The Village of Patchogue board of trustees set a public hearing date for Monday, Dec. 11, to add a Hotel Business District during the Monday, Nov. 13 meeting.

The new “floating district,” according to mayor Paul Pontieri, will allow for hotel propositions at appropriate sites.

According to village attorney Brian Egan, this is adding a floating zone, not a zone change, and thus does not require 30 days’ notice. The new zoning, he said, will be based on specific parameters, including acreage of parcels, and will only fit certain parcels for hotel consideration.

“It is premature to identify any specific sites, except the parcels must meet the criteria of the floating zone,” he said when asked for potential site that might fit the criteria.

Some of the specific criteria of the “floating zone,”  include a parcel of at least 2 acres, and within certain radiuses of the three major drivers of downtown hotel guests: the LIRR station, the Four Corners,  and the Patchogue Theater.

“The goal of the legislation is to establish a ‘floating zone,’ where if a developer identifies a parcel that fit the parameters, the developer can apply to the Board of Trustees, [which] can approve the zone on that location and the proposed development can then go through the standard zoning and planning process of the village,” Egan explained, also noting that one of the economic development goals of this administration has been the development of a hotel. “A major brand hotel is a key component of any thriving downtown, and is a missing puzzle piece from Patchogue right now.” 

However, he said, attracting and constructing a viable hotel would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, under the current parameters of the zoning code. If passed, the new district would broaden the attraction to national hotels.

“The goal of the legislation is to set zoning parameters that would be compatible with the national hotel chains’ minimum construction requirements,” he added. “Such a hotel development would only fit within parcels of a certain acreage size in the village.”

No more smoking near the library

Also, during the meeting, the board approved a code amendment after holding a public hearing to increase the distance from 100 feet to 200 feet for smoking near the Patchogue-Medford and Carnegie libraries on Main Street.

According to library director Danielle Paisley, the only speaker during the hearing, many patrons have been complaining about the smell of marijuana filling the library. The current signage, she said, will be replaced to reflect the change.

“This should push people into that alleyway,” she said, “which makes sense to me.”

The code change will allow enforcement from both village public safety and the Suffolk County Police Department. No smoking includes cigarettes, marijuana, vapes, and cigars of any kind.

Free holiday parking for shoppers

The village officials also approved to suspend metered parking for the holiday season on Main Street from Dec. 13 to Dec. 25 and in the Oak Street, Terry Street, New Village and Church Street parking lots from Nov. 23 to Dec. 25.