Planning board approves rezoning and special permit for Catalanado dealership with covenants limiting noise, deliveries and new construction in rezoned strip

The Islip Planning Board voted to recommend rezoning a portion of 731 Smithtown Avenue from Residential Double A to Business 3 and to approve a Town Board special permit to expand the existing motor vehicle dealership, conditioned on covenants and mitigation measures intended to address neighborhood concerns.

Eric J. Russo, attorney for the applicants (Joseph G. and Darlene A. Catalanado Trust), described a package of mitigation measures enacted after earlier neighbor complaints: repair and replacement of dilapidated fencing, a strict policy prohibiting horn/button use or loudspeaker systems to locate inventory (with disciplinary consequences for employees), a ban on test drives on Smithtown Avenue (limited to Sunrise Highway), added hedge lines and tree plantings, and restrictions limiting use of the expanded parking area to operable cars and prohibiting large trucks, inoperable vehicles and outside loudspeakers.

Planning staff reported the applicant has replaced fencing, drafted covenants formalizing mitigation measures, and implemented an approach to locate vehicle inventory without car alarms. Staff recommended approval subject to the attached covenants and restrictions. During board discussion members pressed staff and the applicant on enforcement mechanisms; staff confirmed the town board could revert the zoning classification if covenant violations persisted after due process and public hearings.

Board members secured an additional agreement from the applicant to include an explicit covenant that no new structures would be built in the newly rezoned strip of former double‑A zoning, and to install additional plantings and extend the fence in a specific area. Miss Ryan moved to grant the rezoning and special permit subject to the covenants and the two additional conditions (no new construction in the newly rezoned area; new plantings in the buffer); the motion was seconded and approved.

The covenants also specify enforcement avenues through the town attorney, code enforcement and the town board. The planning staff emphasized that the approvals do not permit further expansion without the planning board’s or town board’s review.