25A Corridor Study

The Town of Brookhaven initiated a corridor study covering the length of 25A from Mount Sinai to the Brookhaven Town line in Wading River. A steering committee,  included Miller Place Civic President, and ABCO Corresponding Secretary, Woody Brown, former Wading River and ABCO president, Sid Bail, Shoreham Civic President Richard Belsky among many other prominent business and civic leaders.  The Town has already convened several community 'charettes' starting last winter and winding up this summer. The Town selected, from a number of  bidders, the firm of  BFJ Planning to conduct the community outreach and prepare a plan based on those results.

The intent was to complete the process  in two phases this year. The 1st phase was the visioning process charrettes along with several public workshops scheduled in  each of the communities within the study area. The 2nd phase, far more complicated,  will be the analysis and implementation of the results as determined through the first phase and implementing the concepts and planning conceived by the several communities into a cohesive framework for moving forward.

The goals of the 25A Corridor Study were loosely stated as the following; though individual communities may have additional and/or different goals:

1. Improve vehicular and pedestrian safety
2. Coordinate Town Planning with SCDPW and NYSDOT Transportation Planning
3. Redevelop Blighted Parcels
4. Revitalize existing communities and preserve unique attributes
5. Strengthen neighbor businesses and encourage walkable/green Hamlet Centers
6. Assess development pressure/ensure open space/community amenities
7. Maximize citizen participation
8. Integrate & Update past hamlet Studies
9. Coordinate with Brookhaven 2030 Comprehensive Plan

The italicized items have become problematic.  No community has seen the Draft 2030 Comprehensive Plan; although ABCO has requested a copy, as of this date it has not been received from the Town. Additionally,  several communities clearly indicated that they  have no desire to create " Hamlet Centers" along 25A.  Furthermore, several communities expressed thier clear intention to limit sewer infrastructure installation due to the much touted and associated higher density growth impact, such as apartments over stores, multi-storied buildings,  as well as  any 'big box' stores along the corridor.  The steering committeee for the Rocky Point/Sound Beach area was divided over the possibility of sewers for the exclusive use in the downtown area in Rocky Point.  However, the growth inducing aspects of sewers remains a bone of contention within the entire area, as does the prospect of a 'big box' Target at the former drive-in parcel or a Costco at the intersection of 25A and Route 347.

Clearly, many believe that linking sewers to higher densities may be very attractive to developers but residents remain wary.  The entire concept has become controversial, even as we wrestle with the decline of our rivers, streams and bays due to over-development and associated cesspool  pollution.  The impact of sewers in one area, even for downtown revitalization, may adversely impact the ability of other communities and nearby areas to appropriately limit development and to preserve community character as well as open space, drinking water, high qaulity of life and the future of several important parcels along the corridor.

Finally,  after almost two years (October 17-18th & 21st -2008) since many Brookhaven residents particpated in a 3-day "Charette" at Town Hall, the Town has at long last scheduled a presentation on the Draft 2030 Comprehensive Plan. 

 

The presentation is scheduled at Town Hall @ 7:30 on the evening of September 16th. ABCO hopes to forward a goal of creating a truly sustainable town moving forward and a plan that addressess all the individual concerns of so many diverse Brookhaven communities.  Towards that end, ABCO has requested the Planning Commissioner, Tullio Bertoli, kindly provide a copy of the final draft so that our members have time to adequately refresh, review, comment and present the plan to their members, associations and groups.  It is important that a fully particpatory  process be implemented so that every community will have ample opportunities to weigh in on the project to submit comments and realistically address concerns and comments.

Additionally, Brookhaven Town has hired an outside consultant group, Vision Long Island, to faciltate community outreach on the Draft 2030 Comprhensive Plan.  The VLI group has been retained and under the terms of its' contract is only required to conduct outreach to approximately 10 local civic associations. ABCO will also request that the Town Planning Commissioner, Mr. Bertoli, be our guest speaker at our September 20th meeting to discuss the plan.  As of this date, the town has not published a copy of the draft on its website.  Many local groups now operating within Brookhaven communities will need adequate time to refresh and  review the content, and submit comments before any further actions can be taken.

President, ABCO

Below is a copy of the notice recieved from  Vision Long Island E-mail and posted on their website. The notice is not posted on the Town of Brookhaven's 2030 site.

Attn. Town of Brookhaven residents, business/property owners and other stakeholders:

Vision Long Island is assisting the Town in the preparation of the 2030 Comprehenisve Plan. This public process has been underway for a little over two years with a "charrette" that was held in October, with hundreds of residents in attendance. The results of that process and the ongoing outreach efforts are being incorporated into the plan.

Please attend the upcoming presentation on the update to the plan and a presentation that will include Supervisor Mark Lesko and members of the Town Board.

