HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB-12/05/2022 PH 1
TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK : STATE OF NEW YORK
2 ------------------------------------------- X
3
TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
4 PLANNING BOARD MEETING
5 KEY CAPTURE BATTERY ENERGY
STORAGE SITE PLAN
6
------------------------------------------- X
7
8
9 Southold, New York
10 December 5 , 2022
6 : 00 P .M.
11
12
13
B E F O R E :
14
15
Donald Wilcenski , Chairman
16
Martin Sidor , Member
17
Pierce Rafferty, Member
18
Mia Jealous-Dank, Member
19
20
Heather Lanza, Planning Director
21
Mark Terry, Assistant Planning Director
22
Mara Cerezo, Planner
23
Jessica Michaelis , Senior Office Assistant
24
25
December 5, 2022 2
1 KEY CAPTURE BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SITE PLAN
2 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : We have
3 one Public Hearing hearing tonight, and
4 this is for Key Capture Battery Energy
5 Storage Site Plan . This site plan is
6 for the construction of a 60 megawatt
7 lithium-ion battery energy storage
8 system, and a new Long Island Power
9 Authority Substation. The battery
10 storage facility is comprised of 272
11 battery energy storage container units ,
12 34 power conversion system units , a
13 1 , 000 square foot point of
14 interconnection building . The LIPA
15 substation will require a 2 . 54 acre
16 parcel to be created for LIPA ownership
17 and will contain a 392 square foot LIPA
18 substation building . Lighting masts and
19 a plus or minus 13 utility poles
20 connecting to County Route 48 by way of
21 an access easement over Southold Town
22 land. The parcel is plus or minus 27
23 acres in the Light Industrial Zoning
24 District . The property is located at
25 10750 Oregon Road, Cutchogue .
December 5, 2022 3
r
1 SCTM#1000-83-3-6 . 1 .
2 Before I open it up to the
3 Applicant ' s agent, I just want to make a
4 few comments . The ZBA had a hearing
5 last Thursday, which I ' m sure most of
6 you are aware of and attended, and we
7 have gotten information and have been
8 keeping abreast of -- of their public
9 hearing and what we ' ve brought to that .
10 Just to let everybody know. We ' ve
11 also -- so we also, I just wanted to
12 mention, we are running this process
13 concurrently with the ZBA. That ' s why
14 we ' re having this hearing at this time .
15 Some people have mentioned that why are
16 we having the Site Plan Hearing started,
17 but we are running this concurrent . A
18 couple of other points . We ' ve gotten
19 several letters , e-mails , faxes , phone
20 calls from numerous residents ,
21 environmental groups , as well as , the
22 Cutchogue Fire Department and many local
23 fire officials . Tonight, after this
24 hearing, the testimony from the public ,
25 which is you, I will ask the Board to
December 5, 2022 4
1 adjourn this hearing to a future date to
2 be determined . The Planning Board and
3 staff need ample time to gather both
4 technical and environmental information
5 about this project . Another note, it is
6 to be -- is that this Board is
7 responsible for the health, safety and
8 welfare to the residents of the Town of
9 Southold. And our job is to make sure
10 we stand by that . So with that , I would
11 like to open the floor up to the
12 Applicant , the Applicant ' s agent, so he
13 could give his presentation to the
14 Board. Just so everybody knows , this is
15 the first time that we are hearing this ,
16 other than paperwork. This is the first
17 time that the Applicant has spoken to
18 this Board. And all of his comments
19 will be made to the Board, and please ,
20 the audience refrain from asking
21 questions or making comments . Thank you .
22 JOHN ANZALONE : Good evening,
23 Chairman, Members of the Planning Board,
24 John Anzalone , Harris , LLC , 333 Earle
(' 25 Ovington Boulevard, Suite 901 ,
December 5, 2022 5
1 Uniondale , New York, 11553 . Attorney
2 for the Applicant . Thank you for the
3 opportunity to make this presentation to
4 you this evening . I am here with
5 respect to the Site Plan application for
6 a proposed BESS , battery energy storage
7 facility. Parcel is located within the
8 Light Industry Zone at Oregon Road in
9 Cutchogue , New York. The Applicant is
10 in contract to purchase . As indicated
11 in the plans before you, we have filed a
12 separate sketch plan submission, that
13 was previously considered by this Board.
l
14 The development for BESS requires a
15 subdivision of the property. Two lots .
16 The larger lot is approximately 25 acres
17 and owned by Key Capture Energy. And
18 will be developed with the BESS and a
19 project substation . The other lot would
20 approximately be ( inaudible ) by the
21 applicant ( inaudible ) requirement
22 ownership of this substation requires
23 subdivision, which in turn creates a
24 setback variances between the two
25 substations being sought by the Zoning
December 5, 2022 6
1 Board of Appeals . From the POI station,
2 this project will interconnect with the
3 electrical grid via new 1 , 150 foot long
4 transmission line . That will travel in
5 the south-easterly direction across the
6 neighboring mulching facility, Middle
7 Road. The utility scale at BESS must
8 interconnect with the existing power
9 grid. This requires that a BESS be
10 approximately with a high voltage
11 transmission lines for equal
12 distributing power . This in and of
13 itself necessarily limits the possible
14 location of such facility. Further,
15 BESS is best suited to be located as
16 close to as possible to existing load
17 centers , to limit the need for future
18 transmission upgrades , which will be
19 funded by LIPA rate fares . As will be
20 discussed shortly by Mr . Denara, the
21 Representative of Key Capture Energy,
22 this project will be able to handle a
23 portion of the North Fork ' s existing
24 load, as the power grid is predestined
25 to fully renewable energy in the coming
December 5, 2022 7
1 years . Mr . Denara will also discuss the
2 proposed use, operation and technology
3 of this facility . Before we hear from
4 Mr . Denara, I would like to note that we
5 received a copy of this Boards
6 recommendation to the Zoning Board of
7 Appeals . The Board made some standard
8 recommendations to the Zoning Board of
9 Appeals concerning the transmission
10 lines , which it requested being placed
11 underground, and that the light will be
12 reduced at night . The applicant and its
13 design professionals reviewed these
14 comments and determined that all can be
15 fully accommodated. Accordingly, all
16 utility lines will be underground and
17 the above ground transmission lines
18 depicted on the photo simulation will
19 not be obstructed. Here we note that
20 before the lights were massed that were
21 mounted on the POI station, H-frame,
22 will be replaced with freestanding
23 lighting mass on both sides of the
24 substation as the H-frame will no longer
25 be developed. The project engineer also
December 5, 2022 8
1 determined that the project can proceed
2 with lighting poles at 20 feet in
3 height . The plans before this Board
4 will be amended to reflect those
5 changes . At this time, I ' d like to turn
�6 the presentation over to Phil Denara of
7 Key Capture Energy, to discuss the
8 proposed operation and technology of the
9 facility and, , while I do that, I ' d like
10 to submit certain exhibits to the Board.
11 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
12 you .
13 PHIL DENARA: Thank you, John .
14 Good evening, Chairman, and Members of
15 the Board. For the record, my name is
16 Phil Denara, a senior manager of
17 development at Key Capture Energy . As a
18 brief introduction, Key Capture Energy,
19 you can go by KCE , is a developer/owner
20 and operator of utility scale BESS , is
21 the largest operational project in New
22 York, including facility known as KCE
23 New York 1 in Stillwater, just outside
24 of Saratoga . The Headquarters in Albany.
25 KCE is a startup New York business
December 5, 2022 9
1 partnered with SUNY Albany. We also
2 have an office in Brooklyn. We ' re
3 committed to supporting New York ' s
4 climate -- climate ' s Leadership and
5 Community Protection Act , the LCPA and
6 the Public Service Commission orders ,
7 establishing a statewide energy storage
8 bill and installing 1500 megawatts of
9 energy storage by 2025 and 3 , 000
10 megawatt of energy storage by 2030 .
11 Governor Hochul announced a doubling of
12 this goal to 6 , 000 megawatts by 2030
13 during her state of the state address
14 earlier this year in January. Long
15 Island ' s electric grid is rapidly
16 changing in the preparation of expected
17 wind and solar generation, and
18 retirements of aging generation plants .
19 A local grid will need fast responding-,
20 flexible resources , like battery storage
21 to accommodate these changes . I have a
22 family in this area, and I live in this
23 area. I ' m acutely aware of how
24 fantastic North Fork region is and
25 importance of preserving the natural
December 5, 2022 10
1 landscape and environmental and social
2 ecosystem. This is a great project
3 site . It is in an Industrial Zoning
4 District via a 27 acre parcel, 16 acres
5 of which are supposed to be left
6 undisturbed. The system is abutting the
7 landfill is unmanned. Hence no traffic .
