Residents filled Huntington Town Hall Tuesday night for the last of three scheduled public hearings on the proposed Melville Town Center Overlay District.
Close to 40 people spoke, evenly split, with opponents arguing about the impact that apartments and new retail space might have on the fire department, the school district, and the suburban nature of Long Island. Several cited the familiar argument that they didn’t want to see Huntington turn into Queens, including some people who noted that they had moved here from the borough.
Supporters said, in another familiar argument, that a shortage of housing was driving younger people off Long Island, that revitalizing the community would mean good-paying union jobs and positive impact on the town’s economy, and that the project would improve the tax base.
Others argued that a citizen committee should be formed with the power to weigh in on any zone changes or other projects.
One woman asked about who would live in the propposed 3,000 apartments, wondering if units were set aside for senior citizens, classified as affordable, market rate or, she said, “I heard, it’s going to be for illegal aliens.”
Smyth said the proposal would allow for a mix of rentals, owner-occupied, senior citizen, affordable and market rate housing.
Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said that public comments were welcome for another 30 days from Tuesday. If the Town Board approves the proposal as outlined previously, developers would begin offering plans, each of which would be separately reviewed by the Town Board.
The board room was lined with photos showing buildings and parking lots in the area to buttress the argument that many are empty or under-occupied. That is at the heart of the argument for the proposal, with Smyth saying that empty buildings are a threat to the town’s tax base.
The next Town Board meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 2.
On Monday, the Half Hollow Hills school district sent a letter to town officials, that posed several questions about how an increase in residents might affect the school population.
The letter, signed by superintendent Dr. Patrick Harrigan, and board president Diana Acampora. They also questioned the possibility of tax breaks for the development and the impact on the district’s taxpayers. See the letter below.
Melville
What you have failed to inform the reader of in this article is that the vast majority…special interest groups aside…of those in favor of some degree of development also WANT A FULLY EXECUTED MASTER PLAN ( with impact studies for traffic, environment, sewage, schools and emergency response) CONDUCTED BY OUTSIDE PROFESSIONALS! There IS NO PLAN! HHH School District stated to this effect in their letter to the board…the contents of which have yet to be disclosed publicly. It’s NOT the concept many of us are against…it’s the haphazard approach of both Mr. Smyth and Mr. Ferro whom are running the show while the rest, aside from Ms. Lupinacci, silently and obediently await their marching orders. This blatantly irresponsible approach puts the future of the surrounding area and our Town at risk for IRREVERSIBLE damage to our quality of life here. Chats with both the school district and Melville Fire Department heads are grossly insufficient and to state otherwise is both irresponsible and incredulous. Additionally, due to the scope of the current proposal and the barn door it would leave open for future high density development surrounding it, regional discussions and planning with adjacent Townships are crucial. Relying on a Town Planning Board that is currently revising botched approvals on a simple 10 acre subdivision is far from reassuring.
Unfortunately, many of us believe this overlay will be passed by the board as is; however, it will not be followed by complacency… as there are preparations underway to combat this special-interest-fueled disregard of both the law (i.e. segmentation) our way of life and the future of Long Island.