Despite Planning Board Concerns, Many Residents Support New Hess Station

A Hess gas station proposed for a vacant site on Route 112 had the support of many Port Jefferson Station residents who came to the Brookhaven Town Planning Board meeting on Oct. 17.

The property described as “blighted” by Hess representatives once served as a Texaco gas station with garage bays for an auto repair business. An original certificate of occupancy to run a gas station on the site dates back to 1967. Now the Hess Corporation wants to construct a new gas station on the triangular-shaped property bordered by Route 112 and Washington Avenue in Port Jefferson Station.

“We support the Hess project,” said Richard Ciotta of 45 Gettysburg Drive during the public meeting.

Ciotta who is a resident of the Sterling Woods condominium complex and president of its board of managers said that the site was becoming blighted.

“People are breaking into structure and setting up residence,” he said. “We feel this is a safe plan and we’re for it.”

Not every resident was so open-armed about the new gas station.

One resident worried about the size of the billboard and said that the Texaco station has a number of leaks in the past that he was concerned about.

Attorney, Gene Nicola said that Hess proposed to start from scratch by demolishing the entire site and rebuilding in what he described as the company’s “Hamptons or East End design.” In all, the proposed landscape area will be 32.5 percent of the property, exceeding the required 20 percent and the new building will be 36 percent smaller than the structure currently on the site.

Although the total landscaping exceeds Town requirements, the company is seeking some variances along with exceptions on signage and parking.

According to Nicola, the proposed plan can’t meet a 15-foot front yard landscape requirement because of the triangular shape of property. He also wanted a parking variance to put in nine parking spaces in front of the convenience store, 70 percent of the required number. He also sought a variance for the Hess sign, which he described as “neat, not garish.”

Nicola claims Hess representatives met with the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association back in 2009 and the proposal was “well received.”

Despite that, the Planning Board “has concerns about this site,” said Board Chairman Vincent Pascale.

A major concern centered on disrupting traffic on Route 112 when gas trucks came into and out of the property and the flow of customers into the gas station.

The plan, countered to Nicola was for filling trucks to enter the property on Route 112 from the northbound lane and exit the Washington Avenue egress to turn around.

An alternative site proposal that was quickly drawn up showed a somewhat different layout for the property with the convenience store turned about 90 degrees and with parking on the northern, wider side of the property rather than directly in front of the store. A Hess engineer argued that the alternate layout was too complicated and didn’t allow for a direct line of sight for cashiers to the gas pumps.

“I’m for the application,” said Port Jefferson Station resident Greg Brown at the meeting. “This thing has sat vacant long enough.”

Other residents supported the plan as well, saying the vacant gas station was an eyesore and a nuisance.

Patricia Rose, who has lived on Groton Drive for 31 years, said that she’s been waiting for someone to come in and build on the property “rather than have that vacant land.”

“What Hess proposed is great," Rose said after the meeting.

Don Rose wondered why the planning board was having trouble with the application.

“If residents are for it I don't understand who they’re protecting?" he asked.

The board voted to close the hearing and put the proposal on decision calendar.