8 Will not utilize lighting unless for
9 infrequent emergency nighttime
10 maintenance . Will have minimal impact
11 on the current public infrastructure . I
12 would also like to note that we heard
13 the Planning Board ' s comments as John
14 has already noted, and has determined
15 it ' s feasible to modify the product
16 design such that all overhead transition
17 lines on the property be underground.
18 The project will support a resilient and
19 reliable electric grid in North Fork,
20 will utilize local human labor to be
21 constructed and maintained, and will
22 significantly increase tax revenue
23 generated from the site . There are a
24 number of technical reports evidencing
25 the value of energy storage and
December 5, 2022 11
1 specifically battery storage . But for
2 today, I would like to cite the Long
3 Island Fossil Peaker Replacement Study
4 prepared by Strategen Consulting, on
5 behalf of the New York Battery and
6 Energy Storage Technology consortium,
7 known as New York BEST, which examined
8 the operations on Long Island ' s aging
9 fossil fuel power plants that operate
10 primarily during peak times . It is
11 feasible and cost effective to replace
12 more than 2300 megawatts of Long
13 Island ' s 4300 megawatts of fossil fuel
14 peaker plants with energy storage over
15 the next decade . It also found that
16 approximately half of the plants around
17 1100 megawatts , could be retired in the
18 face of energy storage by 2023 . The
19 remaining 1200 megawatts will be
20 replaced by 2030 , in conjunction with
21 New York State ' s plans to increase solar
22 energy, energy efficiency measures and
23 offshore wind resources . Over the next
24 decade, fossil peaker plants , the
25 replacement of fossil fuel peaker plants
December 5, 2022 12
1 could save LIPA payers as much as $393
2 million and contribute significantly to
3 reducing harmful air pollutants .
4 Battery energy storage has a rapid
5 response time , high safety and industry
6 proven reliability, and versatile
7 applications . In addition to supporting
8 the integration of renewable energy, the
9 project will provide ancillary services
10 to the New York independent system
11 operator, the wholesale market , which
12 will support local grid reliability.
13 For example, the North Fork today relies
14 on fossil peaker plants with minimum run
15 times as in the facility needs to burn
16 fuel just to start up . Provide
17 transient voltage recovery, known as
18 TRV, and other grid services . BESS
19 provide a cost-effective, sustainable
20 and reliable alternative, which will
21 benefit rate payers . A great example of
22 the benefits BESS can provide is KCE New
23 York 3 . The project KC built on behalf
24 of Orange and Rockland County utilities
25 through competitive ( inaudible ) large
December 5, 2022 13
-- 1 alternative, known as an NWA RP .
2 Provides support for its Pomona pocket
3 in and around New York in October of
4 2018 . Through its acquisition of the
5 project , ( inaudible ) costly and peak
6 demand infrastructure, and transmission
7 lines , which would have been charged to
8 its rate payers , while simultaneously
9 increasing system reliability and
10 reducing reliance on carbon emitting
11 resources . In 2020 , PSEG Long Island
12 released their request for information
13 to learn about alternatives available to
14 address the need for up to 130 megawatts
15 of NWA ' s , such as battery storage, in
16 the North Fork. Utility scale lithium
17 ion, such as the system utilized battery
18 cells similar to what is found in
19 electric vehicles . These cells are
20 arranged into modules , which have
21 sensors to monitor realtime conditions ,
22 such as temperature , voltage and state
23 of charge at the cell level , within the
24 enclosed system. These modules are
25 placed into racks . They are built into
December 5, 2022 14
1 containers custom designed for the need
2 of the BESS . Putting sensors ,
3 communications and control equipment and
4 specialized fire detection and
5 suppression equipment . The system will
6 comply with various pro -- require codes
7 and standards , that responsible energy
8 storage system utilize, including the
9 International Fire Code, International
10 Building Code , the New York State
11 Storage Supplements , the National Fire
12 Protection Association, NFPA B55 and
13 underwriter laboratories , U95 48 and
14 9540 . The batteries have already been
15 deployed in a wide range of energy
16 storage applications , including
17 batteries of ( inaudible) hours mounted
18 on residences and EV park and charging
19 in garages . Key Capture Energy is the
20 industry leader , such a local footprint
21 and the largest operating project in the
22 state and growing portfolio projects
23 throughout the country. They have
24 completed and look forward to continued
25 engagement with the local community.
December 5, 2022 15
1 This includes work sessions with the
2 North Fork Audubon Society, Citizens
3 Campaign for the Environment ,
4 ( inaudible ) the East End, and upcoming
5 meeting with the Civic -- the Civic
6 Association. Thank you for your time
7 and consideration today.
8 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
9 you .
10 JOHN ANZALONE : Thank you, Bill .
11 Before I go into the compliance with the
12 site plan objectives , the Town Code,
13 it ' s important to put the improvements
14 in context as they relate to the overall
15 property. At this time , I would like to
16 call Joel Richardson, a professional
17 engineer, H2M Architects and Engineers
18 and walk through the site plan, the
19 location of the improvements and the
20 landscape that is proposed to BESS .
21 JOEL RICHARDSON : Good evening . My
22 name is Joel Richardson. I ' m a civil
23 engineer with H2M Architects and
24 Engineers . I prepared the site plans
25 submitted to Planning Department . As
December 5, 2022 16
1 John and Bill have discussed earlier ,
2 the property is 27 acre site . Is
3 currently used as a sod farm, previously
4 and developed. The proposed use is a
5 battery energy storage system. It ' s
6 composed of a BESS development . It
7 consists of 272 individual computer
8 battery units , combined with 34 power
9 conversion system units that are located
10 central to the overall project site .
11 The property is proposed to be
12 subdivided into two lots . One to
13 contain the BESS and also a project
14 substation that would be located
15 adjacent to the BESS development . And
16 the second lot would be a 2 . 5 acre or a
17 POI or project -- or point of
18 interconnection . The BESS development in
19 itself would be contained within a
20 partial visual and sound barrier. The
21 sound barrier is proposed to enclose the
22 north east and west portions of the BESS
23 development . The remainder of the BESS
24 development would be enclosed within a
25 ( inaudible ) chain link . Joint access
December 5, 2022 17
1 pride is proposed to extend to Oregon
2 Road, to provide access for BESS
3 development itself , and also for the POI
4 substation . As John will mentioned,
5 there ' s limited traffic associated with
6 this project . On average one vehicle
7 trip per month, and that ' s for
8 maintenance . The proposed pavement is
9 decomposed by the proposed pavement
10 within the BESS and the access road,
11 proposed to be constructed of RCA for
12 the access drive and crushed stone
13 within the BESS development . Drainage
14 systems for the overall development will
15 consist of catch basins and dry wells .
16 Will be sized and constructed and comply
17 with Town of Southold drainage criteria,
18 as well as , New York State Drainage
19 Code . Site lighting was initially
20 proposed in compliance with Town Code
21 at a 30 foot lighting mass , the lighting
22 full height . We know that there ' s been
23 some concern over the height of the
24 light pole . We worked with our lighting
25 designers , who determined that a 20 foot
December 5, 2022 18
1 light pole would be sufficient to
2 provide lighting to the light . But it
3 should be noted, that the lighting is
4 intended for nighttime emergency
5 operations . It ' s not going to be on
6 for, you know, regular operations . It
7 would be activated only when personnel
8 use active . I have a -- in front of the
9 site plan, that I ' d be happy to share .
10 Also have visualizations that render the
11 proposed development from the adjoining
12 road way.
13 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : And
14 maybe someone from your team could just
15 set the posters up over here? So we can
16 see them, and then you can continue with
17 your explanation .
18 JOEL RICHARDSON: All right . The
19 first sheet that I have is site plan
20 that was submitted to the Town . As you
21 can see , the central portion of the site
22 is the array of battery units surrounded
23 by the visual and sound barrier .
24 Immediately south of the BESS array are
25 -- more easterly is the project
December 5, 2022 19
1 substation . And the west -- immediately
2 west of the project, is the POI .
3 Running off the page to the southwest of
4 the property, is the interconnection to
5 the LIPA -- existing LIPA transmission
6 line . Proposed to run through the
7 Town ' s mulching facilities . You can
8 also see on this plan, that the access
9 drive that extends out to Oregon Road.
10 We ' ve submitted a subdivision
11 application, and we received some --
12 some feedback from the Town on the site
13 plan and the subdivision application .
14 That are directing us to reconfigure the
15 alignment of the ( inaudible ) minimizing
16 impact as well . So depicted on this
17 plan sheet is a proposed hedgerow along
18 the north and west sides of the BESS
19 development itself . The hedgerow
20 planting strategy is used to create a
21 natural looking buffer that would fit in
22 with the surrounding area . It ' s
23 comprised of a variety of plantings ,
24 including deciduous trees with strong
25 branching character and a mix of
December 5, 2022 20
1 deciduous and evergreen shrubs . We
2 proposed -- the proposed hedgerow
3 includes 2.8 deciduous trees , 71
4 evergreen trees and 196 shrubs . The
5 variety of plantings was intended to be
6 consistent with the natural character of
7 the area . This visual is based on a
8 photograph that was taken from Oregon
9 Road. Looking due south towards the
10 BESS development . It was actually
11 zoomed in quite a bit from the original
12 photograph and rendering . And what ' s
13 visible are the proposed evergreen
14 plantings and deciduous plantings . The
15 rendering has actually been taken at a
16 leaf off period. So we -- we removed all
17 the leaves from the deciduous trees .
