Horizons 2020

Comprehensive Plan Update

Town of Huntington, New York

December 2008

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Acknowledgements

Town of Huntington

Frank P. Petrone, Town Supervisor Mark Cuthbertson, Councilman Susan A. Berland, Councilwoman Stuart P. Besen, Councilman Glenda A. Jackson, Councilwoman

Huntington Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee

*Former member, resigned to join Town Board

Ex-Officio Members

Anthony Aloisio, Director, Planning and Environment Patricia DelCol, Director, Engineering Services Bruce Grant, Deputy Director, Community Development Joy Squires, Chair, Huntington Conservation Board

Staff Advisors

John Corao, Director, Cultural Affairs Gary Gill, Transportation and Traffic Safety Philip Ingerman, Intergovernmental Relations Richard Machtay, Former Director, Planning and Environment Margo Myles, Former Interim Director, Planning and Environment Robert Riekert, Deputy Director, Planning and Environment Craig Turner, Planning and Environment

Consultants

Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC Economics Research Associates LSA Associates, Inc.

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Table of Contents

8.0 Transportation | 8-1 8.1 Overview | 8-3 8.1.1 Roads | 8-3 8.1.2 Public Transportation | 8-4 8.1.3 Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities | 8-6 8.1.4 Parking | 8-6 8.1.5 Programmed Transportation Improvements | 8-6 8.2 Key Issues, Objectives, and Recommendations | 8-10 8.3 Policies and Strategies | 8-14

9.0 Housing | 9-1 9.1 Overview | 9-3 9.2 Key Issues, Objectives, and Recommendations | 9-6 9.3 Policies and Strategies | 9-7

10.0 Geographic Focal Areas | 10-1 10.1 Overview | 10-3 10.2 Hamlet Centers | 10-4 10.2.1 Cold Spring Harbor | 10-4 10.2.2 East Northport | 10-6 10.2.3 Greenlawn | 10-8 10.2.4 Huntington Station | 10-10 10.2.5 Huntington Village | 10-12 10.3 Commercial Centers and Corridors | 10-16 10.3.1 Melville Employment Center | 10-16 10.3.2 Jericho Turnpike | 10-19 10.3.3 Route 110 (Jericho Turnpike to Melville) | 10-22 10.3.4 Minor Commercial Corridors | 10-23

11.0 Implementation | 11-1 11.1 Overview | 11-3 11.2 Principles for Comprehensive Plan Consistency | 11-3 11.3 Action Plan | 11-4 11.4 Plan Monitoring | 11-6

List of Figures

1.1 | Location Map | 1-5 3.1 | Environmental Resources | 3-5 3.2 | Open Space | 3-7 4.1 | Historic Districts and Resources | 4-5 5.1 | Community Facilities | 5-5 6.1 | Existing Land Use | 6-5 6.2 | Generalized Existing Zoning | 6-7 6.3 | Generalized Future Land Use | 6-15 8.1 | Existing Roadway Network | 8-5 8.2 | Levels of Service | 8-7 8.3 | Jurisdictional Ownership | 8-9 8.4 | Public Transportation | 8-11 8.5 | Existing and Proposed Bikeways | 8-13 10.1 | Geographic Focal Areas | 10-5

List of Tables

1.1 | Town of Huntington Population, 1950-2000 | 1-6 6.1 | Existing Land Use | 6-3 11.1 | Action Schedule | 11-7

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executive summary

Plan Organization

Vision Statement

Key Initiatives

Plan Elements

Implementation

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Horizons 2020: Huntington Comprehensive Plan Update

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Overview

The Town of Huntington stands at an important juncture in its history. Over the last several decades it has moved from an era of rapid growth with ample reserves of undeveloped land to become a mature, largely built out suburban community for which preservation and enhancement of existing character will replace growth as the primary planning goal. Looking towards the future, the challenges facing the Town will be: How do we maintain the high quality of life that our citizens enjoy? How do we preserve our remaining open space and environmental resources? How do we manage future growth and redevelope nt to meet the aspirations of our citizens?

The Town has chosen to address these challenges by preparing a new Comprehensive Plan—Horizons 2020—that charts a new course towards the future. The Comprehensive Plan articulates a Vision of Huntington in the years beyond 2020 based on extensive citizen input during the planning process. It provides the means to realize the Vision through clear and consistent goals, policies, and strategies and through specific actions that the Town will take to positively and deliberately influence growth and change to achieve expressed citizens' values and aspirations for our community.

Plan Organization

The Horizons 2020 Comprehensive Plan is comprised of the following sections:

1.0 Introduction

Describes the purpose of the Comprehensive Plan, provides an overview of the process used to develop the Plan, summarizes key demographic trends in Huntington, and identifies basic principles that guide the plan recommendations.

2.0 Vision Statement

Establishes a positive Vision of Huntington's future based on the direct input of citizens during the planning process. The Vision Statement establishes the mandate and direction ("what we want to be") for the policies, strategies, and actions contained in the remainder of the Comprehensive Plan ("what we must do to achieve the Vision"). It also identifies six Key Initiatives that set priorities for action by Town government.

Chapters Three to Nine (Plan Elements) define goals, policies, and strategies for the following elements or subject areas of the Comprehensive Plan:

3.0 Environmental Resources and Open Space

4.0 Community Character

5.0 Community Facilities

6.0 Land Use

7.0 Economic Development

8.0 Transportation

9.0 Housing

For each subject area, a goal or goals derived from the Vision Statement sets the overall direction for the future while the policies and strategies specify in detail how the goal(s) is to be achieved.

10.0 Geographic Focal Areas

Applies the policies and strategies from the plan elements to areas within the Town that have the greatest potential for change over the timeframe of the Plan. Referred to as geographic focal areas, they include hamlet and unincorporated village centers, the Melville Employment Center, and commercial corridors.

11.0 Implementation

Describes how the policies and strategies contained in the plan elements are to be implemented.

Vision Statement

The Vision of Huntington in 2020 and beyond directly reflects the values, aspirations, and priorities expressed by citizens during the planning process. In this Vision of the future, the Town’s outstanding quality of life and community character—the key attributes of the place that is Huntington—have been preserved for future generations. The Town’s exceptional livability and distinctive character have been achieved and maintained by strategically targeting actions over time towards four fundamental elements of the Vision:

Community Character

Protect Huntington’s small-town suburban character; preserve its rich heritage of historic resources; maintain and enhance its aesthetic character and identity; and practice responsible environmental stewardship.

Quality of Life

Provide quality schools, parks, and other community facilities; promote a vibrant arts community and cultural life; provide quality housing to meet the needs of Huntington’s diverse population; and continue Huntington’s tradition of citizen involvement and volunteerism.

Sustainable Community Structure Manage new development and redevelopment to protect neighborhood and village character, preserve open space, and revitalize commercial corridors; maintain a diverse employment base; develop an accessible, multi-modal transportation system; and provide sustainable water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure systems.

Responsive Town Government Provide exceptional public services, programs, and facilities while continuing prudent fiscal management; provide leadership in managing growth and change; promote civil discourse and constructive dialog on challenging issues; encourage citizens to become well-informed and actively involved in civic affairs; and promote greater intergovernmental cooperation.

Key Initiatives

Six Key Initiatives have been identified to organize and direct action by the Town to achieve the Vision Statement. These initiatives are:

Traffic Circulation Work with state and county agencies to retrofit the road network with state-of-the-art signalization and other targeted improvements to enhance operational efficiency and reduce traffic congestion.

Open Space Preservation Continue to expand the network of permanently reserved open space and improve the protection of sensitive environmental resources, such as groundwater supply.

Housing Alleviate substandard housing conditions, while promoting a more diverse housing stock affordable to all income groups.

Development Quality “Raise the bar” on development quality and sustainability through standards tailored to retain and complement the unique identity of the Town’s diverse neighborhoods, villages, and commercial areas, while addressing environmental, traffic, and other impacts.

Commercial Corridors Improve the aesthetic character and viability of commercial corridors through design standards and actions to promote revitalization and redevelopment of undesirable and obsolete development patterns with appropriate uses.

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Sustainable Huntington Mobilize a community-wide initiative to achieve a more sustainable future for the Town of Huntington, through measures that conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, and promote a healthy environment.

Plan Elements

The seven plan elements contain policies and strategies that, implemented over time, will move Huntington towards the future articulated in the Vision Statement. While presented in separate elements, these policies and strategies are interrelated and are designed to work together to support realization of the Vision and Key Initiatives.

