Brookhaven rezones part of landfill for industrial use only

A mostly unused portion of the Brookhaven landfill site has been rezoned for development as an office park or warehouse complex, even as town officials say they have no immediate plans to sell the property.

The town board voted 7-0 on Dec. 16 to rezone more than 130 acres on the northwest corner of Horseblock Road and Sunrise Highway in Brookhaven hamlet from residential to industrial. Part of the property, adjacent to the 270-acre town landfill, has been used by the town for composting and other waste management purposes.

Brookhaven officials said the rezoning was intended to ensure the site would never be developed as a residential subdivision. The previous zoning would have permitted dozens of housing units that would have been inappropriate for the industrial area, town officials said.

"Zoning is forever," Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said before the vote. "I’ve seen parcels developed contrary to what the community wants."

The town was in no rush to sell the site to developers, Romaine said. Brookhaven officials had said previously that they had not been approached by anyone interested in purchasing the property.

A separate review would be required "if we were to explore the sale of any of that property," Romaine said. "This is simply a zoning process."

The property had been eyed by town officials for a 121-acre ash landfill that could have taken hundreds of thousands of tons annually of incinerated waste after the landfill closes.

The landfill, which opened in 1974, is expected to close in December 2024, when it is expected to run out of capacity.

Romaine scrapped the ashfill plan in March, citing inflated projected costs for the project. The proposal had faced opposition from residents and environmental activists.

Residents speaking at a July public hearing had opposed or questioned the rezoning plan. Many said the area, which includes asphalt and composting plants in addition to the landfill, did not need any more industrial uses.

The rezoning allows projects such as corporate parks but includes a list of 41 uses that would be discouraged at the site, Councilman Dan Panico said. Those uses — such as schools, taverns, houses of worship, fertilizer factories and concrete or asphalt manufacturing — would require the approval of at least six of seven town board members, he said.

"This is the product of listening to a lot of the residents [and] listening to our colleagues," Panico said.

Councilman Jonathan Kornreich, the town board’s lone Democrat, said he would oppose any attempt to sell the site, adding he hoped the rezoning helps to preserve the property’s "environmental value."

"That parcel is not appropriately zoned as residential," Kornreich said. "This is not meant to be a precursor to a sale of the property, which is open to questions."

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.