18 Kind of representing a worst case
19 wintertime scenario . You can also see
20 directly behind the line of planting is
21 of -- the visual and sound barrier for
22 what we call . It ' s green in color, but
23 the -- the color it -- it ' s a powder
24 coated finish . So the color can be
25 selected to be whatever would be most
December 5, 2022 21
1 suitable to the Town. You can also see
2 behind the BESS development, the
3 overhead wires and the H-frames and the
4 transmission lines . It ' s difficult to
5 see from where I 'm standing, but there ' s
6 also the light poles and the lightning
7 mass that are visible in this image . But
8 as John had mentioned earlier, we ' re
9 proposing to go with an underground
10 transmission line connection, and
11 removing the H-frames and lowering the
12 lighting mass , and lowering the light
13 poles . So many of the most obvious
14 features of these renderings , will be
15 diminished. You wanna go to the next?
16 So this is actually that same image, but
17 from the actual perspective on Oregon
18 Road. So although it ' s a little bit
19 difficult to see again from where I ' m
20 standing, the actual BESS development is
21 where your hand is hovering right . You
22 can see the impression from Oregon Road.
23 UNKNOWN SPEAKER: How far
24 ( inaudible ) .
25 JOEL RICHARDSON : I can look on the
December 5, 2022 22
1 site plan, but it ' s over 1 , 000 . Were
2 there any other visual renderings?
3 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Not in -- not
4 in this particular file that I clicked
5 on.
6 JOEL RICHARDSON : All right . I
7 also have images taken from the
8 intersection of Oregon and Depot and
9 they ' re very, very similar in context .
10 The image from Depot, you would -- you
11 would note that the existing standup
12 trees in the south and west of the BESS
13 development is during all of the
14 substation construction. But there ' s a
15 hedgerow of the same character and
16 design, and running along the west side
17 of that . The image in front of you
18 right now is the image from Depot Road.
19 Again, this is taken significantly away
20 from the street of the -- the line of
21 trees and shrub screening the visual and
22 sound barriers a little bit . Again, we
23 selected these images as they were the
24 most prominent ( inaudible ) from which
25 the project would be. This is from the
December 5, 2022 23
1 intersection of Depot and Oregon.
2 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
3 you .
4 JOEL RICHARDSON : Thank you .
5 JOHN ANZALONE : Thank you, Joel .
6 The project complies site plan --
7 actually, before I mention that, let me
8 start off by saying that all these
9 renderings we ' ve shown you are actually
10 part of the expanding EA and the site
11 plan that we were actually on file with
12 the Town. Also with respect to what I
13 filed earlier , that ' s a copy of the
14 Cutchogue zoning map, which is of course
15 part of the Town record. An aerial
16 photograph from Google, which is showing
17 the immediate surrounding area, as well
18 as , the ( inaudible ) and also the
19 reported strategy that Bill mentioned in
20 his testimony . Now the project complies
21 with the Site Plan Review objectives
22 contained in Town Code Section 280 . 129 .
23 White the traffic expert, the project is
24 designed with one curb cut common access
25 provided the full plot pursuant to an
December 5, 2022 24
1 easement in favor of LIPA. For the goal
2 of minimizing curb cuts along Oregon
3 Road, as well as , the effect of the curb
4 cut would be doubled, if we had to build
5 two curb cuts for each lot . The project
6 will be generated approximately one
7 vehicle trip per month for routine
8 maintenance . And as such, the proposed
9 BESS will not create traffic congestion
10 or traffic hazard. As Joel mentioned,
11 the project and the design is
12 applicable to light safety codes and
13 engineer to allow the first responders
14 to access and maneuver about the site in
15 case of emergency. As noted by Joel ,
16 landscaping and screening have been
17 provided for the project along -- well
18 from Oregon Road. The site frontage, as
19 well as , the sod farm to the
20 east . Proposed improvements on site are
21 located in areas that were clear cut
22 decades ago, eliminating their natural
23 character , and the remaining existing
24 trees on site will be maintained to the
25 maximum extent that is feasible . So the
December 5, 2022 25
1 remaining natural features on the site,
2 the site is generally flat and no
3 substantial regrading is required. The
4 contains no wetlands , and over 50 feet
5 above sea level and there were no flat
6 hazard areas on the site . Site contains
7 no dune, bluffs , beaches or cliffs and
8 the contiguous woodland area on the site
9 will be maintained. There will be a
10 limited water use associated with
11 establishing and maintaining proposed
12 vegetation, but there will be no
13 sanitary waste that will enter the
14 groundwater through the septic system.
15 The operation of the BESS will also
16 involve no hazardous air emissions . Its
17 application will be supplemented with a
18 third-party hazardous mitigation
19 analysis . That will address among other
20 things , concerns raised bu the Zoning
21 Board of Appeals regarding what the
22 potential impacts on groundwater, air
23 quality will occur -- that could occur
24 in the unlikely event of fire at the
25 facility. As noted by Joel , RCA
December 5, 2022 26
1 pavement is proposed for all on-site
2 roads , alongside the BESS project
3 substation enclosure, there will be
4 crushed stone pavement . Further, as
5 noted earlier , except in rare
6 circumstances when necessary to service
7 the project outside of its normal
8 daytime service hours , there will be no
9 on-site lighting utilized. Given the
10 large setbacks , all lighting to
11 neighboring properties , there will be no
12 adverse impacts associated with on-site
13 lighting. And the subsite lighting will
14 comply with all Town Code regulations .
15 There will be no public address intercom
16 or sound system on site. All necessary
17 public utilities are accounted for and
18 will be grounded underground. There are
19 no recommendations during the site , the
20 Town ' s farmland protection strategy,
21 Comprehensive Plan or Cutchogue Hamlet .
22 Further the scale of the product is
23 small for the overall site of the
24 property. As Bill mentioned actually,
25 the majority of the property will be
December 5, 2022 27
1 left as disturbed state . The project is
2 far less intensive that as of right for
3 the Industrial Zone . After
4 construction, the project will be
5 unmanned and controlled, monitored
6 remotely. In addition to limited water
7 use and no sanitary discharge, it will
8 also provide no production of garbage .
9 Noise improvements limits the liquid
10 cooling pump and BESS modules in the
11 medium voltage and power conversion
12 system. This is a ( inaudible ) by the
13 proposed ( inaudible ) that was detailed
14 by Joel and screened by vegetation. The
15 project is also less intensive than what
16 currently exists in the property Light
17 Industrial Zoning District in the
18 surrounding Industrial Zone area, which
19 outside of a church, a few residents --
20 residential parcels along Mill Road.
21 Fairly defined by the boundaries of Cox
22 Lane, Middle Road and Oregon Road. The
23 area is dominated by the land fill . The
24 ( inaudible ) which are clearly visible
25 behind the property to the south along
December 5, 2022 28
1 Oregon Road. The Light Industrial Park
2 -- Park District is by used by the sod
3 farm, takes up the western portion of
4 the south side of the frontage along
5 Oregon Road in this area . The subject
6 parcel is basically located in the
7 middle of the frontage on the balance of
8 the south side of Oregon Road.
9 Immediately, the east and northeast .
10 The site are two industrial
11 developments . A circa mid 1970
12 warehouse . The new South Fork warehouse
13 complex, including double large
14 buildings , the block warehouse and
15 self-storage warehouses preclude
16 vehicles traveling west from Oregon or
17 looking into the subject site, and we
18 submitted photograph that depicts that
19 today. Vehicles traveling east on Oregon
20 Lane, ( inaudible ) the platform onto a
21 clear area that continues until it
22 reaches a large concrete block retaining
23 wall that was installed as part of the
24 sub-complex. Photographs and conditions
25 were also submitted today. Continuing
December 5, 2022 29
1 down Oregon Road, next to the
2 self-storage complex, is what the Town
3 Assessor classifies as an "other storage
4 uses . " And based on aerial photographs ,
5 what can be seen from the road beyond
6 the existing vegetative buffer is an
7 industrial structure . The land that is
8 currently built with unattached
9 trailers , passenger vehicles not bearing
10 license plates and other vehicles and
11 equipment . Beyond that, at the corner
12 of Oregon Road and Cox Lane , business
13 center, a multi tenant office
14 facility. Along Cox Lane, there was
15 among other things , sanitation transfer
16 station, contractor yards , a shopping
17 center at intersection of Middle Road.
