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A Sonic Drive-In proposed for Shirley has been delayed following a Town of Brookhaven planning board hearing Monday, during which officials said the developer needed an outdoor seating permit.
Assistant town attorney Beth Ann Reilly said the board was under the impression that there would be indoor seating.
She said it was possible the staff had considered it “inside” seating because 46 proposed outdoor seats would be covered. However, she said the board wanted to be clear before deciding on the matter.
“I looked and our staff told us the seating was going to be inside,” Reilly told representatives of the developer, Gould Shirley Real Estate Corp., at the hearing at Town Hall in Farmingville. “Now, we’re hearing that it’s outside, and outside seating is an additional special permit from this board. That’s not part of this application.”
Related: Sonic Drive-In ‘is a go’ for Shirley after ZBA approval
The developer is planning a 4,500-square-foot outside seating area with 46 outdoor seats to the north of the building, as well as “car hop” stalls and a 100-square-foot storage shed at 800 Montauk Highway in a shopping center anchored by Best Market. The proposed restaurant pad size was reduced to 2,238 square feet from 2,700 square feet.
“No one goes inside to order,” said the developer’s lawyer, Lisa A. Cairo. “They’re all ordering from their car or a menu board on the patio. So there would be no one going inside the restaurant.”
A call to Gould president Mark Lundy on Monday was not immediately returned.
Planning Board Chair Vincent E. Pascale said the board would take the proposal up at its Jan. 13 meeting, after the staff has the time to work with the developer on the special permit.
“Other than that, everything looks good. We just have to make sure we have a special permit for outdoor seating,” he said.
