A state supreme court judge ruled Friday to overturn the Town of Brookhaven’s zoning decision that two years ago granted more density to the proposed Middle Island housing development known as Sandy Hills.

Only 34 single-family houses are permitted on the 39-acre lot, which is located in the compatible growth area of the Pine Barrens on Middle Country Road. Developer Frank Weber was seeking to build a 134-unit development.

Pine Barrens Executive Director Richard Amper, who filed a lawsuit along with the Open Space Council, said Justice Thomas Whelan cited numerous errors on the town’s part in trying to increase the project’s size.

Mr. Weber’s change of zone request was first voted on by the Town Board in April 2009. But Justice Whelan ruled the proposed project couldn’t have moved forward, Mr. Amper said, because the Town Board failed to approve the lot as a “tertiary zone,” which is required when a developer is seeking to increase density in a compatible growth area of the Pine Barrens.

But after the tertiary zoning failed, the board still voted on a change of zone, which Mr. Lesko, along with fellow Democrat Connie Kepert and Republicans Tim Mazzei and Kathy Walsh, voted in favor of.

Mr. Amper said that even if the Town Board had approved the tertiary zoning, the change of density zoning still failed because a super-majority vote was required, since the project did not conform with the Suffolk County Planning Commission’s requirements.

“There are state laws governing the approval of development density way above what the land owner is entitled to and Brookhaven broke them,” Mr. Amper said.

Mr. Lesko did not return phone calls seeking comment on the court’s decision. Town spokesman Jack Krieger said the town will not appeal, but will follow the court’s guidelines in order to move forward with the change of zone.

Ms. Kepert said she is disappointed that the Sandy Hills project will be further delayed.

“This, unfortunately, stalls the creation of our pedestrian-orientated center ,” she said, adding that two other projects proposed for downtown Middle Island —a larger mixed-use proposal on the former Kogel Lumber property across from Longwood Public Library and a 66-unit townhome proposal on a property just to the east — are dependent on hooking-up to Sandy Hills’s planned sewage treatment system.

Middle Island Civic president Tom Talbot said while he feels discouraged by the court’s decision, he’s hopeful the town will overcome the setback.

“Sandy Hills is the spark that will ignite development in the area,” he said.

jennifer@northshoresun.com