18 Sitting along Mill Road, there ' s a
19 contractor yard, which includes a cell
20 tower that is visible from the property,
21 from Oregon Road. The Town landfill ,
22 residential related use as I noted
23 earlier, followed by the Town ' s
24 multi-facility. Proceeding towards
25 Depot Lane in the Light Industrial Zone ,
December 5, 2022 30
1 there ' s a self storage facility at the
2 corner of Depot . And Middle Road, is an
3 outdoor storage facility . Continuing
4 along Depot, there ' s another multi
5 tenant office building and the materials
6 on the site . This is followed by the sod
7 farm, beyond that, which is the
8 Mattituck ( inaudible ) Service building,
9 which is set back less than half the
10 distance from the BESS is proposed at .
11 And as the case here is generally well
12 screened behind evergreen planting. As
13 a result of the screening, and the
14 elimination of overhead wires and poles
15 associated with them, there will be no
16 significant adverse impacts associated
17 with design. Especially compared to
18 alternative uses permitted by the Town
19 Code, as of right . Including but not
20 limited to, private or public
21 warehouses , such as immediately east and
22 northeast of the property over Oregon
23 Road. Material storage yards and office
r
24 buildings , which are all existing uses
25 in the immediately surrounding
December 5, 2022 31
1 Industrial Zone Area. Product is
2 compatible with neighboring commercially
3 industrially sanitary and municipal
4 uses . Right on the property . Will also
5 not impact the existing agricultural
6 uses in the area . Particularly the sod
7 farm that abuts it . Moreover , the
8 agricultural lands are zoned Light
9 Industrial Park Land, Park District and
10 the proposed use will not prevent the
11 ordinary development in that zoning
12 district . The project will also serve
13 the health and safety needs of the
14 surrounding communities , and the rest of
15 the Town, by storing energy generated by
16 wind, solar and other electrical
17 generating uses , that are being brought
18 into life by this grid, which is
19 consistent with the Town ' s designation
20 and the climate smart community, the
21 Town ' s related goals of reducing
22 greenhouse gasses , and establishing
23 other efficiencies in the Town . The
24 project will help displace electricity
25 generator by existing peaker plants as
December 5, 2022 32
1 noted by' Phil . For these reasons , we
2 respectfully the request the Board
3 should approve the site plan application
4 after the submission of revised plans ,
5 supplemented mental materials . We, of
6 course , are available to answer any
7 questions the Board may have and
8 respectfully request the opportunity to
9 address any questions or comments that
10 are raised.
11 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
12 you . I think it for now, for some of the
13 people who just got in here a little
14 late , I 'm just gonna reiterate the fact
15 that this is very preliminary. This is
16 the first time we ' ve had the
17 presentation . I know the team had made
18 some references to comments made from
19 the Planning staff . Those again, were
20 very preliminary. We are running this
21 concurrently with the ZBA. But the --
22 let it be known, that this -- there will
23 be -- we are adjourning this Public
24 Hearing tonight . We need to gather a lot
25 more information about the systems , the
December 5, 2022 33
1 safety and such about this whole
2 project . So again, just for some of you
3 just got here , we are going to adjourn
4 this after everyone has an opportunity
5 to speak tonight . Realize that
6 everything is being recorded. All of
7 your comments and questions , please
8 direct them to the Board. They ' re being
9 recorded and they will be answered as
10 this process moves on . With that, I
11 would like to open up the floor and if
12 anyone who would like to address the
13 Board, please address the Board. I
14 don ' t want to get into a question and
15 answer with the applicant or the
16 applicant ' s agent . This is the
17 beginning stages of this process . So
18 please address the Board with your
19 comments and write your name and state
20 your name for the record as you --
21 actually, after you . So we can use both
22 podiums . Thank you.
23 STEPHEN KIELY : Good evening, Mr.
24 Chairman and rest of the Board . My name
25 is Stephen Kiely, 16045 Main Road in
December 5, 2022 34
1 Mattituck. I 'm here tonight to address
2 your letter of support in November 28 ,
3 2022 to the ZBA, the Special Exception
4 Application for Public Utility.
5 Respectfully requesting that you
6 consider withdrawing the same as it is
7 premature . Admittedly, this is the first
8 time the Board is hearing this
9 application in the concurrent posture .
10 I 'm unsure how you could recommend
11 support without even being exposed to
12 the project, other than the preliminary
13 file as you -- you reference , this is
14 very in it ' s very preliminary stage.
15 Further, while I appreciate the Board
16 referencing the Comprehensive Plan and
17 your support of that application, as it
18 is critical that you as a Board and
.19 other town decision makers be guided by
20 the Comprehensive Plan. I 'm concerned
21 that only two objectives of Chapter 6
22 entitled, "Natural Resources and
23 Environment" were referenced. Ones that
24 I argue are misplaced. Referenced Rule
25 Number 6 , take action against climate
December 5, 2022 35
1 change by reducing energy consumption.
2 Chapter 6 . 7 , ensure maximum efficiency
3 when citing major energy generating
4 facilities . Objective 6 . 10 , participate
5 in regional energy planning initiatives
6 and program. And again, I think those
7 are admiral goals , admiral objectives ,
8 but I think it ' s a little misplaced
9 here . If you just -- the goals came for
10 one opportunity . I just wanna submit
11 for your consideration other objectives
12 and references from the Comprehensive
13 Plan that I believe are more applicable
14 and necessary to be taken into account,
15 as you decide the applications in front
16 of you, and then making a recommendation
17 for the Zoning. So I ' m just gonna run
18 real quick through these . If you look at
19 Chapter 3 , Land Use and Zoning.
20 Existing conditions , land use . One of
21 the defining features of the character
22 of Southold is its agriculture, which
23 helps keep the Town ' s economy
24 diversified and strong. Residential
25 uses is the largest land use category in
December 5, 2022 36
1 Southold. Second largest land use
2 category in Southold is agriculture .
3 And 300 of the land or just over 10 , 000
4 acres . A high percentage of town land
5 and agriculture reflects a current
6 cultural heritage as valued and
7 represents a distinguishing aspect of
8 the North Fork of Long Island.
9 Preservation of the character of the
10 Town has been and continues to be the
11 goal of Southold ' s vision for its
12 future . Those are not my words . Those
13 are the words of the Comprehensive Plan .
14 And we look specifically to Cutchogue .
15 Cutchogue has the highest amount of
16 potential growth, which is mainly due to
17 a very large area of undeveloped
18 industrial land on the north side of
19 Suffolk County Route 48 bounded by Depot
20 Road and Cox Lane and Oregon Road, as
21 well as , a significant amount of
22 undeveloped land Zoned Hamlet Business .
23 When you look further in the land use
24 and zoning, there is more of the Town
25 Board, as the ones who control the
December 5, 2022 37
1 Zoning Code . Review zoning for
2 Commercial and Industrial Districts .
3 Why is that? Because the current zone
4 is probably inappropriate for Light
5 Industrial in the Oregon Road area .
6 This is still Land Use and Zoning
7 Chapter . Protect the Town . Southold
8 retains much of a small town charm.
9 Many factors contribute to quality of
10 life, food. The Town ' s scenic , cultural,
11 natural resource . Goal 6 , protect and
12 enhance the Town ' s natural resources and
13 environment. Protect land based natural
14 resources , including agricultural soils ,
15 natural habitat, wildlife . My
16 understanding that this is a farm.
17 That ' s agriculture . That should remain
18 in agriculture . I know that ' s a little
19 more topic . Goal Number 9 , retain and
20 advance business of agriculture . Goal
21 Number 10 , continue to preserve farmland
22 and open space . Now, I want to just hit
23 on specifically, and I ' m not gonna take
24 up much more time, but this kind of
25 building -- this is particularly to
December 5, 2022 38
1 Cutchogue . Cutchogue has the fourth
2 largest amount of existing commercial/
3 industrial building area in the Town .
4 Under current zoning, if all of that
5 land is zoned, the use that were
6 developed with full potential , the
7 result could be eight times the existing
8 amount of commercial building. This
9 large amount of potential future
10 commercial/industrial development,
11 mostly due to the large undeveloped
12 parcels in the industrial park north of
13 County Route 48 , which again is this
14 specific area . Now, the goal/issues for
15 Cutchogue, the first sentence,
16 preserving farmland and farming are
17 important for the future of Cutchogue .
18 A, preserve farmland and business
19 agriculture . I ' m going to the Community
20 Character Chapter of the Comprehensive
21 Plan. Goal Number 1 , of Community
22 Character, protect scenic resources .
23 And scenic quality is one of its most
24 important economic and social assets .
25 Don ' t get much clearer than that .
December 5, 2022 39
1 Objective 1 . 1 , identify important scenic
2 resource . Objective 1 . 2 , manage
3 important scenic resources . Avoid or
4 minimizing impacts of structures or
5 activities that introduce visual
6 interruptions to important scenic
7 resources . Oregon Road, it is the most
8 beautiful world within this township.
