Zoning and Cell Phone Towers Top Town Agenda

A skate swap, a cellphone tower moratorium and rejection of a senior housing project over density issues were among the events around Huntington last week.

Among other townwide issues, the declared a 90-day moratorium on the processing of all wireless transmission paperwork, such as hearings, permits and applications. The vote was 4-1, with Councilwoman Susan Berland the single no vote.

The hottest issue for some Huntington Station residents was the Housing Authority's proposal to build senior housing at 1 Lowndes Ave.  The project was rejected by some who thought the variances needed for the proposal to proceed would lead to more dense housing. "This isn't Queens," was a common theme. The Zoning Board apparently agreed there could be problems and turned down the proposal in a unanimous vote.

 At the town's this weekend, residents could drop off old skating gear and shop in a boutique of donated equipment. Berland  organized the event.

In a weather-shortened meeting, the Town Board heard residents object to plans to tear down a building and replace it with a bank. Almost lost in the noise and theatrics of flapper outfits and turtles was one speaker's notation of a letter from a state historical preservation office that is rethinking its view of the project.

The Town Board also took these actions:

• Set a public hearing for 2 p.m. March 8 on a change in rules governing zoning and gaming centers to allow a plan to build a recreation center on the Depot Road property of the former day-laborer site.
• Granted a five-year license to NY Islanders Iceworks to operate the pro shop at the Dix Hills rink; the vote was 3-2, with Berland and Mark Mayoka voting no.

• Approved  two requests to use Crab Meadow Beach.

The first was a request by Vicobe Productions to use the beach, the parking lot and pavilion Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a youth event and the next day from 4:45 a.m. to noon for a spring triathlon. The resolution noted that a portion of the proceeds from both events will benefit "two local not-for-profit organizations with strong ties to the Northport community." 

The second request was by the Carpe Paddlum Foundation, Inc., for its Kayak For a Cause XI, Friday, July 29 at 1 p.m. and Saturday, July 30 at 7 a.m. The resolution noted that approximately 300 people will launch kayaks at Crab Meadow and head toward Norwalk.

• Approved a resolution authorizing Supervisor Frank Petrone to enter in to a contract worth $672,333 with D.F. Stone Contracting,Ltd., of Medford for excavation and disposal of contaminated fills and soil at the Veteran's Nature Study area in Northport. The town has a $1.5 million 'state assistance contract' with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Brownfields Remediation Program. Once the contaminated soil is removed, the site will be restored.
• Approved a special-use permit for Pamela Vogt, 167,  Old Winkle Point, Northport, to construct a 10-foot wide, 125-foot long, three- to five-foot high tapered rock barrier to act as an erosion barrier. A public hearing was held Jan. 11 and the town's Department of Maritime Services has determined that the barrier would not have an adverse environmental impact.