Holbrook development plan under fire

Opponents of an application for a 136-acre mixed-use development in Holbrook are rallying local civic groups before a March 22 public hearing on the complex at Islip Town Hall.

Leaders from various local chambers of commerce have decried the Islip Pines project, claiming the mixed housing, retail and industrial development proposed for the intersection of Sunrise and Veterans Memorial highways would suck money out of their downtown areas and worsen traffic.

"Do we really need a half-million square feet of retail when all our downtowns are already depleted and there are for-rent signs everywhere?" said Sayville Chamber of Commerce president Bill Etts, noting that the development application has been working its way through the town for years. "Across the board, every chamber on the South Shore we've spoken to is against it."

But Bram Weber, the attorney for property owner Serota Properties, said the retail in Islip Pines wouldn't compete with the quaintness of nearby downtowns. "Downtown Sayville has unbelievable charm and a certain attractiveness to it as a downtown shopping destination, and there really will be no conflict between the two because it's just two totally different experiences," Weber said.

Etts -- along with members of the Oakdale, Bayport and Holbrook chambers of commerce and a handful of civic associations -- met last week with Islip Town Planning Commissioner Dave Genaway to share their concerns. They cited the 2009 Sunrise Highway Corridor Study released by the Suffolk County Planning Department, which found that "new retail development is generally not appropriate" in the area known as the industrial corridor."

Genaway said navigating the application process would be a balancing act.

"We recognize that we need jobs, we need construction in the Town of Islip, we want to put people back to work again and this application does represent an opportunity to do that," he said. "But . . . we want to make sure we're not allowing overdevelopment or development that flies in the face of our comprehensive plan."

The property is zoned industrial and would need to be approved as mixed-use zoning. The hearing is meant to be a chance for the planning department, the property owner and citizens to make their cases.

Weber said over the years some tweaks have been made to the proposal -- such as fewer housing units -- to try to appease local groups but, he said, "Some members of the community are adamantly opposed to it, and no matter what we say, they'll never support it."

The project: The Island Pines project, a 136-acre mixed-use development

Owner: Serota Properties

Components

250 one- and two-bedroom apartments

450,000 square feet of retail space

1.3 million square feet of commercial-industrial space

Four acres of public open space

What's next: Public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on March 22 at Islip Town Hall