Island Hills development concerns continue

The active community group Greater Islip Association, known for their outspoken and strong-voiced Facebook page, Stop Island Hills, announced they would be holding a car parade protest of Rechler Equity Company’s proposed zone change for the development of high-occupancy apartment buildings on the former Island Hills Golf Course on Lakeland Avenue in Sayville at the Baymen Soccer Fields on Tuesday, April 20 at 4:30 p.m.

Members of the GIA sent two FOIL applications to the Town of Islip in the beginning of October 2020 and a partial Draft of Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) was received at the end of March. “The DEIS provided, is incomplete since it does not include any of the referenced appendices. The second FOIL, which was modified pursuant to the town’s request, is significantly overdue, having been accepted on Dec. 4, 2020,” said Milynn Augulis, leader of the GIA.

She also cited that since town board meetings had been held over Zoom, without the opportunity for public comment, it was “compounding” the lack of transparency in the process.

According to the town, “the developer/town is on target to complete the Island Hills DEIS sometime this spring 2021, but that is just one step in a long, complex environmental review process.”

The GIA said that “as a matter of clarification, the GIA and the community are not against development per se,” according to Augulis. “We are against a zone change for a project that exceeds what this community can offer in infrastructure, even with substantial mitigation, and what our local environment can tolerate without breaking its already fragile state.”

In 2017, Rechler applied for a change of zoning in its proposed development site from existing residential district to a planned development district. The current plan described on Rechler’s website for the Greybarn Sayville includes:

•25 acres of neighborhood recreational open space including 2 miles of walking paths and pocket parks

•70 percent green space within the development

•Design vision consistent with south shore architectural heritage

•Lush landscaped buffers to enhance visual impact

•Limited vehicular access

•Use of cutting-edge green technology

•State-of-the-art wastewater treatment resulting in reduced nitrogen in groundwater

•Stormwater managed on site

•Increase to local tax base

•Positive improvements to distressed property

The GIA contends that Rechler’s move to apply for a zone change is to build multiple-story buildings for over 1,300 rental units, against the group and the community at large’s concerns for such an expansive property and population increase.

When asked specific questions about retail space in the development, the response to the planned car parade, usage of former agricultural chemicals affecting the site, and the actual price ranges of the one- to two-bedroom apartments on the property, Rechler sent the following blanket statement:

“Four years ago, we filed our application for Greybarn Sayville. More than two years ago, we agreed that Greybarn Sayville would not include a retail component, so it can be said with certainty that there will not be retail space. Concerning the other questions asked, they, and several others, will be addressed during a community-based planning process that will commence as soon as Islip Town completes its review of our draft Environmental Impact Statement. As with any draft, details in it may be modified and/or adjusted depending on community input and other factors.”