5/30/24: Last night, the Town of Huntington Planning Board voted to rescind its earlier resolution that would have allowed developers to proceed on a subdivision of 8 Halesite acres. The Board’s unusual and positive action follows the March filing of an Article 78 action in NY State Supreme Court, Long Island by Halesite neighbors opposed to the subdivision plan. The neighbors organized to protect the environmentally and historically important land and establish a nature preserve – the Nathan Hale Nature Preserve.
The Planning Board had issued a Resolution on February 21, 2024 documenting a "negative declaration" under New York Department of Environmental Conservation, State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and approving the developers' Vineyard Bay Estates subdivision application.
The Article 78 Respondents, the Planning Board and the developers, Vineyard Bay LLC, were to file answers to the Complaint and Petition Tuesdays. Instead, attorneys representing them contacted Nathan Hale Nature Preserve’s attorneys, Perillo & Hill, last week and an agreement was reached, the terms of which are set forth in the attached Stipulation. The Planning Board agreed to vote and rescind the February 21st Resolution and annul the Planning Board’s SEQRA declaration at last night’s Regular Meeting, after which the Article 78 action would be dismissed without prejudice.
“Unfortunately, although what has been agreed to was presented in writing to the Town Board and Planning Board before issuance of a negative declaration under SEQRA and before the subdivision application was approved, the Resolution was passed and we had to file a lawsuit and spend tens of thousands of dollars to get the Town of Huntington to follow local laws and processes, as well as to comply with New York environmental laws,” said Paul Thomson, a member of the Nathan Hale Nature Preserve Committee and one of the Article 78 Petitioners. “The agreement to essentially restart the subdivision application process and to move the process forward in compliance with the law importantly affords us our rights to be heard and our concerns considered during public hearings that will determine if we can achieve our steadfast commitment to preserve this open space!”
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