HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB-01/12/20265 PH 1
1 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK: STATE OF NEW YORK
2 ------------------------------------------- X
3
TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
4 PLANNING BOARD MEETING
5 PUBLIC HEARING _
6 ACKERLY POND AGRICULTURAL BARN
------------------------------------------- X
7
8
Southold, New York
9
January 12 , 2026
10 5 : 00 P . M.
11
12
13 B E F 0 R E :
14 James Rich, III , Chairman
15 Mia Jealous-Dank, Member
16 Pierce Rafferty, Member
17 Martin Sidor, Member
18 Donald Wilcenski , Member
19
Jessica Michaelis , Senior Office Assistant
20
21
22
23
24
25
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 2
r'.
1 INDEX TO HEARINGS
I
2
3 Public Hearing Page
4 Ackerly Pond Agricultural Barn 3-57
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
. 25
JANUARY 12)' 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 3
1 ACKERLY POND AGRICULTURAL BARN
2 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Okay.
3 So that concludes that part of the
4 meeting . We will move now to the
5 public hearing . And I have a short
6 statement to read . Again, I want to
7 thank everybody for your patience .
8 Before we open the public hearing, I
9 want to take a moment to explain where
10 we are in the review process and what
11 tonight ' s hearing is and is not . This
12 application is for an agricultural site
13 plan proposing 70 ' x 30 ' agricultural
14 storage barn on a 15 . 9 acres parcel in
I
15 the AC Zoning District , where the
16 development rights are held by the Town
17 of Southold . This is a Right-to-Farm
18 community, and agriculture is a
19 protected and long-standing use under
20 our Town Code . The Planning Board is
21 required by law to review applications
22 that comply with zoning and
23 agricultural regulations . We do not
24 have the authority to simply deny an
25 application because it is controversial
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 4
1 or because concerns have been raised.
2 Our role is to review the proposal
3 carefully, ensure that it complies with
4 applicable laws , and evaluate potential
5 impacts . This public hearing is being
6 held early in a site plan review
7 process , specifically so the community
8 has an opportunity to be heard. No
9 decisions have been made . Nothing is
10 being rushed or pushed through .
11 Tonight is part of the process , not the
12 conclusion of it . We are here to
13 listen . Public input is an important
14 part of our review, and all relevant
15 concerns raised this evening will
16 become part of the record, and will be
17 considered as the application moves
18 forward . At the same time, the Board
19; must balance those concerns with the
20 property rights , property owners '
21 rights, and the Town ' s commitment to
22 agriculture . We ask that comments
23 remain respectful and focus on land use
24 and planning considerations . With
25 that , we will now open the hearing . So
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 5
1 this is an Ackerly Pond Agricultural
2 Barn . - This agricultural site plan is
3 for the proposed construction of a 70 '
4 x 30 , 2 , 100 square foot, agricultural
5 storage barn, no basement . Located on
6 15 . 9 acres with Development Rights held
7 by Southold Town in the AC Zoning
8 District . The property is located at
9 2430 Ackerly Pond Lane, Southold .
10 SCTM#1000-69 . -3-9 . 3 .
11 Now we will limit comments after
12 the , initial comment to three minutes .
13 And we would ask that, you know, if
14 there ' s not any real need for
15 redundancy, if you agree with
16 something, you just want to state that
17 you agree with it, you can do that . It
18 will go on the record. Thank you .
19 Yes? Please, state your name and write
20 it . And everybody, when you speak,
21 will state your name and write it .
22 GRANT CALLAHAN : Name is Grant
23' Callahan, 2340 Ackerly Pond Lane .
24 Happy Monday . It ' s a pleasure to be
25 here again . I have some extra cards
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 6
1 that I received in the mail . Should I
2 give that to Jessica or Brian or does
3 anyone want those? Yeah.
4 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
5 you .
6 GRANT CALLAHAN : Yeah . So we ' d
7 love to give a little bit of background
8 on what the project actually is . I
9 think there ' s a little bit of a
10 misconception about some things . So
11 just want to clear it up . This is a
12 pasture-raised organic hen farm, an egg
13 farm producing eggs . So there will be
14 chickens on the property. As organic,
15 there ' s no herbicides , no pesticides,
16 no fungicides , nothing like that . It ' s
17 all natural . It ' s as healthy as it can
18 be . As part of the pasture-raise
19 model , it ' s not like your traditional
20 big Ag where you ' re putting as many
21 birds as possible into a small confined
22 space and it ' s smelly, and it ' s gross ,
23 and it ' s not a healthy product, and
24 it ' s not a healthy bird. None of that .
25 It ' s like this is sort of the modern
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 7
.1 farming, the antithesis of that . And
2 so by pasture-raised, it ' s rotationally
3 grazed. So there are mobile shelters
4 that the hens will be in . Meaning that
5 the barn itself will have no animals in
6 it ever . So it ' s separate structures
7 that are moved throughout the property .
8 Giving the time for the land to rest
9 and recover in between time that your
10 animals are on it . So there ' s no
11 buildup of manure . There ' s no extra
12 smells . That manure that is dropped
13, has time to be absorbed by the soils,
14 be broken down by the sunlight into the
15 rain, absorbed into the soils . Chicken
16 manure is high in nitrogen . So it
17' actually acts as a natural fertilizer
18 for the land, allowing grasses to grow . ,
19 We ' re not clear-cutting the property.
20 We ' re simply removing some trees and
21 some brush to be able to maneuver
22 through the property and allow space
23 for our hens . But also now by opening
24 up that canopy, allowing grasses to
25 grow that haven ' t been there in
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 8
1 decades . So we view this as like an
2 ecological project . We ' re improving
3 ecological diversity . And we think
4 it ' s better land management . We ' re
5 taking care of the property. We ' re not
6 having it abandoned as it ' s been . And
7 so yeah, that ' s the basic overview,
8' high level of it . Once again, I want
9 to note that there will 'be no chickens
10 in the barn ever . That ' s simply a
11 storage barn . There will be no
12 processing on the property . We ' re not
13 allowed by our easement . So we ' re
14 allowed simple washing and packaging
15 and storage . That ' s it , right . There
16 will never be any processing at all .
17 We won ' t be cracking eggs . We won ' t be
18 killing chickens . Like we need our
19 chickens alive to run business . None
20 of that will be happening . So yeah,
21 that ' s the high-level overview of what
22 we ' re doing . And if the Board has any
23 questions , I ' d love to answer them and
24 clear anything up .
25 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Do you
JANUARY 12; 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 9
1 have any questions , Heather, at this
2 point?
3 (No Verbal Response) .
4 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Anybody
5 else?
