Town of Islip seeks public input for first new master plan since 1979
Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, at the podium, on June 25. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Islip has launched a special website to gather public input for the town’s first reboot of its master plan in more than 40 years.
Town officials have touted public input from Islip’s more than 330,000 residents as key to the new long term policy plan, which will provide a road map for future development for at least the next 20 years.
“We’re taking the public engagement process of it very seriously,” said Supervisor Angie Carpenter. “We're going to be deliberate in the process and make sure everyone has an opportunity” to participate.
Islip civic leaders, expressing fears of “overdevelopment,” said a new comprehensive plan is long overdue as developers pour billions into projects across town, including the massive Midway Crossing development.
That project will, alone, add a convention center, 300-room hotel, health sciences facilities and a new air terminal at Long Island MacArthur Airport with a walkway to Ronkonkoma’s Long Island Rail Road station.
Other major developments include the ongoing expansion of publicly owned Jake’s 58 casino and a proposal to build 890 housing units at the former Island Hills golf course in Sayville, a project that has met significant opposition from town residents.
David Chan, president of the Oakdale Civic Association, said the new plan should include a focus on revitalizing businesses in Oakdale and revamping the hamlet’s sewer system.
Overdevelopment is also “a huge fear amongst the community,” Chan said, adding that the Island Hills proposal “hangs over our heads like a black cloud.”
Concern about the potential influx of rentals in Sayville was echoed by John Tafe, director at the Greater Islip Association. Tafe and other leaders in the civic group have organized community efforts to protest the development.
“We want to keep our single-family homes. We want to keep the green space,” he said of the former golf course, which is zoned for 98 single-family homes.
The Islip Town Board must approve a zone change for the proposal to build hundreds of homes on the 114-acre property to move forward.
Tafe said he is “ecstatic” the town has launched a public engagement process for a new comprehensive plan, which he said should be redone every 20 to 30 years.
On Islip's new website, TOI360.com, town residents can share input through an online survey, a virtual "ideas wall," and by commenting on a map of the municipality.
The website provides “an opportunity for us to actually have our voices heard,” said Josh Chan, chairman of the D1 Youth Group, which represents young people in Brentwood, Central Islip and North Bay Shore.
Transit-oriented development and affordable housing with lower monthly rents and income requirements are both needed in Islip, he said.
At Islip’s October meeting, Islip Town Environmental Council chairperson Ginny Fields asked that the council be given an active role in the comprehensive plan process.
She also encouraged the town board to form a task force to pursue grants for climate resiliency, and said overdevelopment is straining local resources and disrupting natural habitats in the town.
Islip Town last adopted a master plan in 1979.
The new strategic document will outline community goals centered around key themes such as housing, sustainability and resilience, economic development and public services.
The town will also host public meetings, Carpenter said, adding that the consultants Islip hired last year will guide the public engagement process to “maximize” input.
The survey, the idea wall and the map will remain open through the end of the year.
The town is planning a public workshop in January that will be followed by a series of smaller community forums.
Islip has launched a special website to gather public input for the town’s first reboot of its master plan in more than 40 years.
Town officials have touted public input from Islip’s more than 330,000 residents as key to the new long term policy plan, which will provide a road map for future development for at least the next 20 years.
“We’re taking the public engagement process of it very seriously,” said Supervisor Angie Carpenter. “We're going to be deliberate in the process and make sure everyone has an opportunity” to participate.
Islip civic leaders, expressing fears of “overdevelopment,” said a new comprehensive plan is long overdue as developers pour billions into projects across town, including the massive Midway Crossing development.
That project will, alone, add a convention center, 300-room hotel, health sciences facilities and a new air terminal at Long Island MacArthur Airport with a walkway to Ronkonkoma’s Long Island Rail Road station.
Other major developments include the ongoing expansion of publicly owned Jake’s 58 casino and a proposal to build 890 housing units at the former Island Hills golf course in Sayville, a project that has met significant opposition from town residents.
David Chan, president of the Oakdale Civic Association, said the new plan should include a focus on revitalizing businesses in Oakdale and revamping the hamlet’s sewer system.
Overdevelopment is also “a huge fear amongst the community,” Chan said, adding that the Island Hills proposal “hangs over our heads like a black cloud.”
Concern about the potential influx of rentals in Sayville was echoed by John Tafe, director at the Greater Islip Association. Tafe and other leaders in the civic group have organized community efforts to protest the development.
“We want to keep our single-family homes. We want to keep the green space,” he said of the former golf course, which is zoned for 98 single-family homes.
The Islip Town Board must approve a zone change for the proposal to build hundreds of homes on the 114-acre property to move forward.
Tafe said he is “ecstatic” the town has launched a public engagement process for a new comprehensive plan, which he said should be redone every 20 to 30 years.
On Islip's new website, TOI360.com, town residents can share input through an online survey, a virtual "ideas wall," and by commenting on a map of the municipality.
The website provides “an opportunity for us to actually have our voices heard,” said Josh Chan, chairman of the D1 Youth Group, which represents young people in Brentwood, Central Islip and North Bay Shore.
Transit-oriented development and affordable housing with lower monthly rents and income requirements are both needed in Islip, he said.
At Islip’s October meeting, Islip Town Environmental Council chairperson Ginny Fields asked that the council be given an active role in the comprehensive plan process.
She also encouraged the town board to form a task force to pursue grants for climate resiliency, and said overdevelopment is straining local resources and disrupting natural habitats in the town.
Islip Town last adopted a master plan in 1979.
The new strategic document will outline community goals centered around key themes such as housing, sustainability and resilience, economic development and public services.
The town will also host public meetings, Carpenter said, adding that the consultants Islip hired last year will guide the public engagement process to “maximize” input.
The survey, the idea wall and the map will remain open through the end of the year.
The town is planning a public workshop in January that will be followed by a series of smaller community forums.
Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
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