Village waterfront district plan abandoned

Mastic Beach's village trustees have backed off a proposed waterfront development district amid pressure from residents who feared it would ruin the South Shore community's coastline.

The 11,543-resident village, formed in 2010, is attempting to enact its first set of zoning codes to govern development in the community, where officials say years of poor planning -- before incorporation -- stunted economic growth.

But Mastic Beach's first attempt at zoning proved unpopular with many residents, who took exception to a section of the proposal that would have allowed restaurants, stores, hotels and yacht clubs to rise on the village's six-mile waterfront.

Mastic Beach's trustees voted unanimously Wednesday night to assemble a new zoning commission to try writing the zoning codes.

Mayor Paul Breschard said sections of the first zoning-codes proposal could survive, but the waterfront development proposal will likely be scrapped. He added that he is "totally opposed" to overdevelopment on the village's waterfront.

Breschard also said the next zoning proposal will be written after the zoning commission gathers input from the public, which would address what residents perceived as a flaw in the first proposal.

"I'm going to insist on it," Breschard said.

The new zoning commission will be appointed as soon as the next trustees meeting on Feb. 14 and will not include anyone from the first zoning commission, Breschard said.

The trustees' decision came after three days of tense, packed hearings about the zoning plan that drew more than 300 residents total.

Residents who attended the hearings said waterfront building was likely to either fail -- resulting in blighted businesses -- or spoil the shoreline.

"The zoning codes produced by the zoning commission were totally unrealistic, did not meet community expectations and failed to address various issues that were very important to village residents," said Alan Chasinov, who held up pictures of a heron and a bald eagle he said were taken on the beach to illustrate the importance of preserving the waterfront.

Mastic Beach has until September to approve a zoning code per state law, officials said. The code will be approved by the trustees after more public hearings, officials said.