Environmental Resources Element

Addresses Huntington’s natural resources and ecosystems, open space, and parks and recreation facilities. Two of the Key Initiatives—Open Space Preservation and Sustainable Huntington—relate directly to this element. Important recommendations for natural resources include:

• Strengthen regulatory protection of natural resources.

• Work with Suffolk County to safeguard Huntington’s drinking water supply.

• Implement a “Green Huntington” tree management and planting program.

The Plan proposes expanding the Town’s open space and greenway network by strengthening the open space acquisition program, promoting open space dedication in new developments, and working with landowners, institutions, and land conservation organizations to preserve privately owned open space. It also calls for development of a new Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan to address community needs for parks, recreational facilities, bikeways, and pedestrian trails.

Community Character Element

Addresses Huntington’s visual character and community appearance and its rich historic and cultural resources and heritage. Relevant Key Initiatives include Development Quality and Commercial Corridors, both of which relate to visual character. Important recommendations include:

• Update the Town’s inventory of historic resources and strengthen public awareness of the importance of these resources.

• Improve the Historic District, Buildings, and Landmark Ordinance.

• Continue to make visual improvements to gateways and other prominent public places in the Town.

• Improve design standards for new development.

• Continue to increase code enforcement efforts to address visually blighted properties.

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Community Facilities Element

Addresses schools, libraries, fire and rescue services, police protection, and Huntington Hospital, as well as all municipal facilities and services. Excellent community facilities and services are a key component of Huntington’s quality of life. At the same time, the increasing costs of some services—particularly public education—are a major concern of residents. By law, schools, libraries, and fire are the responsibility of independent taxing jurisdictions with independently elected boards while police protection is provided by Suffolk County. The Comprehensive Plan, therefore, is limited in its ability to directly influence community facilities other than those that are directly provided by the Town. Nevertheless, it provides direction for the Town to work cooperatively with other providers to help achieve the goal of cost-effective community facilities and services that meet citizens’ needs and contribute to Huntington’s excellent quality of life. Important recommendations include:

• Support and work with service providers to identify needs and address costs.
• Continue collaborative efforts of the Town and local school districts to address common issues.
• Address the impacts of development on community facilities, including:
  • Require contributions to school districts for residential density increases.
  • Support regional/state efforts to address school costs.
  • Improve capabilities to accurately forecast enrollment trends.
  • Investigate use of an “Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance”.
• Promote economic development to lessen the residential property tax burden.
• Use green building techniques in the design and construction of municipal facilities.
• Develop a long-range Municipal Facilities Master Plan.

Land Use Element

The goal is to manage development and redevelopment to protect valued land use patterns and to maintain or improve the character of areas experiencing pressures for change. It addresses the general locations, patterns, relationships, and character of residential, commercial, industrial, open space and recreation, and institutional land uses throughout Huntington. The land use policies and strategies focus on:

• Maintaining and protecting stable, high quality land uses and land use patterns (single-family neighborhoods, hamlet centers, etc.).
• Improving the visual character and viability of commercial corridors and areas experiencing decline or obsolescence.

Relevant Key Initiatives include Development Quality, Commercial Corridors, and Sustainable Huntington. Important recommendations include:

Executive Summary

• Modernize and update the Zoning Ordinance and Map in stages over several years. Priorities include:

› Enact regulations to protect neighborhoods, hamlet centers, and other desirable land use patterns from incompatible development, including replacement of the “one size fits all” C-6 General Business Zoning District with districts tailored to the characteristics of local centers.

› Improve design standards for commercial corridors.

• Develop and implement an area plan for the Melville Employment Center to address land use, circulation, and infrastructure issues in an integrated manner.

• Target public investments where appropriate to support revitalization efforts, for example:

› Investments in streetscapes, other public improvements, and community-serving uses (e.g., the Huntington Economic Development Corporation’s Huntington Station Revitalization Program).

› Façade improvement/signage replacement programs.

› Consideration of provision of public parking where needed in older commercial areas.

• Incorporate green building and sustainable site development provisions and incentives into the Town Code.

• Pursue joint planning with adjacent municipalities in areas of regional significance, including the Route 110 Corridor and Sagtikos Regional Development Zone.

The Land Use Element includes a Generalized Future Land Use Map for use in conjunction with the policies and strategies to guide Town decision-making on land use issues.

Economic Development Element

The goal is to promote a healthy, diversified, and sustainable economy that provides a strong tax base, needed goods and services, and employment opportunities for residents. It acknowledges the key connection between a healthy economy and a high quality of life, which attract businesses and the workforce on which they depend. At the same time, Huntington’s attractiveness as a place to live and locate a business is affected by factors such as traffic congestion and increased demand for costly services. Important recommendations include:

• Maintain a strong office and industrial employment base.

› Promote the Melville Employment Center as a biotechnology hub .

› Encourage smaller-scale employment/office uses to help revitalize older commercial corridors.

• Maintain a strong, diversified retail base.

› Enhance the retail character of unincorporated village centers.

› Encourage reinvestment in older commercial corridors.

• Address cost of living factors that impact economic viability.

• Promote business start-ups and development.

• Promote public/private economic development partnerships.

• Encourage economic activities relating to Huntington’s historic role as an access point to Long Island Sound fisheries resources.

Transportation Element

The goal is to provide a safe, efficient, multi-modal transportation system that provides residents with convenient choices for accessing destinations. It addresses roads and vehicular travel, public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and parking.

During the planning process citizens identified traffic congestion as a primary issue of concern. Key factors that contribute to congestion include 1) reliance on the automobile as the primary means of transportation and 2) a roadway system that because of its historic development lacks a systematic east-west and north-south grid pattern adequate to handle present day traffic volumes. Because the Town is almost entirely built-out, few opportunities exist to significantly widen roads or establish new road connections. There are, however, important steps that can be taken to lessen congestion. The Traffic Circulation Key Initiative calls for improving operational efficiency through “state-of-the-art” integrated signalization systems and other targeted roadway improvements. Additional transportation recommendations include:

• Develop a Long-Range Transportation Plan to coordinate capital improvements to local, county, and state roads.

• Consider a bond referendum and/or other funding source to support priority transportation improvements.

• Explore regulatory approaches to addressing the traffic impacts of new developments.

• Work with HART, Suffolk County Transit, and LIRR to improve transit service.

• Develop town-wide pedestrian and bicycle networks.

• Develop parking management plans to relieve village center congestion.

• Improve environmental quality by reducing automobile (and fossil fuel) usage.

Housing Element

The goal is to provide housing choices that are suitable and affordable for Huntington’s diverse households and compatible with community character. Housing is a major issue for

Huntington and all of Long Island. Although housing prices have moderated recently since their peak, they remain prohibitively expensive for middle-income families and first-time homebuyers when combined with other costs such as school taxes and home heating bills. Another trend is the changing demographic towards smaller, “non-traditional” households, resulting in demand for alternatives to single-family detached homes. The Housing Key Initiative calls for a two-pronged strategy to 1) alleviate existing substandard, overcrowded, and illegal housing and 2) diversify the Town’s housing stock to meet residents’ needs. Important recommendations include:

• Eliminate substandard, overcrowded, and illegal housing. › Increase code enforcement. › Expand the Town’s Take Back The Block Program. › Improve the flexibility of the Accessory Apartment regulations. › Assist persons displaced from illegal housing units.

• Address the need for a more diversified housing stock. › Strengthen requirements for affordable/workforce housing as a condition of zone changes. › Utilize apartments in village districts and mixed-use redevelopment to replace obsolescent commercial development. › Implement strong quality construction and “green” construction guidelines. › Undertake public education on the need for, benefits, and impacts of a diversified housing stock. › Designate a Town affordable/workforce housing coordinator. › Give affordable/workforce housing preference to Town/School District residents.

• Provide for the housing needs of low income and special needs populations.

• Address the impacts of new housing developments on schools.

Consistent with the Comprehensive Plan goals, policies, and strategies, efforts to provide a more diverse housing stock should focus on replacing and improving undesirable or obsolescent land uses while keeping stable neighborhoods intact. The Plan also recommends that steps be taken to assure equitable distribution of housing types throughout the Town and its school districts.

