Sports Complex on Old Northport Rd. - Good Idea? Maybe

Developer’s continued efforts towards for-profit sports complex

By Chad Kushins

Photo - Smithtown Planning DepartmentKings Park residents and elected officials alike are gearing up for an upcoming meeting of the Smithtown Town Board; the topic of interest is the status of a proposed deluxe sports complex to be located on Old Northport Road.  Although plans for the prospective construction have been in the works for years, it was only at last week’s Kings Park Civic Association meeting that the developer and property owner, Santilli Commercial Developers, publicly released their full proposal. 

It was at the Kings Park Civic Association meeting on February 9^th that Santilli’s attorney, Leonard Shore of Commack, spoke of the developer’s full vision for the construction.  According to Shore, Santilli’s proposal would call for the construction of five Olympic size playing fields with four designated for soccer, two mini-ball diamonds, and a 16,000 square-foot building for other sports purposes, including indoor batting and golf cages.  Only a few blocks away is a golf driving range and the Superior Ice Rink. Like those businesses, the Santilli complex would be a for-profit business, not a community facility.

As the property is currently zoned exclusively for industrial use, Santilli Commercial Developers is seeking a special-use permit, which is needed to move forward on the sports complex plans.  “They need to seek what is called a ‘special-use permit’,” said Smithtown Planning Department Director Frank DeRubeis.  “This means that a developer has outright uses in a given zone, but also certain things are permitted for additional uses.  But that comes with additional codes and restrictions.”

According to DeRubeis, a special-use permit is commonplace for commercial properties such as roller rinks, ice rinks, and similar sports facilities, for what is deemed ‘Commercial Public Recreation Use’.  “Lots of things are zoned for this,” said DeRubeis, “but in this case, they [Santilli] want a lot of outdoor facilities, which would need such a permit.  But before it can be approved, it needs to be considered by the Town Board.” 

The plan calls for 226 parking spots and a recharge basin – all of which have given local officials and residents cause for skepticism and concern, and not without reason.  The 44.5 acre site, located at 350 Old Northport Road at the intersection with Indian head Road, comes with a checkered past.  In 2008, the company was forced to pay a $275,000 fine for over-excavating on the property and in 2010, was fined an additional $200,000 for dumping illegal solid waste on the same lot. 

According to DeRubeis, Santilli’s plans for two large recharge basins, is something usually found near large areas containing impermeable surfaces, like parking lots, and is not something typically needed for constructions such as a sports complex.  DeRubeis plans to recommend to the Town Board that an Environmental Impact Study be done on the plan.

With residents aware of the company’s history in the area, Santilli’s sports complex plans could face opposition.  According to the Kings Park Civic Association, allowing for the construction of soccer and other outdoor activity fields would yield massive amounts of fertilizer, insecticides, and other toxic chemical treatments that could, potentially, effect the town drinking water.  A closer examination of Santilli’s proposal also raised awareness to its lack of public restrooms, a necessity for such a massive complex and its potential number of visitors. 

“We’re following everything that is going on with the special-use permit,” said Kings Park Civic Association President Sean Lehmann, who listed a few of the organization’s chief concerns.  “Santilli is claiming that he needs more clean-fill – concrete, rocks, and soil – for the construction, but is being monitored by the DEC [New York State Department of Environmental Conservation], which would hold him to only reaching 114 feet above sea level.  It’s another thing for us to watch.”

Lehmann continued, “Right now [Santilli] doesn’t have detailed plans for us to see, which is, probably, the largest concern among residents.  It’s tough not to have concrete plans to go over … The Civic Association had a meeting and we are actually concerned whether or not the construction is really going to happen, if it’s going to move forward.  In general, we would welcome sports playing fields in the community, but we want assurance that it would really move forward.”

He added, “We share the main concerns that the Town’s Planning Department has already expressed.”

Raising further concern is the property’s current status as a legal landfill under the DEC, the state agency that officially supervises any major construction.  According to their own mandates, any construction debris – including brick, concrete, soil, and rock – must be inspected and tested prior to building.  In the case of the Santilli property, such testing and “regrading” could take over a year. 

Santilli Commercial Developers’ request for a special-use permit was initially expected to be addressed at the February 23^rd meeting of the Smithtown Town Board, scheduled for 7:00pm at the Eugene A. Cannataro Senior Citizen Center on Middle Country Road.  As of this writing, however, the attorneys representing Santilli have made a formal request for an adjournment – aiming for March 22^nd.