Fact vs Fiction

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FALSE

 Many of us have seen the developers "Concept" for 104 single family homes.  It should be made clear that this map is purely fictional and is not in any way a viable option.  Should the developer decide to pursue 1-acre single family homes he would have to submit a subdivision map that takes into account several factors such as steep-slopes, wetlands, recharge basins, roadways and a percentage of open space, etc.  All these factors would dramatically reduce the number of actual building lots to a number far less than the 104 that the developer has been using. In fact , the 2005 TOH Steep Slope conservation law  requires a reduction in potential yield on courses with slopes greater than 10%  (IHCC slopes are 8-35%) So the resulting theoretical golf course development yield for 1 acre homes  is less than 70*. This number of 1 acre homes  is far less than what the developer has been threatening the community with. If zone change is allowed,the Steep Slope law does not apply and  the developer  will be able to build a greater density development than our current 1 acre zoning allows. This will be a greater burden on  the community and environment.

 *From Golf Course Study Inventory and Policy ,1990 Suffolk County Planning Department

FALSE

 The land covered by the golf course is currently zoned "R-40", which is the Town of Huntington designation for 1-acre single family residence.  In early 2017, the developer filed an application with the Town of Huntington for a change of zone away from 1- acre single family residence (R-40) to another type of zone called "Residence - Open Space Cluster" or R-OSC.  This change of zone application is a very complex issue that involves a very long process, including several public hearings in front of the Town Board.  The Town Board is not near a decision and there is no date set for a hearing.  As a community, we need to stay involved during this process and make sure our voice is heard.

 False

Remember , the continued use of this property as a golf course means continued legal application of pesticide,herbicide and heavy use of fertilizers, now add the environmental demands  of a high density cluster development and newly expanded club house catering facilities on top of the already  significant environmental burden of a golf course  e.g. Pesticides,herbicides,fertilizers plus 25,500 gallons of raw sewage dumped into  the golf course grounds  as well as 5 newly created acres of imperious surfaces for contaminated water to flow into wetlands and LI sound. This would be a double dose of environmental burdens than if this was just a golf course or purely residential .For example, the golf course as it stands now from a nitrogen load perspective is already a developed piece of property, samples collected from golf course ponds show extremely elevated levels of phosphorous,which is detrimental to fresh water . Adding a high density development to this fragile watershed area is an environmental hazard. . Further development will only worsen this situation. Land use decisions made today will impact quality of life for many generations

Fact

Cluster housing will affect the value of your Fort Salonga home. Potential buyers will worry about the magnitude of this development project and its impact on this quiet neighborhood . What could easily become a multiple year project will scare away potential buyers eventually driving home prices down .  We are already seeing this happen in the neighborhood.

 Any purchase will require banks to run comparative sales within a 3 mile radius in order to do appraisals for their mortgage commitment. Regardless of where you may live in Fort Salonga, YOUR HOMES VALUE WILL DROP BASED ON THESE APPRAISALS!  

 

Fact

The only way Indian Hills or any Golf Course would remain a golf course in “perpetuity” would be if the owner sells or forfeits the development rights to the town itself.  Other than that there always remains the possibility that a future landowner may challenge the R-OSC zoning depending on circumstances at a future time.  In other words, if Indian Hills Country Club is re-zoned, as per the current proposal, to Residential Open Space Cluster Zoning, town homes will be built on the perimeter of the property.  At the same time, the golf course will remain a fully functional and operational golf course.  Fast forward 10, 15 even 20- years - perhaps all the town homes have been sold and the golf course is failing and no longer profitable so the current owner sells it to another developer who then challenges the R-OSC zoning on economic grounds.  Rather than leave a desolate and non-operational golf course - the Town of Huntington would be within its rights to grant yet another change of zoning and the community could be looking at full residential (or other) development of the golf course on top of the 108 town houses that had been built under R-OSC.   The bottom line is that “perpetuity” is a buzz word used to appeal to all of us who want to save open space but not a guaranteed reality.  

FICTION

The developer has repeatedly stated that his plan is strictly for residents 55 and over which would contain no children of school age. 

FACT

The written submission on behalf of the developer clearly states, in two separate sections, that "no age restriction is proposed". It also estimates that the development will accommodate 31 children of school age.

BOTTOM LINE

The Traffic Study, which already underestimates the impact of the proposal completely omits the activity associated with the 31 school age children which it assumes will be residents. It also ignores the financial cost to the School District and community in general associated with these school age children.