Despite local pushback, the Enclaves Restaurant and Hotel in Southold is one step closer to becoming a reality.
The Suffolk Times reported that developer Jonathan Tibett has gained conditional approval from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals for his proposed 44-room hotel and 74-seat restaurant at 56655 Main Road.
The approval did not come without conditions, according to the publication. Outdoor events will be prohibited at the venue, and indoor events will be limited to fewer than 100 guests.
Patch reported that plans include the conversion of The Hedges — the existing bed and breakfast on the 7-acre property — into a restaurant with a 584-square-foot addition, plus the construction of a 3,800-square-foot, two-story hotel with four guest cottages. The project also includes 123 parking spaces and a swimming pool.
The proposed redevelopment faced resistance over potential traffic and noise issues, as well as its impact on the community’s character, according to reports. Local residents voiced their opposition at a public hearing in October. In the end, only one ZBA member voted against approval.
“This was a long and arduous problem for me,” said Patricia Acampora, the lone holdout.
Proposed screening, as well as the property’s location away from the street, will allay concerns about the impact on the surrounding area, the ZBA said. According to the Suffolk Times, the park district has not raised any complaints about the hotel.
The project will still need approval from the town’s planning board before it can proceed, according to Patch.
The hotel is not the only real estate issue drawing local ire in Southold. Earlier this year, some residents called on officials to limit residential development amid concerns that the construction of large houses was eroding the area’s “sense of small-town community.”
Elsewhere in the North Fork, Stacey Soloviev is planning a 40-key boutique hotel on her Peconic Bay Vineyard in Cutchogue.
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[The Suffolk Times] — Holden Walter-Warner