Smithtown BZA to Hear P.F. Chang's Petition to Keep Horses

P.F. Chang's will petition Town of Smithtown's Board of Zoning Appeals for permission to keep a few horses in Lake Grove.  

Smithtown's Board of Zoning Appeals will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Eugene Cannataro Senior Citizen Center. It's agenda includes hearing requests for variances from P.F. Chang's and Taco Bell in Nesconset. 

P.F. Chang's, a Chinese restaurant franchise, has submitted plans to open a new location at the Smith Haven Mall, next door to the Cheesecake Factory.  It will request three variances:  to increase the maximum height of a wall sign from 15 feet to 25 feet, to increase the number of wall signs from 1 to 2 signs, and to increase the maximum square footage of a ground sign from 32 square feet to 141 square feet. 

The restaurant chain's requests would allow it to put a pair of its trademark 11-foot tall terracotta horses on either side of its doorway. The horses are mounted on 3-foot, 8-inch tall bases to stand nearly 15-feet tall. 

"Our majestic 11-foot tall horses grace the entrance to many of our restaurants. The horse symbolizes the original Forbidden City in China, which was built for China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi," reads P.F. Chang's website. 

The restaurant developer said the signs or horses would not impact the environment of the mall, given that they are 750 feet away from the roadway and the Cheesecake Factory's signs are also oversized. 

In addition to P.F. Chang's, Smithtown's BZA will hear requests from Taco Bell in Nesconset for variances needed to demolish its existing building and build a new, updated restaurant on the southwest corner of Smithtown Bypass and Southern Boulevard.