Geographic Focal Areas

The Geographic Focal Areas chapter establishes goals and recommends strategies for areas of Huntington that have the greatest potential for change. These areas include:

Hamlet/Unincorporated Village Centers

• Cold Spring Harbor
• East Northport
• Greenlawn
• Huntington Station
• Huntington Village

Commercial Centers and Corridors

• Melville Employment Center
• Jericho Turnpike
• Route 110 (Jericho Turnpike to Melville)
• Minor commercial corridors

The recommendations for these areas seek to protect and reinforce Huntington’s hamlet and unincorporated village centers and to improve the character and viability of automobile-oriented commercial areas. They include zoning changes to protect traditional land use patterns and to improve the character and quality of development in automobile-oriented commercial corridors and centers; physical investments to enhance visual character and improve infrastructure; and transportation strategies to improve traffic circulation, provide for parking needs, and promote alternative travel modes. A new overlay district is proposed along Jericho Turnpike to focus more intense commercial development in “nodes” at major intersections and to encourage smaller-scale mixed uses between the nodes.

Implementation

Plans are turned into reality through concerted, coordinated, and consistent action over time. The final chapter of the Horizons 2020 Comprehensive Plan describes how the Plan is to be used by the Town as a guide for policy, decision-making, and action. It contains:

• Principles to guide decision-making for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.
• An Action Plan that synthesizes the policies and strategies from the plan elements into short-term, mid-term, long-term, and ongoing actions.
• A protocol to monitor progress in implementing the Comprehensive Plan, including annual reviews and periodic updates to the Plan.

The Horizons 2020 Comprehensive Plan is intended as a working document that will guide the Town in making decisions, establishing priorities, and committing to actions that will positively shape the future of Huntington. By moving forward with the strategies and actions defined in the Plan, the Town can face the challenges of the new millennium with resolve and confidence, knowing that it is following a well-defined “game plan” designed to realize the Vision of Huntington that citizens aspire to for the future.

1 introduction

1.1 Purpose of the Comprehensive Plan

1.2 Comprehensive Plan Process

1.3 Demographic Background and Guiding Principles

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1-3

1.1 Purpose of the Comprehensive Plan

Located along the northern shore of Long Island at the western edge of Suffolk County, the Town of Huntington, NY has a long and distinguished history. From the “First Purchase” of lands in Huntington from the Matinecock tribe in 1653 to Huntington’s early development as a maritime and farming community, establishment of rail service in the 19th century and highway access in the 20th century, and the post-World War II population boom, that history has been marked by continuing change. Over the last several decades Huntington has moved from an era of rapid growth with ample reserves of undeveloped land to become a largely built out suburban community for which preservation and enhancement of existing character have replaced growth as the primary planning focus. Looking towards the future, the challenges facing the Town will be: How do we maintain the high quality of life that our citizens enjoy? How do we preserve our remaining open spaces and our precious environmental resources? How do we manage future growth and redevelopment to meet the aspirations of our citizens? And, how does accelerating change in the 21st century affect our responses to these questions?

The Town has chosen to address these challenges by preparing a new Comprehensive Plan for Huntington’s unincorporated area. Adopted in 1993, Huntington’s last comprehensive plan addressed the transition from rapid growth in the 1950s and 1960s to a mature community, a transition that is now largely complete. Because many of the issues and recommendations of the 1993 Plan are still relevant today, that plan provided the starting point for the Horizons 2020 Comprehensive Plan Update. However, the update goes beyond previous planning efforts to set a new direction for Huntington’s future based on in current conditions and trends and input from citizens.

The primary purpose of the Comprehensive Plan is to provide a common direction, framework, or “roadmap” that can be used to proactively manage future change. Specifically, the Plan provides the following:

1. An expression of citizens’ values and aspirations in the form of a shared “vision.” Just as one would not begin a journey without first identifying a destination, the process of preparing the Comprehensive Plan Update began with citizens identifying through meetings, workshops, and other means the kind of place they would like Huntington to be. These citizen-based values and aspirations are the foundation for a collective vision of the Town’s future. Presented in Chapter 2 of the Plan, the Vision Statement defines citizens’ expectations and directions for the future; establishes the mandate for plan policies, strategies, and actions; and provides a benchmark against which to measure progress in implementing the plan.

2. A guide for decision-making. The goals, policies, and strategies defined in the plan elements (Chapters 3 to 9 of the Plan) are based on a thorough evaluation of the Town’s present policies, initiatives, and regulations and how they need to be modified or new directions set to achieve the Vision Statement. While presented in separate elements, the goals, policies, and strategies are designed to work together to achieve the future vision.

As such, they should be used to inform short and long-term decision-making by town leaders, officials, and other members of the Huntington community on a continuing basis. Integration into town decision-making will result in significant adjustments to present policies, regulations, and investment priorities.

3. Huntington’s “To Do” list. The Comprehensive Plan’s influence on Huntington’s future will be a product of the motivating power of its shared vision, and of the effectiveness of actions taken to realize the vision. The vision will not be achieved simply because citizens agree with the sentiments it expresses. Rather, it will be realized by steady progress in adhering to a well-defined “game plan” that sets priorities for effective short and long-term actions. Chapter 11 of the plan defines a program for town action designed to move the vision for the future of Huntington forward into reality.

It should be noted that all applicable state and town legal requirements, such as the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) and public noticing and input requirements, will continue to apply to capital investments, changes to zoning and development regulations, private development applications, and other projects proposed and reviewed by the Town. As noted, the Comprehensive Plan provides a framework for use by the Town with the input of citizens in making decisions on these projects.

Chapter One: Introduction

1.2 Comprehensive Planning Process

The Comprehensive Plan Update has been prepared through a planning process consisting of three discrete phases, as follows:

1. Community Visioning: In this first phase of the process hundreds of citizens joined together to define a Vision Statement expressing the community’s collective aspirations for the future of Huntington as they wish it to be in the years beyond 2020. A series of key initiatives was identified in conjunction with the Vision Statement as priorities for action by Town government. Citizens shaped the Vision Statement through input provided via community forums, stakeholder interviews, a telephone survey, and other means of communication. Presented in its entirety in Chapter 2, the Vision Statement was subsequently adopted by the Town Board.

Also as part of the first phase, a Community Assessment was prepared to characterize key conditions and trends related to growth and change in the Town of Huntington and to inform development of the Vision Statement. The Community Assessment evaluated existing plans and regulations; demographic and economic conditions and trends; the transportation system and other components of the Town’s physical structure; and planned infrastructure improvements, development proposals, and other initiatives that are likely to significantly influence future growth and change. The following documents present the results of the Community Assessment and provide background for the Comprehensive Plan:

• Demographic and Economic Analysis for the Town of Huntington Comprehensive Plan Update, prepared by Economics Research Associates, April 2004.
• Retail Market Analysis for Town of Huntington Comprehensive Plan Update, prepared by Economics Research Associates, April 2004.
• Town of Huntington Comprehensive Plan Update, Phase 1 Report: Community Visioning, prepared by Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC with Economics Research Associates and LSA Associates, November 2004.

In addition, the Town of Huntington Department of Planning and Environment has prepared a Parks, Open Space & Environmental Resources Review as additional background for the Comprehensive Plan Update.

2. Policy and Strategy Development: In this phase of the Comprehensive Plan Update, a 26-member Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), comprised of citizen representatives from across the community, explored in detail the policy and strategy choices available to the Town to achieve the Vision Statement and key initiatives formulated in Phase 1. The CPAC deliberations resulted in Goals, Policies, and Strategies for each of seven topics: Environmental Resources and Open Space, Community Character, Community Facilities, Land Use, Economic Development, Transportation, and Housing. In addition, a Land Use Map was prepared to illustrate the desired general pattern of future land use in Huntington. The Goals, Policies, and Strategies were first prepared by CPAC in draft form for consideration by the citizens, stakeholders, and elected officials of the Town of Huntington and were sub-sequently revised to address public comments received at two public information-al meetings and during a thirty-day open comment period. The Goals, Policies, and Action Strategies Report was prepared in September 2006 to document the results of this phase of the comprehensive planning process.

3. Comprehensive Plan Preparation: In this phase, the results of the first two phases were refined and developed into the complete Comprehensive Plan document. This document includes the Vision Statement (Chapter 2); seven plan elements incorporating the Goals, Policies, and Strategies developed by the CPAC (Chapters 3 to 9); a chapter that applies the policies and strategies in more detail to “geographic focal areas” within the Town (Chapter 10); and an implementation program (Chapter 11). The implementation program defines the specific actions to be taken by the Town to realize the goals expressed by the Vision Statement and plan elements. In addition, a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) is being prepared in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan document as required by New York State’s Environmental Quality Review Act.