9 Without a doubt . Number 5 , work with
10 New York State Department of
11 Environmental Conservation . That has
12 been made in compatible uses within a
13 scenic by-way and important scenic view
14 sheds as Type I actions under the SEQRA
15 to better -- to achieve better
16 assessment of scenic impacts . I mean --
17 Objective 1 . 2 of managing important
18 resources . Strengthen the management of
19 important scenic view sheds from State
20 Route 25 Route 48 and other town roads .
21 That ' s Oregon Road. Objective 1 . 3 , to
22 preserve land containing important
23 scenic resources . Continue to preserve
24 important scenic business for community
25 preservation project plant funds . I know
December 5, 2022 40
1 that ' s outside your jurisdiction . But
2 the Town Board should listen instead of
3 considering making an offer on this
4 property. That ' s the purpose of CPF .
5 Goal Number 4 in Community Character,
6 protect natural heritage . The purposes
7 of this chapter, natural heritage
8 consists of landscapes and waterscape of
9 outstanding universal value . In terms of
10 ecology, conservation and natural
11 beauty . Natural heritage includes not
12 only the typical natural resources of
13 flora, fauna and agricultural soils --
14 agricultural soils . Also of the idea of
15 a working land. Goal Number 5 , protect
16 unique character of individual hamlets .
17 Protect agricultural lands in Southold
18 Town . Amend current regulations to
19 further support agriculture . I ' m in the
20 land resource, I ' m almost done . I ' m
21 sorry. Land resources . The historic
22 development pattern of the Town evolved
23 around the vast areas of prime
24 agricultural soils and environmentally
25 sensitive soils . Goal Number 1 , protect
December 5, 2022 41
1 soils and geologic features . Objective
2 1 . 1 , protect agricultural soils from
3 conversion to other land uses . Protect
4 agricultural soils from conversion to
5 other land uses . Continue to preserve
6 prime agricultural soils . Soils of
7 statewide importance for agricultural
8 purposes through land preservation .
9 Objective 6 . 5 in the natural resources
10 and environment section. This is very
11 pertinent . Expand renewable energy
12 opportunities that provide direct
13 benefit to citizens while ensuring
14 quality of life . What is the direct
15 benefit for the residents of the Town of
16 Southold? What is it? I ' m here in North
17 Fork. I ' m here in the rest of Suffolk
18 County. I ' m here in New York. But
19 they -- what is sighted on a bucolic
20 street, one of our most beautiful
21 assets , that ' s where they want to site
22 this . But I don ' t see a direct benefit
23 to citizens , and ensure quality of life .
24 By taking that AG property off Oregon
25 Road and turning it into an industrial
December 5, 2022 42
1 battery storage place, that does not
2 ensure quality of life . Negatively
3 impacted for them. Within that same
4 section, it says protect scenic , natural
5 and cultural resource while planning for
6 the provision of adequate energy for the
7 future . I don ' t think anyone in here is
8 stating that they don ' t think this is a
9 good idea . And you know, we need to do
10 something to protect the environment in
11 the long term. Yeah . But your job as
12 the Planning Board is to look at the
13 site . The site is wholly inappropriate .
14 And again, I think that I hoping, you
15 know, take my request seriously that you
16 withdraw the letter of support . That
17 presents , you know, very persuasive on
18 the . Zoning Board of Appeals , when they
19 have that in their pocket, and just say
20 it was premature . And like to revisit
21 it based on public comment, based on the
22 application. Within 11 , protect scenic
23 natural cultural resources . Protect
24 scenic quality is important to the
25 community from public vantage points
December 5, 2022 43
1 including New York State Route 25 and
2 Suffolk County Route 48 , when locating
3 energy generating or transmission
4 facilities . On point in the
5 Comprehensive Plan . Just there for you .
6 To guide you. Protect natural resources
7 and environmental qualities while
8 locating energy generating
9 transmissions . And what they say is ,
10 they give you a list of mitigating
11 adverse impact through varying
12 transmission line, as they had spoken
13 about . Supporting innovative designs ,
14 reporting large step that require
15 location. Requiring location or
16 outright denial . That ' s in the
17 Comprehensive Plan . You have that in
18 your toolbox to address this concern .
19 Protect natural resources and
20 environmental qualities . Discourage
21 facilities from locating in designated
22 environmentally sensitive areas . I know
23 this isn ' t designated by any formal
24 process . But ask every resident here,
25 ask every one of them here, it ' s an
December 5, ' 2022 44
1 environmentally sensitive area . I
2 purposely, when I go to ( inaudible )
3 take Oregon Road, because it is like
4 going back in time . And I -- and it ' s
5 really refreshing . And just to have
6 this year, is just a slap in the face .
7 Protect the scenic resource, and ensure
8 maximum efficiency when citing major you
9 references . These two, which again, I
10 don ' t think is that applicable . Then
11 last thing I wanna state, this is in the
12 agricultural chapter. Continue to
13 protect farmland from conversion to
14 non-agricultural uses . This is all in
15 here . This is all for you . That can
16 ( inaudible ) used to make your
17 decisions . Please don ' t ignore it and
18 utilize it . And this Town, as we stated
19 from the beginning, is -- it ' s soul is
20 agriculture . Just take that into
21 account .
22 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
23 you . Yes , please state your name and
24 write your name for the record, and
25 address the Board, please .
4
December 5, 2022 45
1 DORIS MCGREEVY : Doris McGreevy.
2 I ' d like to begin by saying, I ' m a
3 member of the Land Preservation
4 Committee . And I ' m not speaking for
5 them. But I ' ve spent many time , many
6 hours reviewing a lot of land that was
7 proposed conservation . On Oregon Road,
8 there are five different areas there
9 that have been preserved across the way .
10 Either through Suffolk County or the
11 Town . And I think that ' s very notable
12 that the Town and Suffolk County has
13 spent time focusing on what Steve had
14 mentioned, the agricultural nature . For
15 an agricultural community. And you know,
16 remain that way, as well as , tourism.
17 There ' s one thing that hasn ' t been
18 brought up, and I wanted to bring this
19 to your attention. New York State has
20 Scenic Byway Program. And you have to,
21 the Town has to apply for it . There are
22 only about 25 scenic byways in New York
23 State . And North Fork is one of them.
24 And I don ' t know if you remember Valerie
25 Lopez , but she was , at that time,
December 5, 2022 46
1 focused on getting the Southold Town and
2 its beautiful areas on the scenic byway.
3 And one of the scenic things it says
4 here is -- she and the committee put in
5 231 pages of managing scenic byway. Now,
6 when you think of New York State and
7 only 25 scenic byways , this is important
8 and this is special . And then they went
9 on to say, what is the scenic byway? And
10 they declined. It has to have a theme .
11 And olive theme in Southold Town is
12 scenic to start and recreational .
13 Suffolk County -- It ' s called Suffolk
14 County North Fork Trail . And it carries
15 visitors from Southold to Oregon Point
16 through a series of charming outlets ,
17 past renowned wineries , spans of farms
18 and wild wetlands . This is all mingled
19 with intimate glimpses of the ocean
20 beaches and maritime life . Finishing
21 with an uninterrupted view of the
22 Atlantic Ocean stretching out to the
23 horizon . New York State scenic byway
24 guidelines are flexible, but the local
25 county and state roads are eligible . A
December 5, 2022 47
1 byway is organized around at least the
2 one theme , a theme is based on related
3 resources that are located along the
4 byway corridor . And it goes on and on.
5 But I won ' t spend that much time on it .
6 But what I will tell you is , Oregon Road
7 is on Page 9 of the analysis . They
8 mentioned Oregon Road from Cutchogue to
9 Mattituck. And I ' m quoting, "whereas
10 four lane roof ( inaudible ) and its broad
11 business of open farms , wineries and
12 occasional roof subdivision, presents
13 the modern incarnation of Southold ' s
14 agricultural heritage . Through lane
15 Oregon Road provides a glimpse of
16 Southold ' s agricultural past . In
17 addition to the broad farmland vistas ,
18 Oregon Road is notable for its fine old
19 farm houses , which are often framed by
20 stands of mature hardwood trees . Oregon
21 Road is also a town designated bike
22 way. Then they go on to mention the
23 water from Southold. Southold ' s water
24 supply is another potential development
25 constraint . The only source of potable
December 5, 2022 48
1 water to the Town is fresh groundwater
2 provided by the upper glacial
3 aquifer . So the water is an important
4 thing . So if something should -- God
5 forbid, leak in that BESS arrangement ,
6 we ' ve be in a lot of trouble . In
7 addition, local civic groups such as
8 Peconic Land Trust and the North Fork
9 Environmental Council , will continue to
10 address issues of open space
11 preservation and environmental
12 stewardship. And at the ZBA, Anne Murray
13 spoke on behalf of the North Fork
14 Environmental Council . Because they are
15 supposed to be monitoring this as well ,
16 to make sure that the byway, the scenic
17 byway is just the way it is for
18 generations to come . Thank you .