6 MEMBER DONALD WILCENSKI : Yes .
7 How big -- how many of these
8 containment areas do you have at once
9 and how many hens are in them?
10 GRANT CALLAHAN : Sure . So we ' ll
11 have six individual mobile shelters ,
12 per certified humane standards , which
13 we ' re following, and the pasture rate
14 standards , which are the most . It ' s
15 108 square feet per bird. For
16 reference, you are free-range eggs ,
17 which a lot of folks think are the best
18 eggs they can buy in the grocery store .
19 That ' s 2 square feet per bird indoors
20 and 2 1/2 square feet outdoors . We
21 jump to 108 , right . So it ' s a lot more
22 space . And so, it ' s two and a half
23 acres per 1 , 000 birds . We plan on when
24 we ' re fully operational on the
25 property, we can fit 6, 000 birds . And
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 10
1 so each piece of land, there will never
2 be -- you know, the hens will be on
3 half an acre at a time before they ' re
4 moved and they ' re moved and they ' re
5 moved . They won ' t get back to that
6 original spot for about 30 days . That
7 land has time to rest and recover and
8 that there ' s no buildup of manure on
9 that specific area of land .
10 MEMBER DONALD WILCENSKI : Thank
11 you .
12 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Anybody? '
13 Thanks . Go ahead .
14 MEMBER MARTIN SIDOR: I ' m sorry .
15 Is there an operation already in place
16 in Southold Town? Is there an existing
17 farm as we speak?
18 GRANT CALLAHAN : No .
19 MEMBER MARTIN SIDOR: Doing
20 anything similar?
21 GRANT CALLAHAN : No, as I ' m aware,
22 nothing like this has been done on Long
23 Island anytime recently . There ' s some
24, stuff Upstate and there ' s some
25 operations throughout the country, but
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 11
1 nothing here on Long Island. This is
2 really a new push to treat animals more
3 humanely and produce a higher quality
4 product . So, you know, that
5 traditional idea of a 'smelly, gross ,
6 dirty farm, like, I don ' t want to work
7 there all day . That ' s not a product I
8 want to consume . So we ' re trying to
9 move away from that traditional
10 approach, and a better approach that ' s
11 better for people, better for the
12 environment , better for the animals .
13 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
14 you . Anybody wish -- there ' s two
15 podiums , but we would ask that you are
16 talking to the Planning Board, not the
17 applicant .
18 JESSICA MICHAELIS : And please use
19 the microphone . Thank you .
20 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Yes .
21 IRA HASPEL : Good evening . My
22 name is Ira Haspel . I ' m the operator
23 of KK ' s Farm in Southold. I was going
24 to quote the Town Code 280 ,
25 Right-to-Farm, but that has been
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 12
1 covered pretty well . There ' s a section
2 in there where it ' s a requirement to
3 inform the neighbors more fully about
4 the operation and intended use of the
5 farm. So I 'm totally in favor of
6 agriculture . I ' m in favor of chickens .
7 And particularly, what ' s called
8 silvopasture, which has been outlawed
9 by the owner, is an excellent way to
10 keep regenerative land going . And so I
11 applaud that very much . However, I
12 just wanted to see if there was ever
13 any consideration that in lieu of
14 accessing the property through Jasmine
15 Lane at the apex of a turnaround,
16 there ' s 214 feet of frontage on Ackerly
17 Pond Road. And might it not be
18 beneficial for the owners to achieve
19 their goals if the building could be
20 closer to that location? So I wonder
21 if that should be given' some
22 consideration . What ' s out there on the
23 lobby is a survey, really, just a
24 proposed building on it . It ' s really
25 not a site plan . I know it ' s early in
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 13
1 the stage, and there ' s no location in a
2 northwest -- north-south direction
3 about where it ' s going to be, just 100
4 feet off of Jasmine Lane . So I would
5 encourage examination, if the owner can
6 achieve his goals , by relocating a
7 building that would be of great benefit
8 to the neighbors . I have a small farm.
9 I ' m surrounded by residential
10 properties . So it ' d be great for the
11 neighbors to have some relief . Thank
12 you .
13 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
14 you . Anyone else? Can step to either .
15 You ' re going to sign in .
16 JOHN REICHERT : My name is John
17 Reichert . I ' ve lived in Southold for
18 40 years or more . I ' ve been in
19 business in Southold for about the same
20 amount of time . I live now on Jasmine
21 Lane, the closest to this project . And
22 when I first heard about it, I tell you
23 the truth, I was quite upset . I don ' t
24 care what you do with chickens, they
25 stink . Manure stinks . I don ' t care
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 14
1 what you ' re going to do . It ' s going to
2 stink . You go past a duck farm in
3 Aquebogue and it stinks . I can ' t use
4 my backyard if I ' m going to smell
5 chicken manure all day long . There ' s
6 going to be a rat increased population .
7 You can ' t do away with that . You got
8 free-range like -- You ' re going to have
9 flies . I don ' t understand why this
10 would be proposed so close to a
11 residential area . This is what bothers
12 me . We have children there . There ' s
13 manure that ' s going to be dry. The
14 dust from the manure affects asthma .
15 We have a child in the area who has
16 asthma . I don ' t know how you ' re going
17 to eliminate the odor or the pest . It
18 makes no sense . I don ' t care how many
; 19 times you move them. But why there?
20 Why the place is so close to a
21 residential area? And we only had 10
22 days to prepare for this meeting . I
23 thought that was a little out of touch .
24 What if somebody get dumped in our laps
25 that we ' re going to have a chicken farm
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 15
1 or egg farm next to our place of
2 residence? I ' m totally opposed to it .
3 I don ' t care how many times he moves
4 the chickens . I don ' t care if he moves ,
5 them 14 times a day . Chickens ' manure
6 stinks . It ' s a high ammonia level .
7 Not just nitrate . A high ammonia
8 level . It ' ll gag a maggot . I wish you
9 would just not do this .
10 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Did you
11 si,gn your name? John, did you sign
12 your name?
13 JOHN REICHERT : I have a pen .
14 Sorry .
15 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
16 you .
17 MIKE PAUL : Hello .
18 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Hello .
19 MIKE PAUL : My name ' s Mike Paul .
20 I live off of Jasmine on Apple Court .
21 My family used to own a 300-acre farm
22 Upstate in New York . I also worked in
23 the government in New York State, the
24 city, local , and federal level .