Figure 1.1 Location Map

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Data Source: Town of Huntington, New York State

1.3 Demographic Background and Guiding Principles

The following overview of demographic conditions and trends in Huntington provides background and perspective on the issues addressed in the Comprehensive Plan Update. In 1930, Huntington’s population (including incorporated villages) was 25,582, an increase of over 300% in 40 years. The 1933 Master Plan Report stated that it was not unreasonable to expect the Town’s population to increase at least another 100% in the next ten years due to the “increasing desirability” of Long Island for “the commuter, the vacationist, and the owner of country homes.” As shown in Table 1.1, however, this prediction did not come to pass, as the U.S. Census reported that the Town’s population was 47,506 in 1950.

Source: U.S. Census

Figures include the incorporated villages of Asharoken, Huntington Bay, Lloyd Harbor, and Northport.

In the two decades between 1950 and 1970 Huntington’s population more than quadrupled in size to just under 200,000 persons as the Town experienced a post-World War II construction boom. It was during this period that Huntington’s landscape was fundamentally transformed from the historic pattern of villages separated by farmland and other open spaces to a suburban community consisting primarily of single-family neighborhoods. From 1970 to 2000 Huntington’s population stabilized, increasing slightly from 1970 to 1980, declining more significantly from 1980 to 1990, and increasing again from 1990 to 2000, for an overall decrease of 3.1% during the thirty-year period. Population estimates prepared by the Long Island Power Authority indicate that Huntington’s population increased to 202,767 or 3.8% between 2000 and 2006, more than reversing the decline of the previous three decades. Long-term population estimates prepared by the Suffolk County Department of Planning project that Huntington’s population will reach 217,290 in 2030.

While Huntington’s total population has not changed significantly since 1970 and is projected to experience only modest growth in the future, characteristics of the overall population are experiencing more significant change. Key trends include:

• The average size of a household in Huntington decreased from 3.59 persons in 1960 to 2.96 persons in 2000. This reflects a shift away from “traditional” households comprised of two parents with children to more singles, empty nesters, and other diverse household types.

• The Town’s population is getting older—median age increased from 30 years in 1960 to 39 years in 2000. Persons 65 years of age and over increased by 25% between 1990 and 2000. The “Baby Boom” generation (born between 1946 and 1964) represented approximately 33% of Huntington’s population in 2000. All members of this generation will be senior citizens (over 65 years of age) by 2030.

• Huntington has not been able to attract and/or retain persons between 25 and 34 years in age. The number of residents in these combined age groups declined from 30,097 in 1990 to 23,442 in 2000, with the greatest decrease occurring in the 25–29 year age group.

• Huntington is becoming more ethnically diverse, with Hispanics constituting the largest and fastest growing minority group. Between 1990 and 2000 the number of Hispanic residents reported by the U.S. Census increased from 7,771 or 4.1% of the total population to 12,844 or 6.6% of the population.

These demographic factors have significant implications for planning for Huntington’s future, as do other issues highlighted in the plan elements (Chapters 3 to 10). Examples of these issues include the loss of open space and scarcity of undeveloped land resulting from Huntington’s maturation as a suburban community; quality of life impacts such as traffic congestion; and cost of living factors such as high taxes and housing prices. The policies, strategies, and actions recommended in this Comprehensive Plan Update are the results of a careful process of deliberation on the complex choices available to address these and similar issues, weighed against the public input received throughout the planning process.

They reflect three guiding principles:

1. Preserve those assets that exemplify Huntington’s essential community character and quality of life. These include the Town’s neighborhoods, villages, natural environment and remaining open spaces, history and heritage, arts, cultural life, and other assets.

2. Counteract trends that threaten community character and quality of life. Examples include escalating housing and school costs, visual blight along commercial corridors, limited variety of housing choices, negative environmental trends, and traffic congestion.

3. Implement strategies to maintain and enhance community assets and replace undesirable or obsolescent land uses with new ones that meet community needs, thus realizing the first and second principles.

Huntington stands at a key juncture in its history. How the Town responds to change during the time horizon of this plan will determine whether the high quality of life and community character its citizens cherish are maintained for future generations. This is the overriding purpose of the Comprehensive Plan: to enable the Town to manage change to achieve the future for Huntington that its citizens desire.

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2 vision statement

2.1 Overview

2.2 Citizen Input

2.3 The Vision Statement

2.4 Realizing the Vision: Key Initiatives

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2.1 Overview

This chapter presents a Vision Statement that defines the kind of place citizens want Huntington to be in the future. It is based on input received from citizens during Phase 1 of the comprehensive planning process (Community Visioning).

In considering the Vision Statement, it is important to understand its perspective, context, and role in the Comprehensive Plan. The Vision Statement expresses citizens' aspirations for the future of Huntington in the years beyond 2020. Because it describes the future as citizens choose for it to be, it is written from the perspective of someone in the future observing the character of Huntington and reflecting on the past nearly two decades of progress - progress guided by the goals, policies, and action strategies of the Comprehensive Plan. The Vision Statement expresses citizens' collective values and motivations—"what we intend Huntington to be"—while the plan elements in Chapters 3 to 10 and the action plan in Chapter 11 set out in detail what we must do to achieve the vision."

2.2 Citizen Input

The level of citizen involvement in providing the input needed to craft the Vision Statement was extraordinary, including:

• Approximately 150 community stakeholders, representing key civic, business, environmental, and other organizations and interests, were interviewed for their perspectives on the major issues facing the Town.

• Over 500 citizens participated in five community forums at which they identified present strengths, present weaknesses, future opportunities, and future threats facing the Town of Huntington in small group discussions.

• A random, statistically accurate telephone survey of over 300 citizens throughout the Town was conducted as a further gauge of public opinion.

• Over 600 citizens provided additional input via the Town's website, written survey, or other communication.

A second series of public meetings was conducted to review the Draft Vision Statement, which was subsequently adopted by the Town Board. The Community Visioning Report, prepared to conclude Phase 1 of the comprehensive planning process, provides more information on the Vision Statement, the process used to develop it, and the Community Assessment that was conducted concurrently with Vision Statement development.

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2.3 The Vision Statement

In our Vision of Huntington, the Town’s outstanding quality of life and community character are preserved and enhanced for this and future generations. It is these key attributes of the place that is Huntington, and our connectedness to it and to each other, which define our shared identity and unite us in civic pride.

The Town’s exceptional livability and distinctive character have been achieved and maintained by preserving and building on our strengths, by addressing our shortcomings, and by making steady progress with a constant eye toward our shared vision for the future. Our success is the result of citizens, government, businesses, and institutions coming together in deliberate action to realize our collective vision of what Huntington can and should be. This action agenda has been strategically targeted towards four themes of the vision:

• Community Character
• Quality of Life
• Sustainable Community Structure
• Responsive Town Government

Community Character

• We carefully protect and maintain our small-town, suburban character: the diverse tapestry of livable neighborhoods and scenic, walkable villages and hamlets connected to parks, schools, and a variety of community activities.
• We honor our rich heritage by protecting and restoring our historic buildings, districts, and landmarks; and by interpreting Huntington’s history for present and future generations.
• We preserve and enhance the Town’s unique aesthetic character and identity by setting high standards for quality, by protect-ing our neighborhoods and villages from incompatible influences, and by continually enhancing our scenic corridors, open space network, public access to the waterfront, and civic facilities and landmarks.
• We practice responsible stewardship of our natural environment, safeguarding our beaches, marine and freshwater habitats, tree canopy, water and air quality, and other irreplaceable resources.

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Quality Of Life

• Our schools, and the outstanding quality of education they offer, reflect the importance we place on nurturing our most important resources, our children and youth.
• Our vibrant arts and cultural life—museums, libraries, arts and cultural institutions, activities, and events—is a source of pride and shared experience for our diverse population.
• Our parks and recreation facilities and programs provide high quality leisure activities for residents of all ages, abilities, and interests.
• Quality housing, including a broader array of housing choices, is accessible to and affordable for households of different ages, lifestyles and economic means.
• Effective application and enforcement of codes and regulations has eliminated problems of housing deterioration and overcrowding.
• Increasing in diversity, Huntington is a welcoming community that invites newcomers of all cultures and backgrounds to participate in the civic life and economic prosperity of the community.
• We retain our tradition of citizen involvement and volunteerism with active

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participation in a variety of neighborhood, arts and cultural, public safety, faith-based, and other community organizations, united by a commitment to enrich the lives of all citizens.

