Commission to decide on AvalonBay proposal

The Suffolk County Planning Commission Wednesday, will decide whether to approve, add conditions to or disapprove the revised application for the AvalonBay development in Huntington Station.

The commission has review authority over all major projects in Suffolk County's 43 municipalities, said David L. Calone, chairman of the planning commission.

In March, AvalonBay submitted a proposal for 379 units on a 26.6-acre site a half-mile from the Huntington Long Island Rail Road station.

The last time an AvalonBay application came before the commission, a 490-unit development slated for the same parcel but with a zone change to allow for a transit-oriented district with higher density, it was approved with conditions. The major condition called for the implementation of the transit-oriented district only in Huntington Station.

"We thought it actually was so good an idea they should make it more flexible to allow it to occur in other areas around the township," Calone said Tuesday.

The town board decided not to meet the conditions, which meant that the measure must be approved by a super majority of 4 to 1 to override the commission's conditions. In September, the town board voted down the proposal 3 to 2 because members said the project was too dense amid community opposition.

"This time our rules are the same: we'll either approve it, approve with conditions, or disapprove it," Calone said. "It's a different project; it's less dense. We'll look at it with fresh eyes. We'll have a hearing, public comment period. We'll give our ruling back to the township which has to abide by that ruling unless they overcome it with a super majority."

If the application is approved as is, a simple majority of 3 to 2 by the board will green light the project.

Calone said the planning commission reviewed all major projects in the county.

"All projects within 500 feet of town, county or state roads; within 500 feet of water, any zoning change that affects the entire township," he said. "There's a whole list of criteria."

The AvalonBay proposal is within 500 feet of Pulaski Road, a county road, and it's adjacent to the New York State Armory on East 5th Street.

The commission's 15 members are appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county legislature. Eight votes are needed to carry a motion.

"The planning commission's role in all of this is to make sure countywide policies and priorities are advanced through the individual land use decisions that towns make in this case or villages in other cases," Calone said.

The meeting is Wednesday at noon at the Riverhead County Center, Griffin Building, Legislative Auditorium.