19 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
20 you . Can I just a quick hand of how
21 many people want to speak? Okay.
22 Because I just wanted -- I don ' t wanna
23 limit anybody, but if somebody has said
24 something that you wanted to say,
25 don ' t -- I 'm not gonna stop you from
December .5, 2022 49
1 coming to the podium, but just be aware
2 of time in order to give everyone else a
3 chance . Yes , sir?
4 DAVE BERGEN : Dave Bergen from
5 Cutchogue . I am interim president of
6 the Cutchogue Civic Association . I ' m
7 here tonight , not speak for or speaking
8 against this application .
9 Mr . Chairman at the ZBA hearing the
10 other day, the Chairwoman said that this
11 was -- has been already designated as
12 Type I action of the SEQRA. And the
13 Planning Board is the lead agency for
14 this ; is that correct?
15 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Yes .
16 DAVE BERGEN : Could you explain
17 briefly to the audience? So that
18 everybody understands what that involves
19 and how long that might take?
20 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : It
21 would take a very long time . It would
22 take a lot of letters out to different
23 agencies , a lot more environmental
24 studies . And it was just a lot more in
25 depth process . .
December 5, 2022 50
1 DAVE BERGEN: So I -- I don ' t know
2 Mr . Chairman from your experience, just
3 approximately how long would this take?
4 Because I think . the audience , you know,
5 I don ' t know how far out --
6 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : We
7 can ' t answer that . Just like I said at
8 the opening, this is kind of just --
9 it ' s your turn to speak, but I just want
10 to bring up the fact that this is
11 morphed into a lot bigger than we even
12 imagine . Just so everybody understands
13 that . So, you know, this is something
14 that we haven ' t faced in this Town . So
15 we ' re all learning as we go along. And
16 quite frankly, us sending that letter to
17 the ZBA in support of this , we ' re gonna
18 revisit that . .
19 DAVE BERGEN : Thank you . And you ' re
20 repeating what the Chairwoman said the
21 other day, the ZBA, that this is
22 something new. This is new technology.
23 This is something that wasn ' t really
24 thought of before, complications that
25 arise from that . My second question, I
December 5, 2022 51
1 know in my employment history, I was at
2 -- in charge of Emergency Management for
3 Suffolk Community Colleges Ammerman
4 Campus . And the ZBA hearing there , the
5 applicant stated that emergency response
6 plan has not been developed yet for ,
7 this . And I would suggest to this Board
8 that that an ERP be required for this .
9 And as part of that ERP, obviously input
10 from the local fire department , the
11 police department . And I know the Town
12 has an Emergency Management Committee .
13 And maybe even for that committee to be
14 able to review and provide some input to
15 this Board, to assist with all the
16 concerns that I ' m sure people are gonna
17 be talking about tonight from a safety.
18 Thank you so much.
19 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
20 you very much .
21 TRACY BURGESS LEVY : Good evening.
22 My name is Tracy Burgess Levy. I live
23 in Laurel . I want to know why such a
24 large facility is being proposed on
25 essentially farmland? If you ' re going to
December 5, 2022 52
1 commit environmentally dangerous large
2 lithium storage, why aren ' t you breaking
3 it up and putting it in already existing
4 industrial facilities? AKA substations?
5 There ' s a substation in Jamesport .
6 There are two substations in Greenport .
7 I take issue with what the applicant
8 said, that there is no other source to
9 get this energy into the area. I ' ve
10 worked in utilities for the better part
11 of 20 years . And I ' m in utility of
12 civil construction now. So I have 30
13 years on the Long Island Power
14 Authority. Key Span, LIPA, every
15 iteration that ' s been there . And now I 'm
16 with another construction company. You
17 actually have the old managed
18 ( inaudible ) and Old Sound Avenue . By
19 putting everything in one area, you are
20 not improving the resiliency of the
21 electrical system at all . What if the
22 distribution line goes down? What if the
23 sub transmission line goes down into
24 that? You ' ve lost it . I mean that
25 battery storage station does nothing to
December 5, 2022 53
1 you. Battery storage is also -- it ' s
2 not -- it ' s not -- it ' s peak
3 generation. But peak generation is like
4 this . This . It can provide energy to
5 between 14 and 16 , 000 houses for a
6 couple of hours . You ' re gonna ruin the
7 beautiful vistas on Oregon Road for a
8 couple of hours? I mean, quite
9 honestly, I ' m offended that this , you
10 know, this business has come, of course .
11 And I know you ' re the Planning Board.
12 So I 'm supposed to give reasons why you
13 have to think about this . I think it ' s
14 appalling that they walked in here
15 originally with an overhead coal plan .
16 If they ' re getting stuff from the
17 interconnection from the wind farm on
18 the South Fork to the North Fork, they
19 were gonna come up with 13 poles to ruin
20 our vistas? Come on. The concentration
21 on everything is just not been thought
22 through here . Back in 2003 , I worked
23 for the Long Island Power Authority. We
24 were proposing a substation on Edwards
25 Avenue . It was terrible . I have
December 5, 2022 54
1 worked with engineers who are just
2 dumbbells my entire life . However, some
3 of them are great, but they come to
4 people like me, who are supposed to sell
5 these projects . And I know I can ' t ,
6 because the public is not stupid. Well ,
7 obviously that was rejected, and I think
8 that you should reject this too . I also
9 want to know where the Peconic Trust
10 sits on here because they have a
11 boatload of money . And they should be
12 doing their job by trying to preserve
13 this land. And they talk about retiring
14 base -- base load generation . When
15 China and India clean up their acts ,
16 I ' ll talk about base load
17 generation . We ' ve been doing our part .
18 Thank you very much .
19 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
20 you . .
21 KEVIN O ' MARA: Hi , how are you?
22 I 'm Kevin O ' Mara from Cutchogue . One
23 thing, I wanna get clear from the very
24 beginning is ACE , is a South Korean
25 conglomerate . It buys cheap energy off
December 5, 2022 55
1 the grid and then sells them at a higher
2 price . And probably they -- they ' re --
3 they ' re not, you know, green warriors
4 trying to save the planet . First and
5 foremost . Secondly, then the best
6 analogy for these guys , they ' re like the
7 ones who bought the hand sanitizer
8 during COVID for a $1 and tried to sell
9 it for $10 . And then they claimed that
10 they were ( inaudible ) . That ' s probably
11 the best analogy for what these guys are
12 doing . What you ' ve been hearing from a
13 lot of these people is that there ' s --
14 that the rush that we see coming from
15 the town with concurrent hearings ,
16 accelerated hearings , and letters of
17 support before you ' ve ever
18 heard anything seems extremely
19 premature . And the New York State Energy
20 Research and Development Authority, has
21 actually put out a model law that towns
22 like Southold are encouraged to adopt
23 before consideration of a plan . I
24 haven ' t heard anything about that . And
25 that ' s what ' s coming from the State, and
December 5, 2022 56
1 that ' s what covers a lot of these
2 is ues , like emergency plans .
3 Decommissioning . Things like
4 that . There ' s nothing in what
5 ( inaudible ) east and all they want to
6 talk about is how, oh, there ' s gonna be
7 a 12 foot sound barrier, which by the
8 way, sounds to me like driving on the
9 LIE , with the 12 foot sound barrier
10 along the side . Not on Oregon Road.
11 And ultimately, you know, what I 'm the
12 most amazed about , is that we ' re
13 actually having a meeting about locating
14 a LIPA substation on Oregon Road.
15 ( Inaudible ) you entertain is something
16 that it falls under consideration. I
17 mean, there are so many places , mostly
18 in Riverhead, where LIPA was using this
19 power, that LIPA life is looking for .
20 There are better spots than Oregon Road.
21 So just to go over a couple more
22 points . So Number 1 , that the no code ,
23 no sort of rules , which are available
24 and easy for the Town to adopt . No
25 discussion of that . And I think the Town
December 5, 2022 57
1 needs to take a look at that . Slow down
2 the process and consider adopting those
3 rules before this goes any further at
4 all . Number 2 , the Town has hired a
5 zoning consultant to start a rezone for
6 the entire town . And I think what
7 you ' re hearing today, over 1100
8 people -- 1100 Southold Town voters have
9 signed a petition, to limit this kind of
10 development on Oregon Road. And I ' m sure
11 you all know 1100 voters turn elections
12 in this town . And there is not the
13 support for this kind of stuff . We think
14 that you should wait until the zoning
15 review is completed before you start
16 anything along these lines . Further to
17 -- further this , I was at the ZBA
18 meeting last week. And we did hear
19 about their response or emergency
20 response plan, which is a single
21 employee, who may or may not be located
22 in the Town of Southold. And I ' m sitting
23 there having fought the hardest traffic
24 trying to get out here on a sunny
25 October Saturday. Thinking, well , God
December 5, 2022 58
1 help us if the fire happens on a
2 Saturday in October, when the sun ' s out,
3 because whoever ' s coming from
4 Holtsville , is not gonna get here for an
5 hour and a half . The other thing they
6 mention is if the Cutchogue Fire
7 Department would not have access to the
8 site . It would be blocked off and they
9 would not be allowed to go on the site
10 and fight a fire . That ' s in the record.
