Huntington committee to develop 'ambitious' master plan for town's waterfront

The Huntington Town Board has created a committee to develop a master plan for revitalizing Huntington Harbor.

The 20-member Waterfront Advisory Committee will oversee the preparation of the town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, which includes the Harbor Walk plan.

The Harbor Walk plan aims to build a public walkway along Huntington Harbor to improve pedestrian access to the shoreline and tie together existing parks. It also would develop new parkland along the waterfront. Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said the goal is to have a walkway from Halesite Park to Gold Star Battalion Beach.

The board voted 5-0 to establish the committee on Sept. 12.

“This is all part of our long-term planning for Huntington Harbor,” Smyth said Friday. “It’s an ambitious plan and will likely take years to finalize but we have to start.”

The plan, which was first conceptualized in 2007, was adopted by the town board in July.

The committee comprises 18 town departments, including the supervisor’s office, maritime services and the town attorney’s office, boating clubs, community representatives and elected officials.

The Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan [LWRP] does not include the waters of the town’s incorporated villages: Asharoken, Huntington Bay, Lloyd Harbor or Northport.

The group was appointed by Smyth and the town’s department of planning and environment and includes members with extensive knowledge of the town’s waterfront, Smyth said.

No date has been set for the first meeting, town officials said.

Committee member and Northport resident David Berg is an environmental consultant with a background in urban planning restoration. He was part of a waterfront advisory committee under former Town Supervisor Frank Petrone’s administration, which launched the Harbor Walk plan.

Berg said he is glad town officials are trying to set a new course on revitalizing Huntington Harbor.

“It’s time for Huntington residents to have greater access to the waterfront and this is certainly a good way to start,” Berg said.

Ed Carr, the town’s former director of maritime services and the current commodore of the Greater Huntington Yacht and Boating Clubs, is also part of the committee. He said establishing the committee ensures common sense development.

“The cornerstone of any LWRP is to not only open up areas of the waterfront for public access but also to make sure any development on the waterfront is a water dependent use,” Carr said.

Vita Scaturro, chair of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, said an accessible waterfront will promote tourism and bring people to the community.

“It would be a great asset,” she said, adding she did not have enough information to comment on potential revenue from the project.

Smyth said it’s too early to say what the economic benefit would be to the town.

At the Sept. 12 meeting, the board also voted to give Smyth permission to apply for and receive $150,000 in New York State and Municipal Facilities grants for improvement to the town’s waterfront.

Of that, $30,000 will go to design study for the Harbor Walk plan.