25 Senator D ' Amato, for example , from Long
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 16
1 Island, I thank you for your service .
2 I want to just echo some of the things '
3 that John had to say and some of my
4 neighbors . We not only have young
5 kids , we have a lot of seniors in our
6 community . The history of the
7 community, as you guys well know, even
8 better than I , was a farm at one point
9 and a decision was made to turn it into
10 a residential area . So to have it this
11 close to the residential area that the
12 Town so wisely decided years ago to
13 change is upsetting people . I agree as
14 a kid who grew up on a farm that the
15 ammonia level is high for feces from
16 chickens . But we also need to talk
17 about the flow and the direction
18 towards these properties to make sure
19 that there ' s some type of a study done
20 or some guarantee that if there is a
21 farm there, these properties are not
22 going to be adversely hurt by even the
23 flow of feces and the flow of water
24 mixed with feces coming into some of
25 these yards . The second concern is a
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 17
1 big one, I believe . That same change
2 from farming community to a suburban
3 community with a cul-de-sac that anyone
4 knows once you go on those two roads ,
5 on Jasmine and Apple, for example, is
6 the beauty and one of the reasons why
7 people want to live there . Children
8 riding their bikes . Not a lot of cars ,
9 let alone any truck of any kind or any
10` agricultural machinery of any kind
11 coming on that road . In fact , it ' s the
12 reason why many of these people in the
13 community decided to move there, and
14 why the Town moved from an agricultural
15 community to a suburban community. So
16 the point that John made about it not
17 being within that community for there
18 to be access with trucks or any type of
19 equipment, and moving it to Ackerly
20 Pond Lane, in my professional opinion,
21 from two areas , farming and government,
22 is the only decision, if it ' s going to
23 survive . Thank you very much .
24 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
25 you .
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 18
1 JOHN BRACKEN : John Bracken, live
2 at 1305 Jasmine Lane . I was -- It was
3 good you guys had a late meeting
4 tonight because we got to see how it
5 works , and it was great . And it was
6 good to see that you ' re worried about
7 the future because we ' re worried about
8 the future . Even if this plan, and
9 first of all , I want to say I ' m not
10 against farming . We knew when we built
11 this neighborhood, it was surrounded by
12 farm. That ' s not the issue here . The
13 issue is , " we have a plan with a
14 building 100 feet off the neighborhood .
15 And I can only assume, because there is
116 no even preliminary drawings , that the
17 reason it ' s at the end of Jasmine is
18 because they want to tap into the power
19 and the water . Now, if you want to tap
20 into the power and water, we already
21 have low pressure in the Summer from
22 just irrigation . Now, if we have
23 another farm use that uses a lot more
24 water, we may not have the amount of
25 water that we need off the public
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 19
1 system. And for the Fire Department,
2 they ' re not going to be happy that that
3 - last hydrant can ' t draw . That ' s just a
4 consideration . I can only assume that
5 that ' s the only reason why they put the
6 barn there . The other thing is , in the
7 future, if this farm doesn ' t work out
8 and another farm wants to come in,
9 wants to expand that barn and become a
10 different type of venue , what ' s to
11 protect us? I mean, once it ' s
12 agriculture and used, you guys should
13 approve an expansion . That ' s the way
14 it works . I can ' t stand here and say,
15 don ' t ever do this , but do it wisely .
16 Put the building in a place where it
17 doesn ' t affect us . Keeps the open
18 space . I mean, wasn ' t that the point
19 of this whole act of preserving land?
20 The vista, that ' s in the language . The
21 vista is now interrupted by a barn at
22 the end of a road that ' s just going to
23 stand there . So that ' s my two cents .
24 Thank you guys . I appreciate what
25 you ' re doing . We ' re not yelling at
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 20
1 you . I ' m just --
2 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : John, be
3 sure to sign your name .
4 JOHN BRACKEN : Thank you .
5 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Anyone
6 else?
7 SANDY KOLLEN : My name is Sandy
8 Kollen, and I live on Jasmine Lane . I
9 just had more questions than comments .
10 How many chickens are going to be on
11 this property? 6, 000?
12 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : That was
13 what we heard a few minutes ago .
14 SANDY KOLLEN : Because I did look
15 at -- and I kind of did my homework and
16 in Brookhaven, there ' s only allowed 6
17 chickens or 12 chickens , I should say,
18 per acre . 15 . 9 acres times 12 is 190
19 chickens . Nowhere near 6, 000 chickens .
20 I think that ' s an enormous amount of
21 chickens on -- even 15 acres . I am
22 worried about the smell . I ' m worried
23 about rodents . I bought this house for
24 my retirement, for my kids . I already
25 have to listen to the music from all
i
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 21
1 the vineyards around . I can even hear
2 the music from all the way from Cory
3 Creek . So that ' s pretty far away from
4 me . And this seems to be right in my
5 backyard . Is there going to be any
6 driveways or drive-through at the end
7 of Jasmine Lane? Are they going to
8 open up the end of Jasmine Lane to get
9 to this property?
10 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Again,
11 these are questions that you can ask us
12 and we will ask the applicant .
13 SANDY KOLLEN : I mean, is that a
14 possibility? I would assume that that
15 wouldn ' t even be a possibility . It ' s a
16 cul-de-sac . Why do you think --
17 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : We ' re
18 going to find that out in a few
19 minutes , Sandy . I believe .
20 SANDY KOLLEN : Okay . I ' m sorry,
21 but I ' m really not happy about this
22 project . Not that I didn ' t expect
23 anything to ever go there, but I didn ' t
24 expect 6 , 000 chickens to go next to me .
25 And I ' m basically going to have the
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 22
1 same property line . We ' re going to
2 share a property line . I ' m just not
3 pleased with this project . I 'm not
4 against farming or animals or anything
5 like that, but this is an enormous
6 amount of chickens . I didn ' t even
7 think you were going to say 6, 000 .
8 Even 1 , 000 is a lot . So that ' s what I
9 have to say.
10 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
11 you .
12 SANDY KOLLEN : Appreciate your
13 considering our --
14 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Please
15 sign your name . Please . You want to
16 do somewhere on Zoom?
17 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Tom S . , please
18 state your name and address your --
19 TOM STEVENSON : Hello . How are
20 you? Tom Stevenson, 24850 Main Road,
21 Orient . I know some of you know I ' m on
22 the AG Committee in the Town . We
23 haven ' t looked at this application yet .
24 So I ' m really not familiar . I ' m really
25 not familiar . You guys can hear me,
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 23
1 right?
2 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Yes , we
3 can .
