🐝 Zoning DIY

Zoning DIY, Pipeline Drama, Biscuit Bliss

Thomas Loncar
October 03, 2025

Together With

Good Morning, North Fork! Raise your coffee mugs, the weekend is in sight. Anyone who literally lifted theirs? You’re our kind of people.

In today’s North Fork Buzz:

Zoning DIY
Pipeline Drama
Biscuit Bliss

Ready, Set, Go!

The Lowdown

Southold Zoning Update: DIY Mode Activated ⚖️

Southold Town just broke up with its zoning consultant, ZoneCo. The Ohio firm was hired in 2022 to overhaul the code, but after some disputes over work and fees, the two sides signed a settlement. ZoneCo was paid $181K (mostly grant-funded), but the final leg of revisions is now officially an in-house project.

Planning Director Heather Lanza and her team are sifting through mountains of public comments, reverting confusing district renames, and making sure protections against big box stores stay strong.

The update process has seen a little drama, longtime Assistant Planning Director retired early in August, but fresh hires and community volunteers are stepping in.

Get the full story 👉 East End Beacon

Southold Trustee Showdown 🌊

Southold’s wetlands, shorelines, and 2,000 acres of underwater lands are on the ballot this November. Six candidates are competing for just three Trustee seats, and with climate change, septic upgrades, and shoreline access on everyone’s mind, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

On the Dem side: incumbents Liz Gillooly and Eric Sepenoski team up with engineer/oysterman Joe Finora.

On the GOP ticket: Terri Boyle Romanelli (real estate + fishing roots), Nathan Andruski (lifelong bayman), and Pindar Damianos (vineyard owner + firefighter).

Different résumés, one big job: protecting Southold’s coastlines for the next generation. ($)

Get the full story 👉 Suffolk Times

Pipeline Drama 🚰

The Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) wants to run an 8.5-mile pipeline from Flanders to the Southold line. But here’s the fight: SCWA says it can skip Riverhead’s zoning rules. Riverhead says, uhh, not so fast.

The battle centers on something called the Monroe Balancing Test (translation: who has the legal power to say yes or no on big regional projects). Riverhead held its own hearing in August and insists they get the final word. SCWA clapped back by scheduling its own hearings next week to decide if the project is immune from local review.

Hearings are set:
-Oct. 7 Westhampton
-Oct. 8 Peconic
-Oct. 9 Riverhead

Riverhead’s town attorney says if SCWA rubber-stamps itself, get ready for court.
SCWA says the pipeline is critical to protecting the aquifer and delivering safe water to the North Fork.

So yeah… this one’s headed for a showdown.

Get the full story 👉 East End Beacon

Photo of the Week

📸 submitted by Bill Byrnes

Tag @NorthForkBuzz or email us at [email protected] to get your photos in The Buzz!

Foodie Friday 🍽

Last weekend we did what any sensible person would do on a crisp fall morning pointed the car toward Jamesport and landed at Main Road Biscuit Co. As soon as we stepped inside, the aroma of coffee and the steady parade of biscuits and breakfasts headed to nearby tables told us we made the right call.

Plates came out loaded with the kind of breakfast that makes you want to slow down and savor it warm, buttery biscuits, eggs done just right, and coffee that kept the conversation flowing. It’s the sort of meal that feels both comforting and just a little indulgent, like Sunday morning should.

We meant to keep it light. Instead, we rolled out the door full, grinning, and already thinking what could be our next excuse to just happen to be driving through Jamesport.

Biscuit Bliss 🧈

We eased into Sunday morning like true breakfast hunters, first stop, coffee (obviously), then the Biscuit Sampler because why choose one when you can have four? What hit the table was a golden lineup of buttermilk biscuits, soft and pillowy with just the right crust. The sampler came with Butter, Honey Butter, Chive Butter, and Orange Marmalade. While all were delightful (yes, even the plain butter had its moment), the honey butter struck us as sweet-but-subtle perfection, and the chive butter was savory in the best way.

But we weren’t done. Enter the Biscuit Breakfast stacked with eggs and anchored by a housemade sausage patty that brought the savory punch to balance out all that biscuit glory. We threw in a side of grits too, because… well, it’s grits. Creamy, buttery, a great supporting act.

Then came the Duck Hash. Local duck confit crisped up with carrots, onions, and potatoes, topped with sunny-side-up eggs. Part hash, part pancake, all delicious. Pro tip: grab one of those extra biscuits from the sampler and use it to mop up every last bite.

Main Road Biscuit Co. nails the art of comfort food, this is the kind of breakfast that makes you glad you got out of bed.

Where’s your go-to spot for breakfast on the North Fork? 🍳

Email us at [email protected] and give us an excuse to go!

Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. I’ll always let you know when something is sponsored

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THANKS!

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Tom Loncar- Publisher
Nicole Loncar- Editor + Partnerships