Final hearing on West Babylon apartments

A developer's proposal to build an apartment complex in West Babylon has won a series of crucial approvals, angering neighbors who say it will spoil a once-quiet neighborhood near the Great South Bay.

On Thursday, the project's future -- and, some say, the neighborhood's -- rests on the outcome of a 6 p.m. public hearing at Babylon Town Hall, where Dellafranca Development is expected to ask the zoning board of appeals for its final approvals to build four apartment buildings at 49 Muncie Rd.

The structures would supplant a two-story brick Colonial home, surrounded by maple and pine trees, an atmosphere that project opponents want to preserve.

In its application to the zoning board, the Lindenhurst developer has asked officials to permit development of the 1.36-acre lot, even though it is smaller than the two acres normally required for projects of that size.

Among other requested variances: The frontage would be 24 feet instead of 40, and the buildings about 26 feet apart, instead of 50; the square footage of each of the 24 single-bedroom apartments would be 2,460 instead of 4,000.

Critics say it would worsen traffic and parking on Muncie Road, a 1,600-foot stretch between Montauk Highway and the Bergen Point County Golf Course. The neighborhood already has three apartment complexes, including the 330-unit Harbor Club; and residents fear expansion of the Southwest Sewer District would mean more trucks using their road to reach the treatment plant.

The development would also require demolishing the 1920 house at the site, one of the last vestiges of the neighborhood's past.

Austin Sheldon, 66, a retired Babylon Town highway department worker who grew up and then raised his own children a few doors down, says a nursery on land now occupied by the golf course driving range gave the place a woodsy feel. He recalled fox hunts at a nearby private estate, later site of the Great South Bay Shopping Center.

"Not just for me, but for a lot of people, it establishes a link," he said of the house. "I have a lot of my life on Muncie Road. My grandchildren won't have what my children grew up with."

Town officials say the property, owned by Millicent Fifer, is worth about $459,000. Fifer, 84, lives in Colorado, records show, and relatives acting under power of attorney have entered into a sales contract with Dellafranca, said Nicole Blanda, the developer's attorney.

Blanda noted that Dellafranca's site plan, approved by the Town Planning Board last week, went through several revisions in close consultation with town planning and development Commissioner Ann Marie Jones.

In a December letter to residents, Jones said the plan was "not only acceptable, but superior. . . . Balancing the concerns of the community with managing growth and change is a challenging one."