Town Notebook: Gardens and Shellfish

Owners will face new regulations on prospective freestanding convenience stores after a vote last week.

A study by the town planning department found that the freestanding stores bring in more customers and neighborhoods are often affected by spillover traffic because parking and loading areas aren’t sufficient. The study also concluded that those insufficiencies create  traffic circulation and heighten safety concerns for pedestrians.

The Town Board also:

Appointed voluntary park stewards: Ciaran Clark, Geisslers Beach and Jerome Ambro Memorial Wetlands Preserve; Susan Gessner, Veterans Park and Paul Warburgh, Village Green. It also authorized the creation of a Cemetery Stewards Program, similar to the park stewards program, in which volunteers will keep the town informed about conditions at the 60 historic cemeteries that have no custodian or entity responsible for their maintenance. The cemetery program will be coordinated by Town Historian Robert Hughes.

Approved the rezoning of a parcel at the intersection of Route 25A and Centershore Road to allow Hilltop Homes to construct up to nine townhouse-style condominium units in two buildings.

Authorized the use  of by the Special Olympics Long Island Region to conduct a golf program for athletes with special needs. The program will run on Sunday evenings from June 26 to Oct.2.

Appropriated funds from the Environmental Open Space and Park Improvement Fund (EOSPA) for several projects, including installation of a traffic signal at the entrance to the Sunshine Acres Park in Commack ($115,000), replacement of a concrete retaining wall and installation of a security fence at Gateway Park ($350,000) and rehabilitation and reconstruction of volleyball, handball and basketball courts at Veterans Park in East Northport ($140,000).

Approved a plan to allow the sale of produce grown at Gateway Park and the Clifford Soergel Outreach Garden at the Robert M. Kubecka Organic Garden to provide funding for educational programs at the gardens.

Shellfish Waters Reopened

The state reopened Huntington waters to the harvesting of shellfish. About 2,200 acres of shellfish harvesting waters, in  Northport Bay, Duck Island Harbor and Centerport Harbor, were closed May 12 after  saxitoxin, a naturally occurring marine biotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, was found in shellfish harvested in Northport Bay.

Biotoxin closures affecting about 5,300 acres of shellfish harvesting areas in Huntington Bay and Lloyd Harbor were rescinded earlier in the week.