Politics & Government

AvalonBay Hearing Draws Huge Crowd

85 residents sign up to voice opinions at spirited town hall meeting in Huntington.

In meeting lasting more than four hours, the Huntington Town Board read off a list of 85 people who signed up to voice their opinions regarding the controversial AvalonBay project proposed for Huntington Station.

Town Hall was filled to capacity as dozens of civic leaders, business people, local residents and elected officials discussed the possibility of a zone change which would clear the way for construction of hundreds of new apartment units in the area. 

The majority of those who signed up to speak stayed for hours, waiting for their time to speak, forcing the meeting, which began at 7 p.m., to run well past 11 p.m.

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AvalonBay representatives have requested a change in rezoning, from R-7 single-family type to R3M, which would allow Avalon to build 379 units of multifamily housing, with 303 units to be rented and 76 to be sold on the north side of East Fifth Street.  

With the public hearing now closed, the board could decide on the zoning change during its next regularly scheduled meeting in June.

Find out what's happening in Huntingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At an earlier portion of the meeting, which began at 6:30 p.m., the town board heard nearly two dozen public comments regarding the construction of a proposed 7-Eleven store  in Huntington Station. Construction of the store would require a town code change by the board at a later date.


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