4 TOM STEVENSON : Okay, I 'm ' sorry .
5 You ' re never sure with the Zooms if
6 they work well or not . So I ' m not real
7 familiar with the project . It ' s brand
8 new' to me . You know, and as a farmer
9 myself, you know, you ' re 'always trying
10,
to work with your neighbors and be
11 friendly with your neighbors , and try
12 to get along . Even though, you know,
13 agriculture, that ' s the reason I moved
14 to Southold to farm. I did not move
15 here to retire or, you know -- I was
16 unaware that we decided to go from a
17 farming community to a suburb . But I
18 do work with all my neighbors and stay
19 friendly as much as I can . And I
20 would, you know, I ' d recommend trying
21 to apply logic and reason and see if
22 people can get along . But in 1997 ,
23 this town decided to become to
24 formalize the Right-to-Farm legislation
25 that ' s in the Zoning Code . And I don ' t
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 24
1 think many people are really familiar
.2 with it . It ' s always good to go ahead
3 and read it . And it does say that
4 anybody buying a house within 500 feet
5 of a farm is supposed to get a copy of
6 it , and to review it and sign it . And
7 inexplicably give it back to the real
8 estate agent . They should really give
9 it to the farmer . But let ' s , you know,
10 maybe 6, 000 -- maybe there ' s another
11 model , but , you know, I would love to
12 see this in front of the AG Committee
13 and maybe we can, you know, try to see
14 what we think about it, and meet the
15 applicant and, you know, weigh in . And
16 I think that ' s all I have for now, but
17 have a great night .
18 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
19 you, Tom.
20 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Brandon?
21 BRANDON VON FELDT : Hi , this is
22 Brandon Von Feldt , 365 Jasmine Lane . I
23 would just echo the comments of the
24 neighbors .
25 JESSICA MICHAELIS : I ' m sorry?
JANUARY .12, 2026 PUBLIC HEADING 25
1 BRANDON VON FELDT : Hi . Can you
2 hear me?
3 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Yes .
4 BRANDON VON FELDT : Hi . Brandon
5 Von Feldt, 365 Jasmine Lane . Not sure
6 how much of it you caught before, but
7 again, I would just echo the comments
8 of the neighbors that had spoke before .
9 The size of the operation is much
10 larger than I would have expected it to
11 be . Not from Southold originally, but
12 my grandfather was a family farmer . My
13 uncle was a family farmer . I ' ve
14 experienced animals coming in next door
15 to a farm firsthand in the past . As
16 some of the folks said here, chickens
17 create a lot of smell . A flock of
18r 6, 000 birds , I would expect, would
19 create smell going into the downtown
20 Southold, too, quite frankly, given the
21 direction of wind . So just something
22 else to consider . Thank you .
23 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
24 you . Jake?
25 JOHN JAKLEVIC : Good evening . My
JANUARY 12, 2026 .PUBLIC HEARING 26
1 name is John Jakelevic . I live at 45
2 Apple Court . I ' ve lived in -- on Apple
3 Court for over 30 years . The only
4 thing I want to bring to the table is ,
5 as the proposed owner stated, that
6 chicken manure is high in nitrogen .
7 And' when I heard that, well, Southold
8' Town and Suffolk County Health
9 Department is having everybody install
10 the IA septic systems now to reduce
11 nitrogen in the water table . So 6, 000
1.2 chickens might put a lot of nitrogen
13 back into the water table . And
14 that ' s -- I don ' t know, it ' s sort of
15 against what we ' re trying to push in
16 Southold Town for a cleaner water .
17 That ' s all I have .
18 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
19 you . Anybody else on Zoom, Jess ?
20 JESSICA MICHAELIS : No .
21 UNKNOWN AUDIENCE SPEAKER: Can we
22' speak more than once?
23 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : We
24 really would ask you not to, but if you
25 have something else you want to add, if
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 27
1 it ' s a different thing you said.
2 UNKNOWN AUDIENCE SPEAKER: Is this
3 sort of an open form where he ' s going '
4 to answer some of the questions ?
5 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : He is
6 going to answer some of the questions ,
7 yes , sir . You can . You want to answer
8 a couple questions that have been
9 asked? John, you want to?
10 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Just so
11 everyone knows , this meeting is
12 transcribed . So we can ' t really have
13 conversation going back and forth over
14 the room like that . Thank you .
15 JOHN REICHERT : Sorry . But as I
16 sat here, I looked at the Board and I
17 said to myself, how many of you people
18 would vote for that thing to be in your
19 backyard? I hope when you ' re making a
20 decision about this , you ' ll think about
21 that . Thank you .
22 GRANT CALLAHAN : Okay . Sure . So
23 I recognize all the concerns . I truly
24 do a couple of things I would note that
25 stand out, one, we do not --
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 28
1 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Speak to
2 the microphone , please .
3 GRANT CALLAHAN : We do not propose
4 using Jasmine Lane as access at all .
5 Everything will be through Ackerly .
6 There ' ll be no trucks , no machinery,
7 nothing on Jasmine Lane . No curb cuts .
8 The gentleman who spoke before is
9 correct, that the barn is there because
10 of logistical and infrastructure issues
11 in terms of Suffolk County Water does
12 not provide 'water off of Ackerly Pond
13 Lane . And so for us to bring water
14 from Jasmine Lane all the way down to
15 say a' barn located at Ackerly Lane
16 would incur enormous costs for us .
17 Every couple feet that we put it back
18 is a lot of money . So we looked at our
19 setbacks and what was required of us
20 because we have frontage on both
21 Jasmine and Ackerly, we can elect to
22 choose either as the front of our
23 property and base our setbacks off of
24 that . We happened to choose Jasmine
25' because the barn was going to be
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 29
1 located close to it , which puts our
2 setback off Jasmine at 60 feet . We
3 could have elected to have chosen
4 Ackerly as the front of our property,
5 which could then make our Jasmine side
6 setback at 20 feet . So we ' re far
7 exceeding that in terms of setbacks and
8 what were required. Once again,
9 there ' s no animals going in the barn,
10 which was close to that property line .
11 The majority of the chickens throughout
12 the time will not be in that property
13 line . They ' ll be throughout the
14 property . And I recognize that I
15 can ' t , you know -- look at you --
16 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Can you
17 --
18 GRANT CALLAHAN : Yeah . Yeah . I
19 can ' t address every concern because,
20 yes , there are chickens . And I
21 understand that one of the main
22 concerns is that there- are chickens .
23 Like that, that is part of our
24 proposal . I can ' t address that impact .
25 I would just, you know, once again,
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 30
1 note it is a Right-to-Farm town that in
2 terms of the amount of animals that I ' m
3 allowed to put on the property, I
4 could, in theory, put way more . I ' m
5 choosing not to because I ' m doing the
6 ecological thing, right? I ' m trying to
7 do what ' s right for the environment and
81 the animals . And so I ' m really trying
9 to work with the neighborhood and the
10 neighbors . I ' m not trying to be the
11 nasty new neighbor who comes in and is
12 all difficult , and giving everyone a
13 hard time . I really would like to work
14 with y ' all . But the fact this is our
15 proposal . This is what it is and the
16 material nature of that is --
17 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Do you
18 have a specific amount of any water
19 budget or what you anticipate using?
