to approve the project in March.
Barnes said in the memo the project “does not appear to significantly threaten any unique or highly valuable environmental or cultural resources.”
The town’s department of environment and waterways determined that the project would not involve building or construction on lands which have “any severe environmental development constraints,” Barnes said. That could include areas with poor soil properties and unmanageable slopes, according to the memo.
The project “will not result in significant impact and furthermore no decrease in the level of service on the surrounding roadway network,” Barnes wrote. Town officials view the proposal as unlikely to negatively affect the environment due to its “limited size and nature,” the memo said.
The proposal also is compatible with key planning documents such as the Kings Park Downtown Revitalization Master Plan and the updated Smithtown Comprehensive Plan.
Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said next, the developers will apply for building permits.
Tension over development in Kings Park emerged as a key issue in the June 24 Republican primary for town supervisor and council races. Suffolk County Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) unsuccessfully challenged Wehrheim on a platform opposing the project and other developments planned for Kings Park. He had said changes to the area’s master plan could encourage more density in the hamlet.
Tony Tanzi, owner of Tanzi Properties LLC, said in an interview Tuesday that developers went “above and beyond” to address residents’ environmental concerns. He said developers held public meetings and modified plans to “get something that would be big enough to benefit Kings Park but not too big enough to have a negative impact on it.”
“I think at the end of the day, the town board sees when projects are beneficial, and we did enough work on the front end to make sure they had all the information they could use,” Tanzi said.
He said he expects construction to start in the next month or two and take up to two years to complete.
Jean-Paul Salamanca covers the Town of Smithtown for Newsday.