Last fall ABCO participated in a community outreach regarding an Intermodel Truck Rail Facility at the Pilgrim site in Brentwood.  The Pilgrim  site is required by a 1987 law to be transferred to the Edgewood Oak Brush Plains Preserve for the protection of Long Island's drinking water.  The transfer was approved overwhelmingly last year by the NYS Legislature, but inexplicably vetoed by Governor Paterson.  Below is a link to the report.  Clearly considering the sites shown on the below map, it would appear that ABCO is likely to become increasingly more interested in these projects as most of the proposed sites for other facilites are located in Brookhaven Town.

Last Tuesday, August 17th, the Town Board heard and sought to approve significant changes to the Sandy Hills SEQRA Findings statement.  As a result of a court negotiated process known as a  Stipulation and Agreement the Town revised its own Findings statement to remove references to the Tertiary Zone of the Pine Barrens and to advance the project. The use of a court negotiated Stipulation and Agreement is appearing ever more frequently at TB.  Usually by court consent an agreement is forged whereby the town agrees to permit a project that may have otherwise failed to gain the necessary approvals or community or elected representative's support.  In reality the Town settles a lawsuit and sometimes avoids actually meeting its own Code requirements or over-rides a previous "No vote"; usually based on some techical failure in the process.

On Tuesday, a Change of Zone Findings Statement proposed change resulted in another 4-3 vote on the Sandy Hills mixed use project.  The high density multi-family development is in the CGA of the Pine Barrens, and many assert near the headwaters of the Carmans River.  The events last year resulted in much confusion and a citizen lawsuit, (full disclosure I was one of the citizens).  The Town seemed to virtually ignore the  lawsuit, but oddly has now moved to grant project approval by settling another lawsuit filed by the Sandy Hills developer.  Sadly, the developer stated at the Board meeting that his private boat has been reprocessed, his home was now in foreclosure and so is the Sandy Hills property itself.  The developer apparently tried to work with the town over several years to develop an alleged "smart growth project" suitable to council representatives.  The project is apparently supported by the Middle Island Civic Association along with the Birchwood @ Spring Lake community.  Clearly, apart from the location in the Carmans River Watershed this project may well have gone forward some time ago.  However, at this point, both the developer and the town seem to be saying approval is necessary because the delay by the Town may have resulted in personal financial diaster for the developer.

The Town recently settled another lawsuit on a Middle Country Road parcel in Ridge ...the developer said that the Town "had no choice".  Additionally, a site plan and COZ request for the K-Mart redevelopment  project, including a 379,000 square foot mixed use retail center, (rumored to be a Lowes Big Box), known as 'Plaza @ Artist Lake was presented. The  project at the old Breslin K-mart property  across from Artist Lake  now must go before the Suffolk County Planning Commission and the Central Pine Barrens Commission before moving forward.  The project has been determined by Suffolk County to be 'a project of regional significance'.  Both MICA and the Birchwood @ Spring Lake groups support this project as well.  Again ABCO, has serious concern due to the increased intensity of use and the location within the Carmans River Watershed.  Redevelopment of any property does not necessarily include the ability to intensify use, espeicially within critical environmental areas.  The MCRLUP designated the site for restuarants and related active recreation use.

Also, during the Public comment period a large group of civic and environmental leaders addressed the board to publicly request that the Town develop a science based and comprehensive watershed management and preservation plan for the Carmans River; taking issue with the Plan presented by the Town in May.  The group requested that the town also enact an 18 month Moratorium on new development until such a plan has been completed.  ABCO was a signatory on a letter sent to Supervisor Lesko on June 30th, (see letter on this site), however, the town has failed to reply to the ten point program agreed to and presented by more than 28 groups advocating for the preservation of the Carmans River.  In Addition to ABCO, the letter was signed by the Pine Barrens Society, the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the Peconic Baykeeper, The Open Space Council, the Nature Conservacy, the Group for the East End, the Save our Yaphank Lakes Coaltion, the Seatuck Foundation, the Friends of Wertheim Widlife Refuge, and the Long Island Sierra Club - Water Sentinels,  among many others. Supervisor Lesko disagreed with several assertions by representatives of these groups during the evening, and  again questioned whether ABCO's president was truly authorized to speak on behalf of ABCO.   

 As a final note, the Board was scheduled to hear an Appeal by a fixed base operator at the Calabro Airport to install an above ground 15,000 gallon aviation fuel farm directly adjacent to a residential community on the west side of Calabro Airport.  Incrediably,  the Planning Board had already approved the application by a 6-1 vote, despite a clear unequivocal denial by the Town's own Fire Marshal.  Recent events indicate the Fire Marshal may have changed his decision based on interference from the all powerful FAA.  Seems wing tip space is infintely more important to the FAA than community safety concerns.  Nonetheless the hearing was adjourned until October 19th.  Let's see how much public safety matters?

The town also voted to approve an early-out pension plan... Tuesday certainly was another long evening at Town Hall, with festivites ending just before midnite.....we in the Civic community surely know it must be AUGUST!

Zoning dispute stuck in court system

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