Board Approves Zoning For Elwood Housing Complex

Last night at a packed Town Board meeting, the board voted 4 – 1 to approve the zoning change to accommodate the Seasons at Elwood Development on Elwood Road in East Northport.  Despite the fact that local residents submitted 5000 signatures on a petition, 4 of the 5 Town Council people approved the resolution. A supermajority vote (4 out of 5) was required because 20% of the surrounding property owners submitted a petition opposing the development.

Councilman Cook was the only no vote. He explained his reasons as community opposition and density.

Although residents packed into town hall to be heard, they never got that opportunity because the vote to downzone took place before the public could speak. The crowd shouted in anger and began to chant “vote them out.”  Normally the vote takes place after the public portion.

On June 17, 2014, there was a public hearing to discuss the fate of the Oak Tree Dairy property but there has been changes to the plan since the hearing.

The battle has been going on since 2012 when it was first announced that Engel Burman was interested in purchasing the property and asking for a significant zoning change.

At the June 17 hearing, 94 individuals spoke. 42 individuals were in support of the project and 52 opposed it. Of those opposed to the project, 45 individuals stated they lived in the Elwood School District while only 7 in support of the project stated they lived in the Elwood School District. Of the 42 that supported the project, at least 18 of them worked for the builder or will gain financially if the project is built.

At the time of the public hearing, Engel Burman was asking for a change from R-40 Residence District to R-RM Retirement Community District on the 37 acre property. The original plan was submitted in March 2012 and it included 444 units. The developer later submitted an amended application to the town for 360 homes.

On Thursday, July 23, the Engel Burman Group presented a new plan that would include 256 households within 43 multi-unit residential structures. This is the plan that was approved last night. This new plan calls for 88 3-bedroom unit homes and 168 2-bedroom unit homes. The overall number of residential structures would be reduced from 56 to 43.

Supervisor  Petrone, Councilman Cuthbertson, Councilwoman Berland and Councilwoman Edwards all voted in support of the rezoning.  In response to the profound disappointment by residents who did not get to speak last night, Councilman Cook stated, “It is the night democracy died in Huntington.”

Video of the night to follow soon.