A Zoning Board of Appeals public hearing Thursday will consider several requests to adapt the property occupied by the former Kura Barn restaurant in Huntington.
The applicant, identified as Tony Lam, WWTL LLC, wants to establish an outdoor seating area, an upstairs seating area, and storage areas.
The proposal for the site at 479 New York Ave. would also require that the new business provide 58 parking spaces; currently there are 13. It would also require special use permit for the outdoor seating area.
A Planning Board letter to the ZBA said, “The PB is skeptical of the applicants claim that the second-floor use coupled with the adding outdoor dining will not intensify the site. The applicant should clearly demonstrate how they intend to mitigate the added uses and manage the transfer of seating seasonally. In order to enforce this the Zoning Board may choose to impose a condition limiting the number of customers accordingly.”
The Planning Board also said it believed that a limitation on the hours of operation should not be removed.
“Furthermore, the Planning Board has on-going concerns regarding the
harmonious coexistence of commercial and residential uses in close
proximity to each other.
But it added, “Despite the aforementioned the Planning Board is in favor of the outdoor dining in the area between New York Avenue and the existing building.”
The Japanese restaurant opened in 1980 and closed in 2021, during the Covid-19 epidemic.
Neighbors on Sammis, Dewey, Hillcrest and other streets have already written in to the ZBA to oppose the project, citing noise, parking and other potential problems.
The ZBA meets at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.