Sustainable Community Structure

• New development and redevelop-ment throughout Huntington is care-fully managed to protect the character of neighborhoods, villages, and other established land use patterns; preserve open space; and set high standards for aesthetic quality.
• Revitalized commercial corridors support a more diversified mix of complementary,

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community-serving uses to replace commercial strips and other undesired, underutilized, or obsolete development patterns, reflecting high standards of quality in architecture, site design, and landscaping.

• Village and neighborhood commercial areas serve as centers of community activity, retaining their pedestrian scale and character while incorporating carefully integrated shared parking to support a lively mix of shops and services.
• Our high quality of life, strategic location, and educated workforce attract a diverse employment base—ranging from quality large corporations to smaller locally-owned businesses and entrepreneurs—thus expanding the availability of well-paying jobs and strengthening the non-residential tax base.
• Our accessible, well integrated transportation system consists of:
  • a roadway network with a high degree of connectivity and convenience and reduced congestion due to improved operational efficiency; and
  • convenient transit (bus and rail), bicycling, and pedestrian alternatives to reliance on the automobile.
• Sustainable water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure systems meet community needs while safeguarding environmental quality and the quality of our drinking water supply.

Responsive Town Government

• Town government retains its reputation for prudent fiscal management, while providing an array of exceptional public services, programs and facilities to meet the needs of citizens for public safety, recreation, transportation, and cultural enrichment.
• Town government provides leadership in managing growth and change through wise investments and effective application and enforcement of codes and development regulations that are clear, consistent, and which set high standards.
• Town government supports and coordinates with local school districts to ensure continued efficiency and outstanding quality of local schools.
• The constructive dialog practiced by Town and community leadership is a model for civil discourse by citizens to achieve consensus on challenging issues.
• Town government is responsive to citizen concerns and encourages citizens to become well-informed and involved by affording a wide variety of opportunities for active participation in civic affairs.
• The Town has taken a leadership role in promoting greater intergovernmental coordination with federal, state, and county governments, adjacent towns, and our four villages.

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Chapter Two: Vision Statement

2.4 Realizing the Vision: Key Initiatives

To set the stage for turning the Vision Statement into reality, a series of bold key initiatives have been identified to set priorities for action by Town government. These initiatives provide direction for the strategies identified in the plan elements (Chapters 3 to 10) and the actions identified in implementation plan (Chapter 11). They respond directly to the priorities identified by citizens through the various means of public involvement during Phase 1 of the planning process. The key initiatives are:

Traffic Circulation

Work with state and county agencies to retrofit the road network with state-of-the-art signalization and other targeted improvements to enhance operational efficiency and reduce traffic congestion.

Open Space Preservation

Continue to expand the network of permanently reserved open space and improve the protection of sensitive environmental resources, such as groundwater supply.

Housing

Alleviate substandard housing conditions, while promoting a more diverse housing stock affordable to all income groups.

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Development Quality

“Raise the bar” on development quality and sustainability through standards tailored to retain and complement the unique identity of the Town’s diverse neighborhoods, villages, and commercial areas, while addressing environmental, traffic, and other impacts.

Commercial Corridors

Improve the aesthetic character and viability of commercial corridors through design standards and actions to promote revitalization and redevelopment of undesirable and obsolete development patterns with appropriate uses.

Sustainable Huntington

Mobilize a community-wide initiative to achieve a more sustainable future for the Town of Huntington, through measures that conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, and promote a healthy environment.

3 environmental resources and open space

3.1 Overview

3.2 Summary of Key Issues

3.3 Policies and Strategies

Goals

1. Protect Huntington’s environmental resources and natural systems.

2. Preserve a town-wide network of open space and greenways.

3. Provide excellent parks and recreation facilities that meet the needs of Huntington’s residents.

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3.1 Overview

Parks, open space, and environmental resources are key to Huntington’s quality of life, scenic character, and to its very ability to sustain itself as a viable community. Collectively they form what has been termed green infrastructure—a natural life support system that performs functions essential to the Town’s environmental quality, community health, and economy.

A detailed report on Huntington’s parks, open space, and recreational resources has been prepared by the Town’s Department of Planning and aEnvironment in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan. The following text provides an overview of issues related to these resources. Section 3.1.1 identifies community needs related to Huntington’s environmental resources, such as wetlands, ground and surface waters, floodplains, steep slopes, and natural habitat areas. It also addresses the role that Huntington can play in counteracting broader environmental trends such as global warming. Section 3.1.2 summarizes the current status of protected open space in Huntington and town programs to protect additional open space. Section 3.1.3 addresses parks and recreational facilities as an important component of the Town’s overall open space system.

3.1.1 Environmental Resources

Located on Long Island’s north shore, the Town of Huntington has benefited from the abundant environmental resources of Long Island Sound throughout its history. The Town’s early economy was based on the bountiful waters of the Long Island Sound and its associated harbors. In upland areas, glaciers deposited fertile, well-drained soils that were ripe for agriculture. To this day, the Town’s natural systems, wetlands, and surface waters provide natural habitat for many wildlife species, absorb stormwater runoff, and help to cleanse air and water. Because these resources are so important to Huntington’s quality of life and community health, the Town must endeavor to conserve them for the future through measures such as land acquisition, regulations, and low-impact development practices. The Town has regulations in place to protect resources such as steep slopes and wetlands, but additional provisions could be enacted to strengthen the existing regulations and to protect other resources such as groundwater recharge areas and waterway buffers.

Environmental resource protection depends on having a complete, up-to-date resource inventory. Figure 3.1 illustrates environmental resource areas in Huntington for which information is available through the Town’s Geographic Information System (GIS) database. The Town should continue to update its GIS database relating to environmental resources, including information such as:

• Wetlands, waterways, watersheds, and Coastal Fish and Wildlife surveys.
• Water recharge areas/hydrogeologic management and contributing well zones.
• Steep slopes.
• Prime agricultural soils.
• Protected land resources.
• Brownfields and remedial sites.

Such data is needed to inform the review of proposed development applications and provide a foundation for resource-based land use management and regulation.

Groundwater is a precious resource on which the Town of Huntington and all of Long Island depends for drinking water supply.

Benefits of Green Infrastructure

Environmental Quality

• Preserves natural resources, such as wetlands, steep slopes, and natural vegetation.
• Recharges and protects the quality of surface and ground waters.
• Provides natural stormwater management services, including flood protection, erosion control, and pollution reduction.
• Reduces energy use and captures carbon dioxide, thus helping to counteract global climate change.
• Conserves native communities and provides habitat for rare and endangered species.

Community Health

• Cleanses the air we breathe and the water we drink.
• Promotes outdoor recreation and exercise through activities such as walking and biking.
• Brings people into contact with nature.

A Sustainable Economy

• Strengthens the economy through improved quality of life and increased property values.
• Conserves resources that support economic activity.
• Reduces costs associated with engineered “gray infrastructure” systems (stormwater, wastewater, etc.).

The Town participated in preparation of the 1992 Long Island Comprehensive Special Groundwater Protection Area (SGPA) Plan under the authority of New York State ECL Article 55 (Sole Source Aquifer Protection). SGPAs are defined as “recharge watershed area(s) within a designated sole source area... which (are) particularly important for the maintenance of large volumes of high quality groundwater for long periods of time.” Huntington contains two portions of two SGPAs: West Hills/Melville in the western part of the Town and two much smaller portions of the Oak Brush Plains SPGA in the southeast-ern corner of the Town. Most of the Town’s public water supply wells are located outside of these SGPAs. Unlike towns such as Oyster Bay, Huntington has not enacted overlay regulations to protect groundwater resources within its SGPAs.

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Suffolk County is currently preparing a Comprehensive Water Management Plan to guide management and protection of drink-ing water supplies in the County. This plan will project future water demand, update the groundwater model to include additional wells and increased withdrawals to meet pro-jected demand, and provide policy and action recommendations. Increased nitrate levels in some public water supply wells are an issue of concern being addressed by the plan.

Potential threats to Huntington’s ground-water resources include point and nonpoint pollution sources such as “brownfield” sites that are contaminated with toxic chemicals, sewage disposal systems and treatment plants, and stormwater runoff from roads and park-ing lots. The Town is using state funding to evaluate the feasibility of cleaning up and re-storing potential brownfield sites in the Huntington Station area to productive use.