20 GRANT CALLAHAN : Sure . So when we
21 applied to Suffolk County Water, they
22 did a flow test and they determined how
23 much water was available off of
24 ' Jasmine . And the number far, far; far
25 exceeded whatever our requirements are .
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 31
1 Our requirements based on what we
2 submitted would be less than --
3 Actually, I don ' t want to give you a
4 firm number because I ' m not exactly
5 sure, and I don ' t want to be quoted
6 incorrectly there . But our water
7 requirements are below -- I don ' t want
8 to say that either . It ' s not
9 tremendous . It ' s not --
10 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Can you
11 get the Board a little information on
12 that?
13 GRANT CALLAHAN : I can get you
14 exactly how much water was in the
15 application of Suffolk County . I can
16 get' that to you . But like, we ' re not
17 irrigating the property, for example .
18 So if it was a vineyard going in there,
19 which it 100% could, but they ' re
20 irrigating, right? Or any other sort
21 of crop where we ' re irrigating, that
22 would require far more water than we
23 would use, which I think is also
24 important to note about the water .
25 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 32
1 you . I would also remind the audience
2 here that besides us , Southold Town
3 having a Right-to-Farm Law, the State
4 of New York has an extremely aggressive
5 Right-to-Farm Law . So that ' s something
6 that we have to consider too . All
7 right . One more rebuttal .
8 MIKE PAUL : I ' m glad you brought
9 that up . Thank you .
10 JESSICA MICHAELIS : Just state
11. your name, please , for the record.
12 MIKE PAUL : Mike Paul . Thank you .
13 The history of the change is
14 significant . This was in this
15 particular area a farming community. A
16 peach farm, for example, was also in
17 that area previously . The decision was
18 made by the town, including the state
19 and the county, to pivot to a suburban
20 community of which all of these people
21 and many others purchased property for
22 a particular type of living, household.
. 23 The water table that ' s so attractive to
24 this project, again, as a former farmer
25 with 300 acres , I can assure you, 15
JANUARY 12, 2026. PUBLIC HEARING 33
1 acres abutting a neighborhood to the
2 point that John made, that water table
3 within the restrictions of the law of
4 New York Sta"te and of this town is
5' mainly for the residents . You can talk
6 about a comparison to a vineyard. It ' s
7 ' not an animal . It doesn ' t have feces .
8: Doesn ' t have ammonia. Doesn ' t have
9 things that are going to affect human
life, including potential sickness . We
11 have a history of sickness on this
12 island. We have new diseases and new
13• viruses that are spreading . You can
14 call it organic . When it comes, it
i5 comes like that . But the point about
16 the water, we pivoted as a town, as, a
17 county, and as a state, at least for
18 this neighborhood, away from this small
19 segment to have water and' to have
20 _ safety for babies , families , and the '
21 elderly who live there . Thank you .
22 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
23 you . Anyone else? A.11 right . I ' m
24 going to limit this now to new
25 speakers . Sandy, I '.m sorry.
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 34
1 SANDY KOLLEN : This is our only
2 chance to talk, though .
3 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : We ' re
4 going to keep this open for written
5 correspondence too, but new speakers .
6 Lynn, do you want to speak?
7 LYNN ECKHARDT : Lynn Eckhart . I
8 live on Jasmine Lane . I was -- just
9 wanted to point out a consideration of
10 the pollution control as far as the
11 waste from the chickens . I know the
12 duck farm in Aquebogue has spent
13 millions upon millions of dollars for
14 processing the waste to get the
15 nitrogen levels down . On a 15-acre
16 farm, I don ' t know if there was any
17 kind, of consideration or plan to work
18 with the waste from the chickens . I
19 just wanted to point that out as
. 20 something .
21 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
22 you . Did you write your name down,
23 Lynn . Yes , sir?
24 KEVIN GRATTAN : How ' s it going?
25 My name ' s Kevin Grattan . I ' m born and
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 35
1 raised here . My property backs up to
2 this one off of Terry Court . You know,
3 I sat here and listened to this other
4 thing before about you guys with the
5 vineyard and worrying about a speaker,
6 and how loud it would be . Like going
7 forward, you know, farming -- it ' s your
.8 thing, but who ' s to say that it doesn ' t
9 grow the amount of ducks, the property
10 clearing, because that ' s all woods
11 right now. So just things to think
12 about in the long run, if it gets sold,
13 you know, what can potentially happen
14 to this whole thing . That ' s just my
15 two cents .
16 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
17 you, Kevin . Anyone else? Yes , please .
18 SONOMI OBINATA: Hi . My name is
19 Sonomi Obinata . I ' m resident in
20 Southold and to ( inaudible) Farm. So
21 we have a chicken, and their chickens
22 were hens , only hens . And then they ' re
23 happy. ' And I wonder if 6, 000 chickens
24 is happy chicken . And then, if they .
25 eat healthy food, like bird food, a
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 36
1 regular bird food -- not the pet . And
2 if you did a conventional scale, and
3 then if chicken is not happy, the poop
4 is not happy. It ' s smelly . Ammonia is
5 smelly. My chicken poop doesn ' t smell
6 ammonia . It just fertilizes the soil
7 nicely. But it ' s a scale-wise . We
8 just only have a single-hen roaming
9 around . And it ' s just giving the soil
10 very basic, you know, fertilizer . And
11 it doesn ' t smell . 6, 000 chicken might
12 be perfect as long as what they feed,
13 what ' s the feed for it? What ' s the
14 environmental concern? The whole
15 circle? Chicken can be good because
16 they eat the ticks . You know, that ' s
17 all the concern environmentally . And
18 maybe possible, but maybe not . So you
19 need to discuss more about environment .
20 What ' s the balance you can make? The
21 soil , the nature, water quality, noise?
22 "Hen make noise when you lay the egg,
23 really loud . So that ' s my part of your
24 story . So that way you farm might be
,25 important .
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 37
1 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Sign
. 2 your name . Thank you . Anyone else
3 that hasn ' t spoken before?
4 (No Response) .
5 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Jess ,
6 you have anybody on?
7 JESSICA MICHAELIS : No .
8 UNKNOWN AUDIENCE SPEAKER: Okay.
9 Can I just ask to ask additional
10 questions?
