Insignia Submits Revised Plans for Parking Expansion

Insignia Steakhouse owners are hopeful that newly revised plans to expand their parking lot strike an ideal compromise with the Town of Smithtown and area residents. 

Insignia Steakhouse, owned by Anthony Scott, presented revised plans to expand the restaurants parking lot by more than 75 stalls after more than three months of meetings with elected officials and residents. 

The newly revised plans strike a compromise between the restaurant's and the recommendations of Smithtown Planning Department at the March 22 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. Residents were outraged over Insignia's  an illegal, makeshift gravel parking lot . 

At the March 22 meeting, Planning Director Frank DeRubeis suggested a that would reduce town's original requirement of a 100-foot gap to a 80-foot buffer provided the restaurant's owners installed a 50-foot planted berm at a height of 5 feet. It was designed to grant privacy to adjacent residents. 

Insignia Restaurant responded to the town's suggestions  on July 9 by submitting plans that include the suggested 80-foot buffer with a earthen berm that varies from roughly 50-feet wide and narrows towards Mount Pleasant Road. Their proposed expansion would add 79 parking stall along the back of the restaurant's property, double stacked, in what is commonly referred to as valet-style parking. 

The restaurant owners have removed the proposed stockade fence that was included in its first set of plans. However, the restaurant has noted its intention to expand its septic area by 50 percent. 

Smithtown planning department employee said the newly proposed plans will be reviewed, and then elected officials will decide what the next step is. Potential options include scheduleding a second public hearing on the new design or granting their recommendation to the town board for approval. 

If the plans are recommended to be approved, the new design would bring Insignia Restaurant's total parking capacity to approximately 200 vehicles on site.