Huntington’s key environmental resources in-clude the shoreline, tidal wetlands, and waters of the Long Island Sound. These resources are addressed in two documents prepared by the Town under New York State’s Waterfront Revitalization and Coastal Resources Act: the 2000 Huntington Harbor Local Water-front Revitalization Program (LWRP) and the 2005 Draft LWRP for All Unincorporated Areas. Consistent with the Long Island Sound Coastal Zone Management Program, these documents contain policies designed to protect environmental resources, promote water-dependent and compatible uses, and provide for public access to and recreational use of Huntington’s waterfront.

Huntington’s tree canopy is another impor-tant environmental resource. Trees provide many benefits, such as natural means of cool-ing, air and water quality improvement, and stormwater management; wildlife habitat; visual amenity; and increased property values.

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The Town of Huntington was recognized as a Tree City for many consecutive years un-der the Tree City USA Program sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, USDA For-est Service, and National Association of State Foresters, but has not pursued this designa-tion recently. As part of a coordinated effort to enhance its tree canopy, the Town should follow the required steps to allow it to again be recognized as a Tree City. Other potential components of a tree canopy enhancement program include strengthening the Town’s tree ordinance, updating and extending the Town’s inventory of trees it owns and man-ages, improving management of trees in parks and other public properties, and promoting a community-wide tree management and planting initiative.

Huntington has an exceptional collection of natural systems, habitats, and indigenous plant and animal species, many of them as-sociated with existing passive parks man-aged by the Town. The Town has never had a comprehensive botanical inventory of its property holdings, although several volun-teer and university studies were done in the 1970s. A comprehensive survey or biodiver-sity index is needed to properly document these resources, including prime occurrences, threatened elements, and invasive species in-cursions. This index will provide a systematic and scientific foundation for strategies and actions to preserve biodiversity—the variety of ecosystems and species of plants and animals found in Huntington—including best management options for resources within passive town parks.

Environmental issues facing the Town of Huntington extend beyond the need to protect natural resources to the broader impacts

Figure 3.1 Environmental Resources

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Legend

• Coastal Boundary
• Public Water Supply
• Steep Slopes 15-35 Degrees
• Steep Slopes 8-15 Degrees

Drainage Basins

• Huntington Harbor
• Centerport Harbor
• Cold Springs Harbor
• Northport Harbor
• Price Bend
• Crab Meadow

Wetlands

• Wetlands

Tidal Wetlands

• FC

• HM

• IM

• SM

• Special Groundwater Protection Area

• Local Waterfront Revitalization Program Boundary

Data Source: Town of Huntington, New York State

Chapter Three: Environmental Resources and Open Space

of humans on the environment. With the growing awareness of trends such as global climate change, every effort should be made to increase recycling and utilization of renewable resources, while diminishing the “carbon footprint” of town facilities.¹ In 2005 Huntington joined several other Suffolk County municipalities in adopting a Clean Energy Action Plan. In 2006 the Town was awarded a federal grant to purchase hybrid fuel vehicles and one 100% electrically-powered passenger bus for its fleet.

“Green building” that incorporates energy conservation and other techniques to reduce the environmental impacts of new construction or renovation is increasing in popularity throughout the nation. The Town should support, recognize, and encourage initiatives to obtain LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.² As an example, the Town Board conducted a public hearing in July 2008 on legislation that requires commercial projects at least 4,000 square feet in size to meet LEED™ standards. The Town has taken other steps to promote energy conservation, such as the provision of free commuter and beach parking for residents who own hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles; fast tracking building permit review for solar installations; and requiring new homes to meet Energy Star Standards.³

Improving citizen awareness through public outreach and communications is a key to promoting better stewardship of Huntington’s environmental resources. “Sustainable Huntington”—one of the six key initiatives proposed by the Comprehensive Plan—is intended to mobilize awareness and action by citizens to achieve a more sustainable future.

3.1.2 Open Space and Greenways

The Town of Huntington has expanded its inventory of protected open spaces through a variety of land acquisition programs. Figure 3.2 shows the overall distribution of open spaces within the Town. At present, dedicated open space comprises over 6,200 acres that are fairly evenly distributed across the four quadrants of the Town, although the southwest quadrant (Melville area) has a lesser amount of active recreational acreage. The 1993 Comprehensive Plan identified 17 priority properties for acquisition. To date, all or part of 12 identified properties have been secured in public ownership or protected by conservation easement. Despite this progress, the existing tools and resources available to the Town may not be sufficient to protect all of the important remaining open space as development pressures continue. A variety of approaches should be explored, ranging from outright acquisition, conservation easements, and limited development to regulatory techniques such as conservation developments and minimum open space set-asides (dedications) in new developments.

The Town of Huntington was one of the first municipalities on Long Island to develop an Open Space Index that mapped the most significant privately-held open lands as a basis for setting acquisition priorities. An update to this index is needed to determine the best remaining opportunities to protect valuable open space resources. Within the framework set by the Open Space Index, the Town should continue an acquisition prioritization program that allows flexibility to shift funding to projects in a timely fashion (e.g., to address imminent development threats).

The Town’s remaining open space resources can be classified into the following categories:

• Natural Open Space (primarily located on “underdeveloped” properties)
• Agricultural Open Space
• Recreational Open Space
• Institutional Open Space
• Relief Open Space

Natural Open Space

There is very little vacant land remaining in the Town of Huntington that is truly natural and undeveloped. Much of the remaining privately held natural open space exists on already subdivided parcels and large estates. As the last remaining sites are proposed for subdivision, applicants should be provided with the opportunity to consider potential development alternatives that can preserve open space resources. Regulations should be updated and expanded to incorporate specific tools such as conservation subdivisions into the Town Code.

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Figure 3.2 Open Space

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Legend Open Space

• Parks & Recreational Open Space
• Insitational Open Space
• Agricultural Open Space

Data Source: Town of Huntington, New York State

Recreational Open Space Recreational open space includes day camps, golf courses, playing fields, and commercial recreational facilities. The continued operation of day camps, golf courses, and riding schools should be encouraged and they should be considered key priorities for acquisition by the Town should their continued use be threatened. Partnership opportunities in which the Town makes use of day camp sites during slow periods of the year could be explored.

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Agricultural Open Space Extensive residential and commercial development during the last several decades has dramatically reduced the amount of agricultural land in Huntington. Between 1968 and 1996, the amount of land in agricultural use declined from 4,170 to 1,294 acres. The remaining agricultural lands are surrounded by developed properties and several owners are pursuing options to develop their properties or sell their development rights. The Town has sought to acquire development rights on agricultural lands, but these efforts have been difficult to date due to high land values. Recently the Town Board authorized a contract to acquire the Town’s first agricultural development rights, in cooperation with Suffolk County, on 15 acres of Richter’s Orchard in Fort Salonga. Suffolk County has purchased development rights on two other properties totaling 50 acres.

Institutional Open Space Land held by government agencies, school districts, and religious and service organizations can include significant amounts of open space. For example, the 382-acre former Long Island Developmental Center in Dix Hills was sold into private ownership and developed as The Greens at Half Hollow. The conditions of rezoning approval for this property included dedication of 31 acres of parkland to the Town of Huntington and development of recreational facilities. Other lands released by the state include properties originally acquired by the Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) for roadways that were never built. The former Bethpage Parkway Extension lands were converted into parkland in the Cold Spring Harbor area, but in the case of the former Northport-Babylon Expressway the Town and County had to reacquire land that had been abandoned by the state. A consistent policy should be established to preserve such lands as open space and for community trails use, which is consistent with the Long Island Non-Motorized Transportation Plan co-sponsored by NYSDOT and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council. Cooperation with the state and other governmental property holders should provide towns with the right of first refusal to purchase properties with potential open space value before they are auctioned to private land owners.

Relief Open Space This type of open space includes the small and distinctive places that provide respite, visual relief, and places for residents to gather in more developed parts of the Town, such as hamlet centers and along major roadway corridors. These spaces can anchor surrounding development, establish visual gateways and transitions between uses, and accommodate community activities such as small-scale recreation. Relief open spaces will not necessarily be mapped ahead of time, but will be planned as part of development, redevelopment, or corridor improvement projects.