11 JESSICA MICHAELIS : I ' m sorry, not
12 from back there . If the Board allows
13 you to speak again, then you ' d have to
14 go to the podium. We can ' t yell --
15 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III :
16 Danielle, I ' ll let you go in a minute .
17 LESLIE HERRLIN : Hi , I 'm Leslie .
18 I own property at 1450 Jasmine Lane .
19 Sign my name . I have a lot of
20 questions , and a lot of concerns as
21 were mentioned here . John is my
22 father, and he said it very well .
23 Sandy just said that s"he wanted more
24 time for rebuttal . We ' ve had no time .
25 We ' ve had 10 days to prepare for this
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 38
1 meeting . A whole community was
2 concerned about 6, 000 chickens laying
3 hens , roaming the 15 . 9 acres . And
4 they ' re free range during the day. Are
5 they free range at night? They go into
6 hen houses . That ' s where a lot of the
7 disease is concentrated . And we need
8 more time . We need more time to
9 prepare for this . As far as I can see ,
10 I don ' t see how this in two months came
11 to a hearing . There are concerns with
12 the easement itself . I ' m not sure
13 about this . So this is a question I
14 have for you because I ' m not familiar
15 with the easements and the land
16 preservation and the development
17 rights . But there are questions that
18 are on my phone, if you ask me -- being
19 when the town -- something with the
20 roads and agriculture, the roads aren ' t
21 there in the beginning . So the
22 preservation development rights program
23 policies have historically included a
24 provision that the town, nor the
25 county, buy the development rights of
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 39
1 the access or farm roads . Is anybody
2 familiar with that? Okay, so that ' s
3 something I don ' t know . There is no
4 land set aside for a farm road, access
5 to the building . Does that make any
6 sense to anybody?
7 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : I am not
8 following what your question is .
9 LESLIE HERRLIN : Yeah, I have
10 these questions . So you ' re not
11 following it . I ' m not following it
12 either . We need more time . This is a
13 huge amount of information that
. 14 deserves a lot of time for public
15 scrutiny . We have children in the
16 community. As everyone has said, many,
17 many families on Jasmine Lane who live
18 there . It ' s the original affordable
19 housing development . And I think Mike
20 brought up a great point about it . It
21 was set aside for families , children .
22 And now you ' re going to have a huge
23 commercial poultry operation . If this
24 works out for them, like he said, they
25 could do more . He even said it . We
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 40
1 could have more . We could do a lot
2 more . That ' s wonderful . Not wonderful
3 for us . I feel this needs to be
4 tabled. This is not a good way that
5 this is going for our community .
6 You ' ve had this information for a long
7 time . And then here we are, 10 days .
8 10 days . This will have a significant
9 negative impact on our community . And
10 that is an understatement . And why out
11 of 15 . 9 acres of preserved land do they
12 choose the spot closest to our home?
13 My home in particular . But this isn ' t
14 about me . Everybody who lives on the
15 North Fork, everybody who lives here
16 knows about the Crescent Duck Farm.
17 You drive into town, you drive in, you
18 say, oh, wow, North Fork ' s beautiful .
19 And then, whoo, you ' re hit with it . If
20 you think that ' s not going to happen
21 here, you ' re wrong . And it ' s going to
22 be "Welcome to Southold ." It ' s going
23 to hit you . There are a lot of issues
24 here that need to be discussed. And
25 this forum right here, this is not
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 41
1 enough time . This is no way to have an
2. operation like this be before us .
�3 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Do you
4 have anything specific to say?
5 LESLIE HERRLIN : Yeah, I am
6 speaking specifically to the point that
7 this is a rush-through project .
.8 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : It ' s not
9 intended --
10 LESLIE HERRLIN : That ' s your
11 opinion .
12 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Okay.
1.3 It ' s not intended that way, but say --
14 , if you want. to say --
15 LESLIE .HERRLIN : I ' m not done .
16 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : You ' re
17 not --
18 LESLIE HERRLIN : I 'm not done .
19 No . There was a lack of transparency .
20 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : We ' re
21 allowing three minutes per speech .
22 LESLIE HERRLIN : There was a lack
23 of transparency .
24 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : I don ' t
25 think there ' s been a lack of
i
JANUARY 12; 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 42
1 transparency on this at all .
2 LESLIE HERRLIN : Well, I believe
3 it has been .
4 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : How long
5 are we at?
6 JESSICA MICHAELIS : I was timing
7 on my phone because that ' s what was --
8 LESLIE HERRLIN : Let ' s see . What
9 did you say? There was -- So the
10 vineyards, he ' s talking about the water
11 for the vineyards . I don ' t know . Do _
12 they irrigate vineyards ? I don ' t think
13 so . No . No . So one of the components of
14 when you purchase a development rights
15 program is the activity . The buildings
16 are generally clustered to reduce
17 impacts on the neighboring residential
18 property . In this case, given the
19 location, it looks like this owner went
20 out of their way to put it to the
21 closest possible place near our
22 community. Also, they asked for
23 pre-approval to clear . How does that
24 happen? They ' re already clear --
25 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : I ' m
JANUARY. 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 43
1 going to cut this off now . This is an
2 agricultural application, which has a
3 right to exist . As I read in the
4 beginning, we do not have a yes-no on
5 this . We have a right to mitigate and
6 try to work with the owners . You have
7 been talking for five or six minutes
8 now, and really not said anything that
9 hasn ' t said already .
10 LESLIE HERRLIN : Okay. Well , you
11 know what? That doesn ' t matter . I
12 have a right to say what I want to say,
13 and even if it repeats what someone
14 else says .
15 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Okay.
16 So thank you . Sandy, you have --
17 Mr . Schelin?
18 SCOTT SCHELIN : Good evening .
19 Scott Schelin, 1220 Jasmine Lane,
20 Southold . Bought the house 31 years
21 ago . It ' s a great community . We ' re
22 all interested in farming . We all love
23 it . We all like to eat our eggs , drink
24 our milk, fresh, anything else . I just
25 want to think back, if you lived here
s
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 44
1 100 years ago and you said you lived in
2 Southold Town, you farmed . First thing
3 you would look at or the first thing
4 you would think of, is potatoes , right?
5 So what ' s changed in 100 years? We
6. went from potatoes , cauliflower . We
7 went to wineries with grapes . We went
8 to sod . We ' ve gone to chicken farming .
9 We ' ve got beef, cattle out there, and
10 everything else . My main question is ,
1'L we ' re talking loose terms here,
12 farming . Okay. Loose terms , poultry.
