Starbucks Eying Jericho Turnpike Plot For New Store

Plans submitted to the town call for the construction of a Starbucks with a drive-thru on this vacant plot in front of LA Fitness at the corner of West Hills Road and Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station. (Long Islander News photo/Connor Beach)

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Coffee giant Starbucks is looking to build upon an empty plot along Jericho Turnpike.

The Huntington Town Board scheduled last month a public hearing to amend setback restrictions on the property, which is found at the corner of West Hills Road and Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station, to allow for construction of a new Starbucks.

Property owner Crest Huntington LLC is seeking an amendment to a Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions that was filed and approved by the town board in 2015 that would change the building setback requirements on the property from 85 feet to 35 feet along the property’s first 250-foot border with West Hills Road, according to town documents.

The setback requirements for the rest of the property boundaries would remain at the current 85-foot requirements. The setback restrictions were originally applied to the automotive dealership that formerly occupied the property.

If approved by the town board, the proposed setback changes would allow for the construction of a proposed 2,067-square-foot Starbucks with a drive-thru window on the southern end of the 5.93-acre property, according to site plans received by the town planning department last March.

A LA Fitness gym currently occupies the northern end of the property.

Planning department officials said at last week’s planning board meeting they feel it’s appropriate to relax the setback requirements along the first 250 feet of West Hills Roads because that section of the property was across from other commercial development.

Several members of the Huntington Planning Board, including Chairman Paul Mandelik, expressed concern about the aesthetics of the proposed Starbucks, which site plans show would have a drive-thru line and rubbish collection area bordering Jericho Turnpike.

If approved by the town board, the proposal would go back to the planning board for site plan review, where planning staff said any site plan concerns could be addressed.

The town board public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 7 p.m., Aug. 7 at town hall.