First Public Workshop on Melville Plan Set for June 2

From Huntington Town Hall:

The latest step in the formation of an integrated land use, circulation and infrastructure plan for the Melville Employment Center will take place June 2, when the Town of Huntington holds the first of several planned public workshops.

All interested residents, property owners, workers along the Route 110 Corridor and other stakeholders are encouraged to share their vision, goals and objectives for the plan at the workshop, which will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the TD Bank offices at Melville Corporate Center III, 324 South Service Road, Melville.

“Public input in an important part of the process in crafting a blueprint for the future of Long Island’s downtown,” Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “We want to know what people who live and work along the Route 110 Corridor would like to see to help make the area even more vibrant.”

“As work and lifestyle patterns change, we want to make sure that the plan that emerges is in step with the times,” Councilman Mark Cuthbertson said. “To do that, we need to know what and how people think.”

The workshop will be conducted by the consultant team of BFJ Planning, Urbanomics and Parsons Brinckerhoff, which the Town hired earlier this year on the recommendation of its Melville Plan Advisory Committee. The committee — composed of representatives of Melville area property owners, real estate brokers, community service providers and community groups — selected the team after reviewing responses to a request for proposals issued last year. Under the terms of its contract with the town, the consultant team must conduct up to five workshops as it puts together the plan over the course of the next year.

The consultant team is working under the direction of the Melville Plan Advisory Committee, whose members will share their thoughts with the public at the workshop.

The broad mandate for the plan is to examine the many complex issues facing the Melville area and to define an action agenda for future development and redevelopment.

Among the specific topics to be covered by the Plan are:

• Land use, including office/employment uses, industrial uses, residential uses, mixed used and open space;
• Circulation, including traffic congestion, pedestrian and bicycle connectivity and enhanced transit service;
• Community Facilities and Services, including sewage capacity for new developments and area-wide storm management, as well as assessing the effect on property tax revenues from office/industrial development versus the potential impacts on schools from new residential development
• Design, including standards for new development.

Persons wishing to attend are asked to register in advance by emailing melvilleplan@huntingtonny.gov, or by calling 631-351-3199.