With an audience of approximately 50 residents, the Oyster Bay Cove Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously voted to an amended application for a 28-unit renovation at 57 Sandy Hill Road, which will house Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory employees, at its Feb. 25 meeting.
“This is hardly providing a service to the village,” said Laurel Kretzing, an attorney representing a resident group opposing the plan, Save Oyster Bay Cove.
The three-story building sits on an 11.75-acre plot of land, for which a special-use permit was previously acquired, to serve as a Harmony Heights dormitory building. The facility, which held up to 30 female secondary students with social and emotional needs, closed in 2023.
The approved proposal calls for housing for 28 post-doctoral students who work in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory facilities.
The board approved the application, stipulating that the laboratory would meet with the board every three years to ensure compliance with village regulations. The board also voted to bar additional signage on the property, limit residents’ recreational use, and enforce rules about guest visits to the premises.
The laboratory’s plan garnered controversy among residents. Residents said the site would increase traffic within the village, which has narrow roads and existing congestion.
Andrew Levitt, an attorney representing the laboratories, said the organization reconfigured the site plans to address resident concerns about the number of units and parking spaces on the lot.
The laboratory’s plan calls for a renovation with 16 units in the main house, each with an en suite bathroom, and up to 12 units in the carriage house. The site has two fewer units than the original plan. The kitchen, library, and additional living spaces would be shared common rooms.
The laboratory said a parking lot on the premises would be designed to fit 16 cars, and an additional lot with 13 spots could be expanded, totaling 29 parking spaces.
Steven Monez, vice president and chief facilities officer for the laboratory, said the lots would not be visible from the street and that visitors would not be allowed to bring their own vehicles. The laboratory would also offer a shuttle service from the complex to its facility for residents on weekdays.
Monez said the number of overnight guests will be limited to reduce traffic to the area. As stipulated by the board, 10 guests will be allowed to stay on the premises each night. Monez said the number of guests staying overnight has not been an issue at other locations, and Levitt said guests cannot bring their cars onto the premises.
Patrick Lenihan, who conducted a traffic study of the area, said there will not be any dramatic changes to congestion. He said delivery vehicles, like Amazon and FedEx, already make trips into the villages, which will not increase traffic.
Lenihan said that between buses to the school, employee vehicles, parent visitations and deliveries, the Harmony Heights school generated the same amount of traffic as the apartment complex is projected to.
Kretzing said there will be an increased risk in the village’s windy and narrow roads, especially at night when visibility is low.
“She’s not an expert. She’s an advocate, just like myself,” Levitt said.
Residents Evelyn Ain and Helen LaRoca said many residents in the area do not report each time their vehicle crashes out of fear of increased insurance rates. Both said they have witnessed cars run off the road, crashing into partitions and fences.
LaRoca said she personally knew the Harmony Heights employees. There were seven employees and 16 students, which is a “completely different usage” than the complex, she said.
At the meeting, 10 current and former village residents spoke in favor of the amendment. They said the laboratory’s promise to maintain the horticulture and architecture of the house would benefit the community and attract “respectful” and “serious” members.
Among the speakers, Harriet Gerard-Clark, who is the executive director of the Raynham Hall Museum in Oyster Bay, said she “applauds” the plan. Lisa Ott, president of the North Shore Land Alliance, also voiced her support.
LaRoca said three of the residents who spoke in favor have conflicts of interest with the village and laboratory. She said Board Chair Arthur Godsell has ties to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as well.
Six people spoke opposing the site plan, which Garry Ain, a village resident and licensed associate broker, said would decrease the neighborhood’s value.
Kretzing said the zoning board does not have the authority to dictate the inner workings of the property, such as whether the laboratory decides to run more frequent shuttle buses.
“There’s no way for this board to enforce those kinds of internal regulations,” she said.
She said the board of trustees’s zoning law change, which allowed for the special-use permit application, is an example of “spot zoning.” She said the practice, which singles out a parcel of land for a different use than the surrounding area at the detriment of its neighbors, is illegal in the state.
Kretzing said the board passed a zoning law in December, which allows higher education institutions within a four-mile radius of a property to apply for a special-use permit if the lot is at least 11 acres and constructed before 1915. The laboratory is the only higher education institution within a four-mile radius.
Village Attorney Chris Wagner said the board of trustees held two meetings and public hearings on the matter and the change is a “valid exercise” of its power.
The board unanimously voted on the complex’s amended site plans, which stipulated visitors, signage, lighting, and compliance meetings.
Wagner said the laboratory will make payments in lieu of taxes to the village, which will be discussed with the planning board moving forward.
Correction: It was previously reported that a “28-unit apartment complex” would be “built” at 57 Sandy Hill Road. Oyster Bay Cove village officials said the approved permit allow for dormitory-style living. The existing structure will be renovated, but no new building additions will be erected, said a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory representative.
