Nearby: Commack Hess Station Moves One Step Closer to Construction

Plans for a Commack Hess gas station on the corner of Harned Road and Jericho Turnpike are moving closer to becoming a reality. 

Smithtown Town Board voted 3-2 to approve a site plan for Commack Hess's gas station and convenience store at their Tuesday afternoon board meeting. Supervisor Patrick Vecchio and Councilman Ed Wehrheim were the two votes against the project. 

"It's a complicated intersection and I think that kind of busy, traffic going in-and-out of a large station like that will be detrimental to the traffic in the area," Wehrheim said. 

The site is currently home to the blighted Shell gas station that closed in 2007, which had four gasoline pumps. Under the approved site plan, Commack Hess will have 12 gas pumps installed, 8 more than Shell, and raze the structure to build a 1,230 square-foot convenience store. 

In order to increase the size of the gasoline station, Hess Corporation had to seek a zoning change on the property from residential to neighborhood business and several variances - which were approved by Smithtown's Board of Zoning Appeals in March 2012.

"I am against the fact that when some applies for a zone change and needs 7 or 8 additional variances. What good is our zoning code? In addition, I think it's a terribly bad location," Vecchio said. "It is zoned for gas station use, but not that large." 

Residents spoke up at the March 2012 public hearing expressed concerns that bringing another gas station to the site would be a dangerous move for the intersection, which is located at the Sunken Meadow Parkway entrance and exit ramps.

Rudy Massa, the owner of Commack's Gasoline Heaven, and the four residents - Jonathan and Kathy Bacchi, Edward and Janice Fiorvanti - have a pending Article 78 against the plans stating town officials failed to take a hard look at the environmental impact it would have as required under New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, often referred to as SEQRA. 

Gasoline Heaven and the four residents also argued Smithtown Town Board's decision to let Hess build should be overturned as officials didn't offer any reason why they approved the building plans now, but not in 2009.