Mastic Beach considers waterfront zoning

Most in Suffolk County's youngest village agree that the six miles of accessible waterfront are one of Mastic Beach's greatest assets.

But village officials' first attempt to enact a zoning code has brought complaints from residents that a planned waterfront development district would ruin the unspoiled shoreline, which fronts on Narrow Bay.

The zoning code is designed to bring orderly growth to a community that has suffered from years of neglect and poor planning, village officials say.

But opponents have focused on one section that would allow restaurants, stores, hotels and yacht clubs to rise on the waterfront. Current zoning allows only residential homes on the land, officials said.

"They're just going to go ahead and put up buildings and types of industry there? It makes no sense," said Bob DeBona, who heads a local property owners group. "The village should be focusing on all the other problems we have without trying to put up the Empire State Building."

Village officials reminded speakers during a recent public hearing that the proposed codes have not been enacted. The zoning commission must accept the codes, and then the board of trustees must approve them before they become policy, officials said. The trustees could vote as soon as Feb. 13.

The code could be revised before it is enacted, said Mayor Paul Breschard, who added that he is reviewing the proposal.

"I know the concern is that the entire waterfront area was declared a waterfront zone, and people were concerned there would be a lot of waterfront commercial development," Breschard said. "We just have to make sure we don't wind up with haphazard development."

The zoning code was the subject of a 3 1/2-hour public hearing on Jan. 5. Several residents said allowing shoreline building could create the tax base the village needs to sustain itself. Others warned that waterfront developments can fail, yielding blight.

"To see the whole coastline slotted for hotels, motels, boatels, restaurants and retail services, I think that's a problem," said resident Jane Powers.

The rift over the waterfront underscores a deep divide in Mastic Beach between residents who supported incorporating the village in 2010 and those opposed. Maura Spery, who opposed incorporation, said the waterfront should be preserved as parkland.

"If you want a developed waterfront, move somewhere that already has a developed waterfront," she said. "Don't ruin ours."

At the hearing, zoning chairman Mario Vigliotta reminded the crowd that the code is far from finished.

"It doesn't become law until the board of trustees votes on it," he said.