Public comment extended on Cold Spring Harbor hotel plan
The public hearing on the hotel and spa plan drew a crowd Tuesday night. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Public comment on a controversial proposal to build a 23-room hotel and spa in Cold Spring Harbor remains open after a public hearing on the plan Tuesday that drew more than 70 people.
Jan and Jude Rozenveld, the principals of Huntington-based Hunebed Holdings LLC, have requested that Huntington Town officials include their RozeWood Farm and Estate in a specially zoned district that would allow for a hotel on the site.
The 24-acre property currently is zoned residential, according to town records, but designating it in the Historic Building Overlay District would keep the underlying zoning in place while allowing other uses to preserve historic buildings, Newsday previously reported.
The hearing on including the property in the overlay district, and to designate several buildings as historic, was adjourned Tuesday. Adjournment keeps the hearing open, and it must be closed before the Town Board can vote on a resolution. The window for public comment will remain open at least until the May 13 town board meeting.
The decision by Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth to continue to accept public comments comes after Michael L. McCarthy, the attorney for the developers, announced during the hearing that no events would be held at the venue if the plan were approved.
Also during the hearing, Ron Goldstein, an attorney representing residents opposed to the zoning change proposal, said that despite spending “countless hours” trying to come to an agreement with the Rozenvelds, he would be willing to sit down again to see if a compromise can be reached. Goldstein said previous talks had broken down over plans by the Rozenvelds to hold events at the site.
“Both the applicants' attorney and the objectant's attorney asked for further time to get together and potentially mediate the restrictions on the property,” Smyth said after the five-hour board meeting at Huntington Town Hall. “I’m hoping they can possibly get together and possibly come to a resolution everyone can live with.”
The parcel, at 473 Woodbury Rd., includes a house and farm established in the early 1800s.
If the overlay designation is approved, the Rozenvelds envision a luxury spa and wellness hotel that will offer yoga and farm-to-table dining and some vegetable and flower farming. Four acres would be retained for potential future subdivision of two lots, Newsday previously reported and McCarthy said.
Residents who live closest to the parcel object to the proposal over concerns the facility would change the character of their neighborhood by having a bar and restaurant, increased traffic and strangers in their community. They also do not want large catered events in their neighborhood and contend the proposal doesn't agree with the town's comprehensive plan.
“I chose to purchase a home in a residential neighborhood, not a commercial zone with a hotel, bar, restaurant and event venue,” said Eric Schuster, who lives adjacent to the property. “Approving this proposal would not only harm our quality of life but would also disregard the very guidelines that are meant to protect it.”
Jude Rozenveld, in her remarks to the town board, said the proposal is designed to “bring beauty, peace and purpose to our Huntington community.”
McCarthy said the property as currently zoned could be used to build 10 homes on 2 acres each, a place of worship, school and a working farm under Suffolk County's Agricultural Districts Program.
Public comment on a controversial proposal to build a 23-room hotel and spa in Cold Spring Harbor remains open after a public hearing on the plan Tuesday that drew more than 70 people.
Jan and Jude Rozenveld, the principals of Huntington-based Hunebed Holdings LLC, have requested that Huntington Town officials include their RozeWood Farm and Estate in a specially zoned district that would allow for a hotel on the site.
The 24-acre property currently is zoned residential, according to town records, but designating it in the Historic Building Overlay District would keep the underlying zoning in place while allowing other uses to preserve historic buildings, Newsday previously reported.
The hearing on including the property in the overlay district, and to designate several buildings as historic, was adjourned Tuesday. Adjournment keeps the hearing open, and it must be closed before the Town Board can vote on a resolution. The window for public comment will remain open at least until the May 13 town board meeting.
The decision by Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth to continue to accept public comments comes after Michael L. McCarthy, the attorney for the developers, announced during the hearing that no events would be held at the venue if the plan were approved.
Also during the hearing, Ron Goldstein, an attorney representing residents opposed to the zoning change proposal, said that despite spending “countless hours” trying to come to an agreement with the Rozenvelds, he would be willing to sit down again to see if a compromise can be reached. Goldstein said previous talks had broken down over plans by the Rozenvelds to hold events at the site.
“Both the applicants' attorney and the objectant's attorney asked for further time to get together and potentially mediate the restrictions on the property,” Smyth said after the five-hour board meeting at Huntington Town Hall. “I’m hoping they can possibly get together and possibly come to a resolution everyone can live with.”
The parcel, at 473 Woodbury Rd., includes a house and farm established in the early 1800s.
If the overlay designation is approved, the Rozenvelds envision a luxury spa and wellness hotel that will offer yoga and farm-to-table dining and some vegetable and flower farming. Four acres would be retained for potential future subdivision of two lots, Newsday previously reported and McCarthy said.
Residents who live closest to the parcel object to the proposal over concerns the facility would change the character of their neighborhood by having a bar and restaurant, increased traffic and strangers in their community. They also do not want large catered events in their neighborhood and contend the proposal doesn't agree with the town's comprehensive plan.
“I chose to purchase a home in a residential neighborhood, not a commercial zone with a hotel, bar, restaurant and event venue,” said Eric Schuster, who lives adjacent to the property. “Approving this proposal would not only harm our quality of life but would also disregard the very guidelines that are meant to protect it.”
Jude Rozenveld, in her remarks to the town board, said the proposal is designed to “bring beauty, peace and purpose to our Huntington community.”
McCarthy said the property as currently zoned could be used to build 10 homes on 2 acres each, a place of worship, school and a working farm under Suffolk County's Agricultural Districts Program.
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