13 Could you tell me poultry? We know the
14 negative impacts that we ' ve heard about
15 chickens . If we say that this is going
16 to be a poultry farm adhering to only
17 chickens , does that mean that we ' re
18 going to have turkey, pheasant, quail,
19 duck, or any other species of poultry?
20 That ' s basically my question . Is it
21 something that could be mixed with the
22 two, with different types of animals?
23 I know they have talked about chickens .
24 My question is , is there any further
4 25 discussion or any further intentions
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 45
1 with their use for different kinds of
2 poultry? Thank you .
3i CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Scott ,
4 did you sign your name? Thank you .
5 Anyone who hasn ' t spoken?
6 JOHN NICKLES, JR. : Good evening .
7 John Nickles , Jr . Live over at 51155
8 Main Road, Southold and my mother owns
9 the property there . She ' s here with us
10 this evening . I ' m speaking for her on
11 her behalf . We ' d be right in line with
12 if there is any type of odor that would
13 be admitted from this farm operation .
14 It would be something new that hasn ' t
15 existed in this area . I ' ve also worked
16 as a local real estate broker, so I
17 have a pretty intimate knowledge of how
18 things work around here . Which way the
19 winds blow, what property values are
20 when they ' re near something that may be
21 considered as a negative . And so time
22 will tell . I share many of the
23 concerns of the residents in Jasmine
24 Lane, and I think we could potentially
25 be impacted in that negative way, as
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 46
1 well . And I just ask this Board .to
2 consider in your ability to mitigate
3 what you think is the best way that
4 this project goes along, if it goes
5 along . Thank you for your time .
6 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
7 you . You sign your name? Thank you .
8 Anyone else who hasn ' t spoken?
9 DONNA ZUREK GOLDENSE : Hi . Donna
10 Zurek Goldense, 1300 Jasmine Lane . So
11 my concerns are nuisance control , rats ,
12 other rodents , mice, so on and so
13' forth . With that brings pathogens ,
14 Leptospirosis . A lot of the neighbors
15 in our neighborhood have dogs , cats .
16 Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection,
17 can be spread to dogs . Can
18 potentially, unfortunately, un-alive
19 them. Can harm us as humans as well ,
20 because it can spread . It ',s zoonotic .
21 So zoonotic diseases come to mind with
22 rodents , so on and so forth . Flies ,
23 how will that be dealt with?
24 Obviously, you can ' t kill all the
'25 flies . Flies , maggots , they ' re vectors
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 47
1 . for spreading diseases as well . So my
2 concern is disease spread . How can
3 they combat that? I am all for
C t
4 farming . My dad came from a farming
5 community in Poland . Came over, worked
6 for the Kioski ' s , so on and so forth .
7 Fire truck access . If there is a fire
8 in the building, how will that be
9� handled? So those are my concerns at
10 the moment .
11 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
12 you . Be sure to sign your name, Donna.
13 RODNEY HERRLIN : Good evening . My
14 name is Rodney Herrlin . My wife and I
15 own 1450 Jasmine Lane . And, you know,
16 you ' ve heard .a lot of people ' s opinion
17 tonight about -- I shouldn ' t say
18 opinion, concerns about this chicken
19 farm. This gentleman stood up here and
20 said, how it ' s going to be so
21 wonderfully handled and that it ' s going
22 to be moved around and there ' s going to
23 be no buildup of feces . He ' s well --
24 that ' s a crock . There ' s no way you can
25 have 6, 000 birds on that property that
JANUARY -12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 48
1 it ' s not going to create odor, dust,
2 smells . I mean, all kinds of bacteria
3 ' flying through the air. So as my
4 father-in-law put it; I think people
5 sitting up there who make these
6 decisions need to think, would you want
7, this in your backyard? Because there ' s
8 noway . I mean, this does not belong .
. 9 If it was like Sandy said, I think if
10 it was a thousand birds , I would think
11 that ' s a lot . 6, 000 ? I really don ' t
12 see how this is the area for that . I
13 know I ' m all for farming . I came from
14 a farming family. We .lived off the
15 farm when I was a kid. We had chickens
16 and they stunk . So, I mean, for them
17 to stand there and tell you that it ' s
18 not going to have any odor, and it ' s
19 not going to impact the community of
` 20' Jasmine Lane . The wind blows down
21 Jasmine Lane and it ' s going to be just
22 like the entrance into Aquebogue or
23 whatever it is , when you come into the
I '
24 Duck Farm, it ' s going' to smell . And I
25 really think people, need to -- we need
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 49
1 more time to deal with this because I
2 don ' t see that this is good for the
3 community . It ' s good for them, maybe,
4 but it ' s not good for this community of
5 the residents on Jasmine, which is , as
6 has been spoken here, families ,
7 elderly. Now, many of them raised
8 their children there, but now it ' s , you
9 know, a lot of elderly people there and
10 asthma . People have asthma . People
11 have concerns with airborne diseases ,
i2 and chickens are not clean . I don ' t
13 care what you say. So I just think you
14 need to -- you really need to think
15 this through because it ' s not good for
16 the neighborhood.
17 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
18 you for your comment , sir . Anyone
19 else?
20 (No Response) .
21 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Anybody
22 on Zoom, Jess?
23 (No Response) .
24 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Sandy,
25 did you want to say --
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 50
1 SANDY KOLLEN : Thank you for
2 letting me speak again . I just had a
3 question . Does the Town have a ratio
4 of chickens per square foot of
5 property? Is that such a thing?
6 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : No, but
7 the Department of Agriculture may. And
8 I think what you refer to in towns like
9 ; Brookhaven, is a residential
10 neighborhood. This is land that has
11 been -- the development rights have
12 been purchased by the Town of Southold
13 for the specific use of agriculture .
14 And now we come up against the
15 Constitution of the State of New York,
16 which allows for agricultural use . It
17 is very, very definitive . I mean,
18 we ' ve been down this road with pumpkin
19 launching contests . You know, if y.ou
20 grow the pumpkin, you can have a
21 pumpkin launch contest you farm. And
22 besides the state, we also have the
23 Town of Southold has the right to farm.
24 This Planning Board does not have an
25 up-down vote on this issue . I just
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 51
1 want that to be clear to everybody . We
2 do not have the right to say yes or no,
3 generally, in this -- so we will do the
4 best we can to mitigate this . But you
5 have to realize that this land was
6 bought by the Town of Southold to be
7 preserved for agricultural use . That
8 includes barns . It could include
9 greenhouses . It could include a lot of
10 other things .
11 SANDY KOLLEN : Right , of course .
12 And I think that ' s one of the things
13 that we ' re worried about is , okay,
14 we ' re talking about 6, 000 chickens ,
15 which is mind-blowing . 6, 000 chickens .