11 That so -- in other words , while this
12 guy is trying to fight the traffic from
13 Harbes to get out here, that the thing
14 will just keep burning . Cutchogue Fire
15 Department can ' t get in there . Toxic
16 waste or fumes will be steering . In
17 other towns around the country, they
18 have to have a quarter mile or half mile
19 evacuations around these facilities when
20 the fire starts . There ' s no plan to
21 notify people that they need to be
22 evacuated. I mean, the houses are quite
23 distant there . I mean, going around the
24 boulevard isn ' t even gonna get heard.
25 So there ' s one of the things that the
December 5, 2022 59
1 NYSERDA rules do, is it requires this
2 kind of an emergency plan on how to deal
3 with this . And with all due respect,
4 you guys and people here in the Town are
5 really not set up to come up with these
6 kind of emergency plans , and the judge.
7 That ' s why we have the State . That ' s
8 why the State is putting out these
9 things to make it easy for the towns to
10 have such projects safely . Third thing,
11 is that their -- their owner SK
12 Electronics in Korea is actively looking
13 at new battery technology . Some of those
14 battery technologies may actually be
15 more efficient, but they could also be a
16 lot more dangerous for us in the town.
17 And nothing that I ' ve seen, would
18 provide any kind of restriction on them
19 changing out lithium ion for some new
20 technology, that could have a completely
21 different safety profile for all of us .
22 So we sent a letter earlier in the
23 day. I mean, ( inaudible ) is not a public
24 utility . That ' s really clear from the
25 law. That ' s really clear from the
December 5, 2022 60
1 NYSERDA rules that are promulgated. The
2 Oregon Road green belt is just too
3 precious . And you were hearing from
4 everybody here from the 1100 signatures
5 and growing that we got on this petition
6 and it -- it would have to be preserved.
7 So your job is playing -- I am nowhere
8 near as well versed in all the rules as
9 he is . And cannot possibly go through
10 that , but they all sounded pretty good.
11 it ' s evidencing a desire by the Town to
12 protect part of the road. And I think
13 that ' s what you ' re saying right there .
14 BEN PAUL MOORE : Hi . I ' m a Ben Paul
15 Moore . I ' m the president . You know, I
16 love this town . Obviously, I think
17 everybody here loves the town. That ' s
18 why we ' re all here . I ' m also a business
19 person . You know, I can see these guys
20 over here are business people . So I
21 appreciate that as well . But, you know,
22 we ' ve got this town that over 350 plus
23 years , we ' ve created this zoning and
24 these rules to preserve and keep what we
25 have, right? And sometimes that might
December 5, 2022 61
1 be, feel restrictive, but it ' s gotten us
2 where we are, and we love what we have.
3 Right? That ' s why everybody ' s here and
4 being so vocal about it . I , you know, as
5 a business person, I understand, you
6 know, what -- what they ' re looking to
7 do. But I think we have to look at it as
8 business people too . Right? We ' re
9 business people for our own town. That ' s
10 what all these people are here for . And
11 that ' s why they ' re so animated because
12 it ' s not just how they make money, it ' s
13 how they -- they live their
14 lives . Right? And that ' s what ' s at
15 stake here . And I just think you can ' t,
16 you know, you have to consider -- well,
17 what are -- what are the -- any business
18 person that these folks , would have to
19 consider what the benefits and the costs
20 of each proposal are . That ' s what it
21 comes down to. And I don ' t see any
22 benefit . I ' ve heard that before . Right?
23 There ' s no benefit to our town people to
24 have this thing here . Think about the
25 cost of what this thing is gonna
December 5, 2022 62
1 have . The natural beauty. Yes . But the
2 fire department, yes . I mean, do you
3 really think we ' re gonna have a
4 volunteer fire department fighting this?
5 You know, a fire in this area? I mean,
6 that ' s crazy . You have to do training .
7 You ' ll have to spend so much more money
8 and you ' re not generating any additional
9 tax revenue on this site . I don ' t
10 think. Right? I haven ' t heard anything
11 about actual dollars that they ' re gonna
12 put forth to fund any of this -- this
13 stuff . These costs . And they can ' t
14 fund the costs for tourism, and all that
15 stuff , unless there ' s some crazy offset .
16 So I just think -- I don ' t understand
17 how this has gotten so far . Right? We
18 have zoning in place for good reasons .
19 Why are we entertaining an exception for
20 something that ' s not gonna bring any
21 benefit to us . The townspeople
22 right? I don ' t understand.
23 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
24 you .
25 MR. BRAD : Brad ( inaudible ) . I ' m a
December 5, 2022 63
1 resident of Laurel . I think with the
2 last two gentlemen said covers almost
3 everything. There are so many pink
4 elephants in the room, it ' s like a
5 Disney movie . But you know, I left New
6 York City eight years ago because of
7 what big money they invested. And here I
8 come, the one place on the planet where
9 I wanted to relocate, and we ' re having
10 this battle all the time now. It seems
11 like every other week, every other
12 month, there ' s another faction of big
13 money that wants to change the culture
14 and the dialogue of this town. And it ' s
15 really disheartening. You know, there ' s
16 always talk about fires . Well , the plan
17 is to put this next to a mulching
18 facility, which God forbid there ' s a
19 fire, toxins , bungles , everything up in
20 the air, and poison an entire town . You
21 know, but at least our hedge grows . You
22 know, that seems to be ( inaudible ) .
23 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Okay.
24 Anybody else would like to address the
25 Board? I just want to reiterate again,
December 5, 2022 64
1 this is the beginning . we are going to
2 adjourn this . I 'm not gonna give the
3 applicant a chance to speak again
4 because it ' s so early in this process .
5 And I want to comment that Dave Bergen
6 and Steve Kiely made and what Leslie
7 said in the ZBA meeting. This is
8 something that is brand new for all of
9 us , including . And, you know, I ' ll take
10 responsibility, who probably made a
11 mistake by moving this forward or even
12 answering some of their questions . Some
13 of their questions were very remedial .
14 Looking at light poles and things like
15 that . That ' s stuff that we site plan
16 once it gets approved. But we hear you,
17 we live in this town. Again, I ' m not
18 making any excuses . It ' s our
19 responsibility. But this is something
20 that ' s new. And after reading about
21 this in certain areas over the last
22 couple of days , it is -- there ' s a lot
23 to take in, and there ' s a lot of -- a
24 lot of dangerous stuff that ' s involved
25 here . And that ' s why we ' re going to
December 5, 2022 65
1 adjourn this to a future date . We ' re
2 not even setting a date . And I ' m gonna
3 speak with the rest of the Board about
4 maybe rescinding or changing our letter
5 to the ZBA. And we ' re doing that .
6 Anybody else? Yes . Go ahead.
7 GARY LONG: My name is Gary Long .
8 I ' d just like to put a face to the 17
9 homeowners in front of the Board. I am
10 less than a block. So I just want to put
11 a face, the 17 of us . There were other
12 two associations on the cliffs , on each
13 side , that are not here tonight . But
14 these are the people . We ' re the people
15 it ' s gonna affect . Right up in our
16 face . And whether it ' s fire or not,
17 it ' s still in heritage and a profit . And
18 I 'm a runner . I 'm running up and down
19 that road every day for the last 20
20 years . And it ' s just -- it just makes
21 me cry that we ' ve even got to this
22 point . Where we have to even talk about
23 this elephant in the room, so to
24 speak. And it -- and thank you by the
25 way for taking responsibility that it
December 5, 2022 66
1 was a mistake . When things happen,
2 money can turn heads quite easily. And
3 maybe we have to remember this in the
4 future .
5 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
6 you .
7 UNKNOWN SPEAKER: ( Inaudible ) from
8 Laurel . I have a question. The letters
9 that were sent simply supporting this ,
10 you have those letters?
11 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : I do
12 not . To be honest with you, we ' ve
13 gotten a plethora of -- obviously, like
14 I stated earlier, nothing but -- you
15 know, people opposing . Associations
16 groups , fire departments .
17 UNKNOWN SPEAKER: Probably not
18 gonna like what I ' m gonna say but --
19 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : I ' m
20 sorry. I heard you . We ' ll let you
21 know. It ' s your -- your question is in
22 the record, and it will be answered.
23 Anybody else? Yes , sir .
24 BOB SCOTT : My name is Bob Scott
25 and I ' ve lived here for a little while .
