A proposal to bring a Sonic restaurant is being met with opposition by the Nesconset Taxpayers Association, a local civic.
"This is a poor location for a drive-in service," said Seth Weinberg, member of the group. "It's on a residential street that already has a fair amount of traffic and at an intersection with a fair amount of traffic. It will border homes, increase the noise and air pollution."
Weinberg said he speaks for the whole group in opposing the Sonic plan.
Smithtown's Zoning Board of Appeals is set to hold a public hearing on the Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Eugene A. Cannataro Senior Citizen Center.
The proposed site for the Sonic is on the corner of Middle Country Road and Alexander Avenue, located near the Smith Haven Mall.
An attorney representing Valley Stream-based Serota Smithtown LLC will present detailed plans for the , a 1950s diner-style restaurant its outdoor food service as an accessory use to its indoor seating, according to a Newsday article.
In the opinion of Weinberg, speaking for himself and not the Taxpayers, he suggests other nearby locations that would be a better fit for Sonic.
"If you go across the street where Checkers is [there are] four acres of undeveloped, commercial real estate that has no homes bordering it at all," he said. "It has access from [Route] 347, right near the mall."
If someone was actually paying attention you would notice that Checkers is dead. Fat asses and clogged arteries are out. The middle class of Smithtown are actually getting smart by actually cooking their own lunches, dinners and going out for walks. The town should do everyone a favor and bulldoze Checkers and replant the thousands of trees they wrecked. As for Sonic, no loss.
• Variance of a special exception to permit a counter service restaurant to have outdoor dining; • Variance to permit outdoor dining in WSI district; • Permit 22 loud speakers at locations • Reduce required landscape islands from 9 to 1; • Increase number of ground signs from 1 to 32;
- Increase max. area of ground signs from 40 sq.ft. to 739 sq.ft.; • Increase number of wall signs from 1 to 7; • Increase height of 2 wall signs from 15 ft. to 20 ft.; • Increase height of 1 wall sign from 15 ft. to 21 ft.; • Permit 3 wall signs not facing a public street; look at the extremes they are lookinbg for..,.. 22 Louspeakers, 32 ground signs when the town only allows 1, increase signage from 40 sq ft to 732 sq ft and decrease the required size of a landscape island fro 9 feet to 1 foot.. Worse of all, all of this is to go 57 feet from the backyard property lines of 5 homes. So when these folks are sitting in their yard, they get to look at sonics drivin stalls about 6 car lengths away. The drive proposed on Alexcander avenue will be about 8 feet from a residential driveway on Alexander. folks are abusing the residents for NIMBY.. this this is just unfair.. because IS esentially RIGHT IN their backyard.. their property values will plummet, and they thought the zoning would protect them from this type of establishment. Soic is asking the BZA to modify the zoning that has protect them all along.. No one signed up for that.