The Suffolk County Planning commission voted Wednesday to reconsider a plan to develop a hotly contested 75-acre piece of land in St. James.
The future of Gyrodyne/Flowerfields property located just off Route 25A in St. James and a portion of Stony Brook, has been debated for years now.
President of the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce Christopher McNamara was one of three people to applaud the latest proposal during the virtual public hearing.
"The Gyrodyne project will provide 1,500 construction jobs, 1,000 permanent jobs," McNamara said. "And We need the jobs. We are broke."
The commission had already voted to approve a plan to develop the 75 acres back in 2017, but those developers backed out of the deal.
The new plan calls for even more development than the last: It includes a hotel, an assisted living facility and a sewage treatment plant.
Civic leader James Bouklas was one of six to speak out against it. He said Gyrodyne sold residents on the plan with the promise of bringing sewers to the area.
"Gyrodyne has submitted receipts for sewer approvals and has gone through the FEIS process with no indication they're going to share the sewage treatment plant. Talk about a bait and switch," Boukalas said.
Concerns were also raised about traffic, potential water pollution. Some said the property would be the perfect space for a park instead.
"The Gyrodyne property was our community's last chance to provide generations with a park with significant natural open space," said Mayor of Head of the Harbor Doug Dahlgard.
"Long Island suffers from the decades-long aftereffects of poor planning over the last 50-plus years," said Legislator Kara Hahn, who along with others said they fear the property will suffer from the decision as well.
The commission will meet again on June 2.
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