The Brookhaven Town Board voted not to consider a proposal for a change of zone from J Business District, Transitional Business Zone, to L Industrial 1, Light Industrial Zone for the New Leaf property in Mount Sinai. The vote occurred on June 5.
“In the Town of Brookhaven, we spend a great deal of time on our Community Based Land Use Plans, actively engaging our communities and residents, to enact land use plans which reflect the character of our communities.,” said Town Supervisor Dan Panico (pictured).
Panico recently met with the Mount Sinai Civic Association, and said he came home with two takeaways. “The first was that people preferred the current zoning and/or the possibility of the redevelopment of the parcel into a use more compatible with the zoning,” he said. “The second, and more salient point, was that there is significant confusion regarding the New York State Climate Action goals and implementation of these battery energy storage systems.” After speaking with New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), “he wholeheartedly agrees that far more needs to be done on in terms of education on this issue,” Panico said.
Councilwoman Jane Bonner agreed. “There has been a great deal of misinformation on this matter,” she said. “Under New York State law, zoning power rests with the Town of Brookhaven and we are going to uphold the integrity of our zoning for our residents in this case,” she said. “I welcome this direct dialogue and strongly caution against relying on social media for factual information on issues like this because social media has proven to be more than somewhat unreliable.”
While applicants are free to make an application for a change of zone, changes of zone are legislative acts by the Town Board and an applicant is not guaranteed a hearing under the law. As the Town Board will elect not to consider this matter, there will be no hearing on this proposal and the application will be summarily dismissed.