Babylon board OKs zoning for 100-acre industrial park in Wyandanch

The Babylon Town Board has signed off on a new zoning code that paves the way for the creation of a 100-acre industrial park in Wyandanch that has divided neighboring communities.

The board voted unanimously 5-0 last week to create the Planned Industrial Park District-2 zoning. That zoning is necessary for San Francisco-based Bristol Group to build the Suffolk Technology Park, which would have nine one-story buildings with up to 40 companies and 384 truck bays.

The wooded land proposed for the project runs from Little East Neck Road east to North 28th Street, and from south of Circle Drive to Long Island Avenue. It is owned by Pinelawn Memorial Park, which would lease it to Bristol.

The industrial park would border Wheatley Heights residential areas, as well as a historic Black and Indigenous cemetery owned by Pinelawn.

According to a state Department of State spokeswoman, the state’s cemetery board has not yet issued a recommendation on the lease.

The property is currently zoned residential, and Babylon doesn't have a zoning code for industrial parks. The town's Planned Industrial Park District-1 code, which was adopted in 1980, is only for a North Amityville industrial park.

Site-specific code

The new zone is site-specific to the Wyandanch project and mentions that its intention is to "promote sustainable economic growth, stimulate job creation, foster innovation, and create a well-planned and coordinated technology, business and industrial park development ... in the local Wyandanch area."

Bristol has not said what companies would be tenants in the buildings, but the new code stipulates use be limited to the principal activities of "the manufacture, intermediate processing or assembly of goods or similar operations."

Storage and food and drink preparation are also allowed, as are medical research and development, commercial kitchens, printing, health club and child care facilities, the code states. The manufacture, disposal or storage of hazardous material is not allowed under the code.

Bristol attorney Bram Weber said in an email that the company was pleased by the board’s vote and that Bristol looks forward to "continuing the approval process for its transformational business park and working together with the Town and interested community members to make the economic benefits of the project become reality."

According to town spokesman Ryan Bonner, the project next has to be reviewed by the Suffolk County Planning Commission before coming back to the town board for votes on Bristol’s rezoning and subdivision applications. The town’s planning board also will have to approve the site plan before the project moves forward, he said.

Bristol promises that almost 2,000 permanent jobs will be created from the park. It also has estimated that the project will infuse more than $5.6 million in tax revenue to the town, including more than $3.6 million to the Wyandanch school district. In addition, Bristol has promised more than $2 million in givebacks to Wyandanch and Wheatley Heights.

Divided opinions

Community opinions on the industrial park have largely been divided along hamlet lines, with Wyandanch residents praising the investment and its potential for jobs and revenue, while Wheatley Heights neighbors lambaste what they see as an onslaught of potential environmental, noise and water pollution.

Dianne Lloyd, 74, has lived across from the site in Wyandanch for 35 years and said she was glad the board approved the new zoning.

"This parcel of land has been a nuisance," she said, with homeless encampments, litter and ATV riders occupying the site. "I am excited they’re going to turn it into something equitable. For Wyandanch, it’s a no-brainer."

Wheatley Heights resident Elanna Osdoby, 55, said she had feared the board would approve the new code.

"It wasn’t a surprise," she said. "I felt all our talking, our speeches and all the sense that we made, it was all in vain. From the beginning they had set in their mind what they were going to do."

Love Foy, 54, a Wheatley Heights resident who filed an Article 78 lawsuit against the town board over the park that was later thrown out by a judge for being "premature," said she will file it again. Foy also helped form a conservation group that is proposing a park be established on the site instead of an industrial development.

"It’s a bit of a David and Goliath thing, but we’re not backing down," she said. "I don’t think they realize how passionate the community is about this."

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.