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3.1.3 Parks and Recreational Facilities

Parks and recreational facilities are an important component of the Town's overall open space system. Because they are so well used, they are also the parts of the open space system that are most visible to the public. Active parkland comprises approximately 14% of the 6,200 park acres in the Town, including 53 of 135 parks. The Huntington Environmental Open Space and Park Fund (EOSPA) has allowed the Town to acquire new recreational lands and to upgrade recreational facilities in the parks, such as the funding related to the installation of five full-size synthetic turf athletic fields. Since the 1993 Comprehensive Plan, demand for field use has gone up considerably—particularly due to the creation of new youth sport leagues.

Many of the Town's planned improvements to existing parks are recreational in nature. Synthetic turf athletic fields are among the new facilities under development at Manor Field Park, Breezy Park, and the Veterans Park Complex. Veterans Park will also include several new ball fields, a trails network, and a concrete skate park. Ice skating and roller hockey rinks are being added or renovated in other parks.

Looking forward, the Town should stay ahead of recreational trends by proactively identifying the needs of Town residents. The last community recreation survey was conducted 20 years ago in conjunction with the 1988 Parks and Recreation Study. Since that time, recreational interests have shifted and new trends have emerged that could correlate to desire for a different assortment of facilities and programs. Changing recreational preferences place pressures on different parts of the park system, ranging from athletic fields to beaches, where new recreational facilities have been built for beach volleyball, windsurfing, and aerobics programs. The population of seniors and persons with disabilities are growing and will also need to be served with appropriate recreational facilities and programs. A new community survey should be conducted as part of an updated parks and recreation plan to define present and future community needs and strategies to meet them. The updated plan should address demands for parks and recreational facilities in areas that are currently underserved or have experienced growth, such as Melville. Strategies to meet citizens' needs should include partnerships with local school districts and other public and private providers of recreational facilities and programs.

The demand for active recreation is growing in part because new developments typically include only passive open space. The Town has pursued creative measures to establish new facilities to meet this demand. For example, the Greens at Half Hollow include a community recreation facility with soccer fields and a concessions building as a condition of rezoning approval.

As awareness of healthy lifecycle choices grows, walking, hiking, and jogging have become extremely popular forms of recreation for Huntington's residents. Therefore, a network of trails and greenways as part of the Town's overall open space system is increasingly important to accommodate these activities. A Huntington Greenways and Trails Plan and Map should be developed to:

• Identify existing and proposed greenways and trail links.
• Establish policies for expanding the trail system and improving connectivity.
• Incorporate recommendations of the Long Island Non-Motorized Transportation Plan.
• Prioritize park and non-park sites for trails development.

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Adequate funding and staff resources are critical to meeting community needs for park, recreation, and open space acquisition, development, and maintenance. The Town has raised revenue for environmental resource and open space projects through the Environmental Open Space and Park Improvement Fund (EOSPA). Two EOSPA bond programs have been passed by voters – the first in 1998 for $15 million and the second in 2003 for $30 million. So far, the EOSPA program has supported 24 acquisition projects totaling 214.2 acres and improvements at 60 Town parks through projects ranging from athletic field replacements to picnic facilities. It has been five years since the most recent EOSPA bond was approved and there is a definite need to continue the revenue stream of the 1998 bond, which expires in 2008. In extending this program, the Town should continue its open space acquisition efforts while committing increased funding to park improvement and neighborhood enhancement projects.

Another important issue for Huntington’s parks and recreational facilities is the reduction in maintenance staff that has occurred over the years. With the physical growth in parkland through EOSPA acquisitions, new programs, and expanded maintenance needs, increased staffing and operational budgets will be needed if the Town is to maintain the quality of service that residents have come to expect.

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Volunteer and partnership programs can contribute to meeting park and open space resource needs. The Huntington Park Stewardship Program—renowned throughout Long Island—should be sustained and encouraged. Through this program, the Town Board appoints volunteer park stewards that serve as the Town’s eyes and ears in the field. The stewards bring information and ideas via inspection reports back to the Town’s Conservation Board, which distributes the reports to the appropriate town departments. Specialized stewardship and “friends” groups; volunteer initiatives through service organizations, scouts, and businesses; and private sponsorships and donations are other resources potentially available to support Huntington’s park and open space system.

3.2 Summary of Key Issues

The Town of Huntington has been proactive in planning to secure and protect parks, open space, and environmental resources. However, opportunities for further protection are limited as the Town approaches build-out. Key issues that need to be addressed include:

• Action is needed to preserve the best remaining open spaces and potential park sites before they are lost to development.

• The Town will need to shift from primarily an “expansion” to a “management” mode that focuses on stewardship, compatible use, and management of its protected lands inventory to meet citizens’ needs.

• A current assessment of citizens’ needs for parks and recreational facilities should be conducted and strategies to meet these needs should be developed.

• Increasing access to parks must remain a priority. There is particular demand for open space in older, settled parts of the community as well as those that are experiencing growth, such as Huntington Station and Melville, respectively.

• Regulations could be strengthened and other approaches explored to better preserve open space and protect environmentally sensitive resources.

• Stewardship should involve public education to build understanding of the importance of environmental resources and the role citizens can play in creating a more sustainable future for the Town of Huntington.

• Additional fiscal and human resources—including extension of EOSPA Program funding—are needed to support park and open space acquisition, development, and management.

• Public-private partnerships will be essential to build capacity to achieve goals such as meeting recreational needs, securing important open lands, and promoting environmental stewardship.

Section 3.3 lays out policies and strategies to address these key issues. Policies A.1 to A.6 address protection of Huntington’s environmental resources and natural systems (Environmental Resources and Open Space Goal 1). Policies A.7 to A.9 address establishment of a town-wide network of open space and greenways (Goal 2). Policies A.10 to A.14 address the provision of parks and recreational facilities to meet citizens’ needs (Goal 3).

3.3 Policies and Strategies

Policy A.1

Strengthen protection of sensitive environmental resources by applying best management practices through Huntington’s development regulations.

Strategies

A.1.1 Improve protection of wetlands.

• Enact regulatory controls such as building setbacks, limits on clearing, and excluding wetlands from lot area calculations in new subdivisions.
• Explore the possibility of assuming regulatory authority for wetlands through appropriately trained town staff with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
• Inventory freshwater wetlands that are not regulated under Article 24 of the State Environmental Conservation Law and develop town regulations to protect them.

A.1.2 Enact overlay district regulations with standards to reduce the groundwater impacts of uses within Special Groundwater Protection Areas and consider overlay districts for other well field recharge areas.

A.1.3 Explore opportunities to improve regulatory protection of other sensitive resources (steep slopes, floodplains, significant natural habitat areas, etc.).

A.1.4 Apply appropriate environmental criteria (e.g., sensitivity and extent of natural features, implications for water resources) in regulating development intensity/density.

A.1.5 Require/encourage alternative site design standards (e.g., conservation subdivisions¹ and lot averaging² techniques) to better preserve natural areas on a tract.

A.1.6 Require minimum open space acreage (e.g., 20-30%) within new developments (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Policy A.8).

A.1.7 Address staffing implications of strengthened environmental regulations.

Policy A.2

Protect Huntington’s water resources.

Strategies

A.2.1 Actively participate in the Suffolk County Comprehensive Water Management Plan with the goal of maintaining existing and future water supply and wellsite viability in the Town of Huntington.

A.2.2 Coordinate the Town’s open space acquisition program (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Policy A.7) with the groundwater supply needs of the public water providers.

A.2.3 Require/encourage stormwater management practices that minimize impacts on surface water, groundwater, and other natural resources, e.g.:

• Filtering and recharge designs for stormwater management facilities that blend into the existing landscape.

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• Use of pervious surfacing to reduce runoff.

A.2.4 Explore innovative options for on-site sewage disposal with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (DHS) to protect groundwater quality and permit development forms that meet other Comprehensive Plan related goals.

A.2.5 Encourage the Suffolk County DHS to develop an on-lot sewage disposal system inspection and maintenance program to ensure that these systems are operating properly.

A.2.6 Enact vegetated buffer and setback requirements for riparian corridors to help protect streams, tidal wetlands, and other surface waters.

A.2.7 Identify brownfield sites (abandoned underground storage tanks, former industrial properties, sites where hazardous materials may have been stored, etc.) that have the potential to be cleaned up and reclaimed for productive uses (public open space, private development, etc.) under New York State’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program.¹

A.2.8 Implement the recommendations of the Town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program for the protection of coastal water resources (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Policy A.3).

