Opponents of Fort Salonga project halt vote to add board members

An effort by Huntington officials to change town code to allow the appointment of two alternate members to serve on its planning board received pointed resistance from residents of Fort Salonga and was pulled for a vote.

During a public hearing on the matter at the March 10 town board meeting, residents said the legislation was a backdoor effort by town board member Gene Cook to appoint people to the board who are supportive of The Preserve at Indian Hills housing development proposal in Fort Salonga.

That plan, first proposed in 2016, calls for a 98-unit town house development for residents 55 and older on the Indian Hills Country Club property. Residents have been fighting the development over the project's environmental impact on the community, pointing out the development's proximity to Crab Meadow wetlands, Fresh Pond and the Long Island Sound.

Cook, who says he is in support of the application because it keeps part of the property as open space, and that the accusations hurt his feelings, pulled the resolution that was to be voted on during the meeting for further review.

“I was looking at it as: Let’s get this set, in case we have issues of people getting sick or what have you, that the board could still function,” Cook said. “But residents have some anxieties and brought up some good points, so let’s have the town attorney’s office look at it, rewrite it and see if we can get some stuff in there.”

John Hayes, president of the Fort Salonga Property Owners Association, which is opposed to the development, said Cook's move is a step in the right direction. 

“I’m glad to see Mr. Cook was able to see that there was an appearance of trying to meddle or interfere that was genuine,” Hayes said.

The planning board is a seven-member body appointed by the town board charged with furthering the town's comprehensive planning goals and to make planning and land-use determinations. 

Town officials had said the alternates would serve as substitutes when a current member is unable to participate because of such things as a conflict of interest.

In 2018 the town board voted to appoint two alternates to the zoning board of appeals. At the time Cook said there were concerns there would not be enough members available to hear applications because of absences, vacations and sickness.

Opponents of the planning board alternates said there has been no attendance problem for the planning board as had been with the zoning board, and that town code had already provided a provision to allow alternates on the zoning board.

Hayes and other residents said any planning board legislation for alternates should stipulate that those members will not weigh in on any active applications.

“Hopefully Cook will take up the suggestions that we offered which would give the planning board alternate backups but not allow them to interfere with anything that’s currently going on,” Hayes said.

By Deborah S. Morris

deborah.morris@newsday.comdsvmorris

Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.