December 5, 2022 67
1 Since 1978 . Not a local , but I married
2 one . So that kind of makes it easier
3 for me to think . I moved here a long
4 time ago. I met a lot of nice people .
5 What they have proposed here , and not
6 itself on the face of it , nice and rosy.
7 Problem is they brought in people have
8 brought up very, very valid reasons why
9 it shouldn ' t be here . I got involved
10 with the ZBA meeting on my own and did a
11 little research. If you look at FEMA ' s
12 disaster control for ion battery --
13 lithium ion battery, they don ' t have a
14 favorable report for it. And it ' s called
15 the Fabersham Society. It gives a lot of
16 facts that are related to it . I didn ' t
17 bring a cellphone . I didn ' t bring a
18 paper and pencil . This is what I ' ve
19 read. And from the safety aspect,
20 hydrogen chloride is an offset of what
21 happens when these burn. Arkansas and
22 Texas , there were a lot of problems
23 there . And if you need an evacuation,
24 it ' s a five mile radius . And then what
25 happens to the ground? We don ' t know.
December 5, 2022 68
1 How long it ' s gonna be a wait? I don ' t
2 know. And if it does go through, I ' d
3 like to go on record and when it goes
4 online , the first incident happens , I
5 want $5 million for my house
6 immediately.
7 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Okay.
8 Thank you. Anybody else? And again, I
9 just wanted to let you know, I don ' t
10 wanna stop you from speaking, but this
11 is gonna be adjourned as I said for the
12 third time . And we have no date . But
13 you ' ll be obviously notified. We are
14 going to start working on all the
15 questions . You know, all the concerns
16 that have been brought up today, as well
17 as , the hundreds of letters that we ' ve
18 gotten . .
19 JESSICA MICHAELIS : I ' ll let Anne
20 speak on Zoom. And I ' m gonna allow you
21 to talk . Please just state your name,
22 your full name .
23 ANNE MURRAY : Thank you. Anne
24 Murray here. I ' m a resident of East
25 Marion. And I ' m speaking on behalf of
December 5, 2022 69
- 1 the North Fork Environmental Council as
2 the Southold Land Use Coordinator . As
3 several speakers have referenced, the
4 NYSERDA, the New York State Energy
5 Development Agency, has developed a
6 guidebook, which I sent to the Planning
7 Board, along with Best Practices and
8 training for local governments , in order
9 to ensure responsible battery
10 development . It recommends that
11 municipalities form a task force of
12 local stakeholders to develop local laws
13 to ensure the orderly development, and I
14 might add safety of these projects . As
15 we all know and you know, as the
16 Planning Board, because battery
17 storage -- it was not in the
18 Comprehensive Plan, which the Town spent
19 many years developing. Southold Town has
20 not planned for, nor has it developed
21 any kind of laws governing the placement
22 of these types of facilities . The NFAC
23 supports battery storage facilities , but
24 only if the Town has a well considered
25 plan in place for them. The Town owes it
December 5, 2022 70
1 to the public to ensure that battery
2 storage facilities have environmental
3 standards , and most important safety
4 reviews . Due to this very lack of
5 planning, as you know, Planning Board,
6 the Southold ZBA approved a battery
7 storage facility in a completely
8 inappropriate location in Greenport a
9 couple of years ago, which is adjacent
10 to wetlands and preserved open space .
11 There was simply no battery storage law
12 or plan in place to prevent it . The
13 Planning Board should ensure that the
14 zoning consultant includes battery
15 storage plans in the current zoning
16 review, and it should recommend that the
17 Town Board have a plan and a local law
18 to safely cite such facilities . We
19 believe it is unwise and unfair to the
20 taxpayers to have another battery
21 storage project underway in Southold
22 without a proper town wide plan in
23 place . And I might add, I was relieved
24 to find out that no site plan has ever
25 been submitted for that battery storage
December 5, 2022 71
1 facility in Greenport . I kind of hope
2 it doesn ' t get built until we have a
3 town law in place. Thank you very much.
4 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
5 you . Anybody else? Yes .
6 SHANNON SHERIDAN CARROLL : Hello .
7 My name is Shannon Sheridan Carroll from
8 Mattituck. I ' m gonna keep it short and
9 sweet . I ' m pretty much talking as the
10 younger generation here . I went to
11 Mattituck High School , Mattituck
12 Elementary School . Graduated from Penn
13 State, came right back. So this is
14 shocking. It ' s surprising . As a kid,
15 when, you know, we ' re growing up, there
16 was a lot more farm. There was a lot
17 more open land. And now we ' re seeing
18 these things come in and you know, the
19 local businesses are great, supporting
20 small businesses are great . And the
21 opportunity that the lifelong residents
22 here in the North Fork that have grown
23 up here , that have gone to the schools
24 here, have gotten the chance to open
25 businesses and everything has been
December 5, 2022 72
1 absolutely amazing. But when a company
2 is even considered to come over from
3 South Korea, it ' s just kind of a slap in
4 the face. Especially on such a
5 beautiful road of what we have , what
6 we ' ve grown up on . When you were
7 running on Mattituck track, that you may
8 have even ran down that road as well . If
9 we allow something like this to come in,
10 it opens the floodgates for more and
11 more things to come in like this . And
12 more and more places like Oregon Road or
13 even on Oregon Road, as well , that
14 people will try to insert their
15 industrial or whatever it is , and try to
16 glitter it up and pretty it up with
17 hedges . We ' re not falling for it. We ' re
18 pretty smart . We ' re not falling for it .
19 And just one last thing, I do want to
20 say, I have done quite a bit of research
21 on this . Lithium ion is incredibly
22 unstable in the elements of open air and
23 water. Take that into consideration
24 where we live . Thank you .
25 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
December 5, 2022 73
1 you. Seeing no one else . I am sorry,
2 we have one person on Zoom.
3 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Timothy Hill?
4 TIMOTHY HILL : Good evening . Can you
5 hear me?
6 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Yes .
7 TIMOTHY HILL : Thank you, Chair and
8 rest of the Board. My name is Tim
9 Hill . I 'm from the Law Firm Masena,
10 Perillo and Hill . I represent Kevin
11 O ' Mara, who already spoke tonight . So I
12 will keep my comments exceedingly
13 brief . I' just want to note that because
14 of the ongoing zoning analysis that is
15 not yet complete, and because there has
16 been no deliberation by the Town Board
17 as to a Comprehensive Town Plan similar
18 to the New York State Model Code, this
19 is all exceedingly premature . And
20 should be the result of a reasoned
21 thought out plan before going piecemeal
22 from Board to Board and have this all
23 done on an ad hoc basis . This should be
24 -- the Town Law, when and if it ' s ever
25 written, should be written on a clean
December 5, 2022 74
1 slate . It should not be written through
2 the lens of the application of one
3 particular interested party. The other
4 point I ' ll just briefly make is that the
5 proposed use is not a permitted use
6 under the code . It ' s only eligible for
7 consideration as a Special Exception, if
8 it meets the definition of being a
9 public utility. It does not meet that
10 definition . That is a threshold issue ,
11 which supplies a hard stop to this
12 application. And there ' s a tremendous
13 amount of resources that are going into
14 this Town ' s consideration of this
15 particular application, when really this
16 should be stopped at the outset because
17 this is not a public utility . Stopping
18 this application now gives the Town the
19 time to do the proper planning and
20 analysis to come up with the , you know,
21 appropriate protocols that everybody is
22 calling for . Thank you.
23 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
24 you . All right . Nobody else . Thank you
25 very much for your comments . Again, I ' m
December 5, 2022 75
1 gonna repeat myself over and over
2 again. This is being adjourned for a
3 future date . And we, as the Planning
4 Board and Planning staff , are going to
5 put a lot more -- I shouldn ' t say that .
6 We ' re gonna do a lot more work and
7 answer all your questions and our
8 concerns . Thank you . Have a good
9 evening .
10 A motion for adjournment?
11 MEMBER MIA JEALOUS-DANK: Motion to
12 adjourn .
13 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Motion
14 made by Mia. Second?
15 MEMBER MARTIN SIDOR: Second.
16 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Motion
17 and a second. All in favor?
18 MEMBER MARTIN SIDOR: Aye .
19 MEMBER PIERCE RAFFERTY: Aye .
20 MEMBER MIA JEALOUS-DANK: Aye .
21 CHAIRMAN DONALD WILCENSKI : Aye .
22
23 (Whereupon, the Public Hearing
24 Concluded. )
25
December 5, 2022 76
1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
2
3 I , Jessica DiLallo, a Notary Public
4 for and within the State of New York, do
5 hereby certify:
6 THAT, the within transcript is a
7 true record of said Board Meeting.
8 I further certify that I am not
9 related either by blood or marriage to
10 any of the parties to this action; and
11 that I am in no way interested in the
12 outcome of this matter .
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
14 set my hand this day, August 25 , 2023 .
15
16
17 ( Je ica D ' allo )
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 '