16 Think about that . And every two to
17 three years , they ' re killed. Culled,
18 they call it . So what ' s going to
19 happen with those chickens ? You know,
20 I worry about all the -- they must have
21 trucks that are going to have to come
22 in and out and take the chickens , bring
23 more chickens .
24 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : They ' re
25 not going to come through your -- there
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 52
1 is no access from your development .
2 Anyway, I don ' t want to get into a give
3 and take here, but --
4 SANDY KOLLEN : So I wanted to just
5 address that again, too . So that -- so
6 they ' re -- they can never go through
7 Jasmine Lane; is that accurate?
8 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Well, I ;
9 can say they never could, but they are
10 not planning an access at this .
11 SANDY KOLLEN : No, they ' re not
12 planning, but I ' m asking if that ' s a
13 possibility someday?
14 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : It ' s a
15 public road, and they own a property.
16 I assume they could if they have to .
17 SANDY KOLLEN : So they could take
18 the cul-de-sac and just cut right
19 through to their property? That is a
20 possibility someday?
21 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : I ' m not
22 a lawyer .
23 SANDY KOLLEN : So you ' re not a
24 lawyer .
25 MEMBER MIA JEALOUS-DANK: It ' s not
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 53
1 part of this application .
2 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : It ' s not
3 part of this application, as Mia said .
4 I ' m not --
5 SANDY KOLLEN : Okay. And is there
6 , going to be any roosters on the
7 property? I mean, we already know that
8 the hens make a lot of noise . We
. 9 definitely know that the roosters make
10 a lot of noise .
11 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : I
12' don ' t -- it ' s not for me to answer your
13 questions . I ' m sorry. We ' re taking
14 information here .
15 SANDY KOLLEN : .Right . I just -- I
16 appreciate you guys just trying to
17 think about our neighborhood . Think
18 about how many people are there . I
19 bought my house for retirement . I feel
20 like my property value is going to go
21 way, way down with 6 , 000 chickens .
22 Who ' s ever going to want to look at my
23 . house and buy it with a chicken farm
24 right next to me? I just don ' t see it
25 happening . I feel like my house is not
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 54
1 going to be worth what it '. s worth right
2 now . And besides the health, you know,
3 I have animals myself . I. don ' t want to
4 get sick . I don ' t want my neighbors
5 sick . I know that some of my neighbors
6 have some health issues . So I just ask
7 the Board to just consider, you know,
8 this enormous project on pretty much a
9 small piece of property. It ' s 15
10 acres , but that ' s not that big . I
11 thank you very much .
12 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Thank
13 you, Sandy . Don?
14 DON BRACKEN : I don ' t want to
15 rebut anything . I just want to make
16 information straight . The cul-de-sac
17 looks like a cul-de-sac, but on the
18 map, it ' s actually a road that goes
19 right to the property line . So access
20 is easy . Just go on the road . So the
21 question is , how can we abate that?
22 How can we abate that? How can you
23 abate that?
24 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : That is
25 something that we may -- and I don' t
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 55
1 want to speak too much and make any
2 promises , but that is something that we
3 may be able to put in as a condition .
4 DON BRACKEN : Like I could see if
5 it ' s like an emergency road for fire,
6 where it ' s got a great --
7 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : That
8 would be sort of the compromise there
9 that I would suggest . Yes .
10 DON BRACKEN : I ' m just bringing
11 it --
12 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Again,
13 that ' s --
14 DON BRACKEN : People think it ' s a
15 cul-de-sac . I know from the map that
16 it ' s not .
17 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : ' I know
18 you were involved in the original
19 project , as I was .
20 DON BRACKEN : Well, originally, I
21 think George was going to buy that
22 piece and go further in and do more
23 housing, but that didn ' t work.
24 Anyway ' s , I just wanted to make that
25 quick .
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 56
1 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Don,
2 just sign your name again for me?
3 Thank you, sir .
4` IRA HASPEL : -- Suggestion .
5 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Mr .
6 Haspel, please take the stand and state
7 your name again, Mr . Haspel .
8 IRA HASPEL : Ira Haspel, Southold.
9 I just want to make a suggestion . It
10 might help . One, as far as a water
11 connection, you might find that putting
12 a well in and not depending on Suffolk
13 County water over the long run might be
14 cost effective . You won ' t be paying
15 all those bills . Give you the ability
16 to relocate the building much more
17 easily. And then provide a sufficient
18 buffer against the properties that are
19 on Jasmine Lane . So it ' s less of a
20 problem, if the project goes ahead .
21 That would be my recommendation .
22 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Again,
� 23 sign your name . Thank you .
24 MEMBER DONALD WILCENSKI : I ' d like
25 to make a motion -- to make a motion to
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 57
1 the Board, to leave this meeting, this
2 public meeting open for two weeks for
3. written comments . We do that quite
4 often . And that gives everyone a
.5 chance to send in some more
6 information . It gives us -- well,
7 we ' re just starting the information
8 process , to be honest with everybody.
9 I mean, we ' re just seeing this and
10 hearing it . As Jim said earlier, this
11 is early on the process . This haven ' t
12 even gotten across our desks really
13 yet . So there ' s a lot of information
14 for both sides to do . So my motion is
15 to leave the public hearing open for
16 two weeks for written letters that will
17 be accepted at the Planning Department .
18 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : And the
19 letters will have the same as your
20 comments here today . They ' ll be
21 recorded in the same manner .
22 MEMBER MIA JEALOUS-DANK: Second .
23 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Motion
. 24 made . Seconded . Any discussion?
25 (No Response) .
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 58
1 CHAIRMAN DAMES RICH III : All in
2 favor?
3 MEMBER MIA JEALOUS-DANK: Aye .
4 MEMBER PIERCE RAFFERTY : Aye .
5 MEMBER MARTIN SIDOR : Aye .
6 MEMBER DONALD WILCENSKI : Aye .
7 CHAIRMAN JAMES RICH III : Aye .
8
9 (Whereupon, the Public Hearing
10 Concluded. )
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18,
19
20. .
2.1.
22
23
24
25
JANUARY 12, 2026 PUBLIC HEARING 59
1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
i
2
3 I , Jessica DiLallo, a Notary
4 Public for and within the State of New
5 York, do hereby certify :
6 THAT, the within transcript is a
7 true record of said Board Meeting .
8 I further certify that I am not
9 related either by blood or marriage to
10 any of the parties to this action; and
11 that I am in no way interested in the
12 outcome of this matter .
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have
14 hereunto set my hand this day,
15 January 28 , 2026 .
16
17
18 ( Je is Lallo)
19
20
21
22
23
24
25