Huntington elected officials are looking to turn property on West Hills Road into open space parkland, fending off a developer who wanted to build more housing.
Council member Dr. Dave Bennardo, along with Supervisor Ed Smyth and Council member Sal Ferro, said Thursday that they want to create more open space parkland on the property now occupied by Stanhope Stables. A developer, B2K, has proposed building a subdivision on the property after the stables close, an idea that has infuriated neighbors and horse lovers who have used the stables for years.
“The process could take some time and creativity but the result could be a home run for our residents,” Bennardo said.
Several residents spoke out against allowing a development in that area at the June 13 Town Board meeting, though there was no proposal on the agenda.
Smyth is looking into ways to use money from the town’s open space account to protect the land from development.
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- Residents speak out at June 13 Town Board meeting
Town council: PLEASE DO MORE OF THIS! Our town is turning into Queens, the traffic is nonstop. Protect more of our lands and stop approving mass development on every inch. The animals have no where to go, and are forced into smaller and smaller areas. Our taxes NEVER decrease with these new tax revenues, but our quality of life does with each approval of every new multi or high-density housing project.
I am one of the group who alerted residents to the farm’s plight and fought the rezoning successfully. We also contacted Suffolk County to buy the DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS, not the farm itself! Government is a poor steward of specialized properties. This farm is one of the last boarding and training facilities for competitive horse people on western Long Island. It takes an owner with an extensive sport horse background to run such an operation successfully. Any stable purchased by the State, County or Town will wind up with the concession going to those most politically connected…not the most qualified…causing the facility to become no more than a basic lesson and pleasure horse boarding facility, which the County already owns in Sweet Hills Park and the State at Caumsett among others. We have just witnessed the demise of the Thomas School of horsemanship nearby…reduced to a paltry 7 acres that can never be more than a children’s lesson stable…in a sweetheart deal between the Town and the developer. There are legitimate, experienced buyers in the wings that can restore and upgrade this farm to the facility we desperately need. Town and County: buy the development rights and STOP RIGHT THERE!