A.2.9 Explore opportunities to upgrade levels of treatment in existing sewage treatment plants and to partner with other communities to increase Huntington’s sewage treatment capacity.

Policy A.3

Protect and enhance Huntington’s coastal areas.

Strategies

A.3.1 Implement the policies and associated actions of the Huntington Harbor Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) and the Draft LWRP for All Unincorporated Areas:

1. Foster a pattern of development that enhances community character, preserves open space, makes efficient use of infrastructure, makes beneficial use of a coastal location, and minimizes adverse impacts of development.

2. Preserve historic resources.

3. Enhance visual quality and protect scenic resources.

4. Minimize loss of life, structures, and natural resources from flooding and erosion.

5. Protect and improve water quality and supply.

6. Protect and restore the quality and function of coastal ecosystems.

7. Protect and improve air quality.

8. Minimize environmental degradation from solid waste and hazardous substances and wastes.

Chapter Three: Environmental Resources and Open Space

9. Provide for public access to and recreational use of coastal waters, public lands, and public resources in the coastal area.

10. Protect water-dependent uses and promote siting of new water-dependent uses in suitable locations.

11. Promote sustainable use of living marine resources, including commercial and recreational use of finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, and marine plants.

Policy A.4

Maintain Huntington’s mature trees and tree canopy

Strategies

A.4.1 Strengthen the Town’s grading regulations (Article XII – Excavations; Topsoil Removal) to better protect mature vegetation and encourage developers to utilize the latest techniques to maximize tree preservation.

A.4.2 Strengthen the Town’s Tree Ordinance to minimize tree removal and require strong tree replacement standards.

A.4.3 Create a townwide “Green Huntington” tree management and planting program, enlisting both public and private support.

• Re-establish Huntington as a “Tree City” under the Tree City USA Program sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, USDA Forest Service, and National Association of State Foresters.
• Update and extend the inventory of trees to all properties owned and managed by the Town.
• Enhance tree planting and maintenance of town landscapes (streets, parks, and other public places) and provide the Town’s Urban Forester with professional management responsibility for all town trees (not just street trees).
• Initiate partnerships with community organizations, institutions, and other groups to promote tree planting on non town-owned properties.
• Work with the Long Island Power Authority and other utility companies to minimize potential damage to trees in proximity to overhead and underground utility lines.
• Establish tree planting and maintenance guidelines for public places and private properties (spacing, species selection, proper care, etc.) and disseminate information as an educational tool for private use.

Policy A.5

Permanently preserve Huntington’s unique environmental resources.

Strategies

A.5.1 Develop a town-wide biodiversity inventory and incorporate it into the Town’s Open Areas Information System (OASIS).

A.5.2 Permanently protect lands with highly valuable environmental resources (biodiversity areas, Critical Environmental Areas, habitats identified by the New York Natural Heritage Program, etc.) through fee simple acquisition, easements, or other conservation techniques.

A.5.3 Promote protection of native species and prevention/removal of invasive species.

Policy A.6

Provide citizen educational programs on environmental stewardship, the interrelationships of natural systems, and the need for a sustainable environment.

Strategies

A.6.1 Prepare and distribute newsletters and other materials on environmental issues (e.g., information on wetlands and other environmental regulations that apply to private properties).

A.6.2 Develop and implement a “Sustainable Community” initiative, building on programs such as the Pink Flag - I Am Fed Naturally campaign¹ and other green initiatives that promote desirable goals such as the use of alternative and hybrid fuel vehicles.

A.6.3 Encourage the use of green building and environmentally sensitive construction principles that promote positive environmental benefits, such as reduced energy consumption and waste generation.

A.6.4 Promote grassroots initiatives such as park stewards, waterfront/stream cleanups, community gardens, and ecological restoration/planting projects.

A.6.5 Work with environmental groups that have strong local chapters in these efforts.

Policy A.7

Continue to strengthen Huntington’s public open space acquisition program.

Strategies

A.7.1 Update and implement recommendations from the Open Areas Information System (OASIS) and Open Space Index and expand tracking ability through town-wide GIS support.

A.7.2 Build on the Environmental Open Space and Park Fund (EOSPA) criteria adopted by Town Board to further prioritize open space acquisitions, e.g.:

• Develop a system of conservation reserves connected by natural linkages .

• Preserve environmentally sensitive resources (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Policy A.5).

• Establish/enlarge central green spaces within existing villages and development centers.

• Maintain scenic assets and resource-based traditional economies (agriculture, shell fishing).

A.7.3 Identify opportunities to acquire previously developed properties in strategic locations to build the townwide open space network.

A.7.4 Commit additional bonding for open space land acquisition through the Environmental Open Space and Park Fund.

A.7.5 Leverage town funds for open space acquisition by tapping other sources (state, county and private grants, etc.).

A.7.6 Explore the use of Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) to acquire full or partial development rights on selected properties in priority preservation areas to augment the current fee simple acquisition program.

Policy A.8

Preserve open space within new developments.

Strategies

A.8.1 Require a minimum open space set aside (e.g., 20-30%) within new developments, together with standards to ensure that the open space is meaningful (e.g., central greens or greenway linkages) and publicly accessible.

A.8.2 Encourage voluntary open space dedications through conservation subdivisions (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Policy A.1).

Policy A.9

Leverage public and private resources to create the townwide open space and greenway network.

Strategies

A.9.1 Work with private landowners and non-profit land conservation organizations (e.g., the North Shore Land Alliance) to protect privately owned open space through techniques such as conservation easements and limited development options.

A.9.2 Implement a Transfer of Density Flow Rights (TDFR) Program to preserve open space by restoring the density permitted by existing zoning on properties affected by the Suffolk County Sanitary Code.¹

A.9.3 Investigate use of the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)[^p50-9] program enabled by Town Code to preserve open space.

Identify sending sites to be preserved as open space (e.g., properties identified in the OASIS Open Space Index/Town Protection Priority Listing)

Identify TDR receiving sites to be developed with increased density (e.g., suitable locations within existing sewer districts with available capacity)

A.9.4 Consider establishing a municipal development rights bank to promote the TDR program, support projects of public benefit, and provide additional funding for open space acquisition.[^p50-10]

A.9.5 Evaluate properties owned by the Town and other public agencies for opportunities to dedicate open space.

A.9.6 Work with Huntington’s private owners of substantial undeveloped property to explore preservation and recreation opportunities.

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Policy A.10

Maintain and promote Huntington’s parks and recreational facilities.

Strategies

A.10.1 Develop management plans for Huntington’s public parks and open spaces, addressing issues such as:

• Maintenance of facilities and landscapes, including lifecycle replacement.
• Safety and security.
• Hiking and biking trail access and linkage.
• Natural resource preservation/restoration, including control of invasive species.
• Development of a GIS database of park features as a management tool.

A.10.2 Develop a public awareness program to promote Huntington’s parks and recreation areas.

• Develop and disseminate additional materials to make citizens aware of the opportunities available in the Town’s parks and open spaces, their importance to quality of life, and their allowable uses.
• Publish a Huntington Trail Map.

A.10.3 Establish a new zoning district or districts to reinforce the status and function of Huntington’s open space/recreation resources.

• Create a new public open space/recreation zoning category and rezone all parkland in Huntington to that classification.
• Consider establishing additional zoning categories to address valuable open space lands held privately and by governmental agencies.

A.10.4 Conduct a comprehensive encroachment study of all of Huntington’s parkland and define encroachment policy/penalties that will support remedial activities as necessary or facilitate further open space acquisition efforts.

A.10.5 Integrate “best environmental practices” (energy and water conservation measures, use of recycled materials, organic landscaping practices, etc.) into management of Huntington’s parks and recreational facilities to reduce environmental impacts.

Policy A.11

Develop a “Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan” that defines the needs of Huntington’s citizens for parks and recreational facilities and identifies strategies to meet those needs.

Strategies

A.11.1 Update Huntington’s 1988 Parks and Recreation Study. A.11.2 Conduct a citizen survey of local recreation utilization and preferences. A.11.3 Develop strategies to meet needs for different types of parks and recreational facilities geographically distributed throughout the Town, including but not limited to:

• Traditional active and passive outdoor recreation.

• Emerging and newly popular recreational activities.

• Indoor multi-use facilities.

• Specialized “whole access” facilities for disabled residents.

A.11.4 Pursue joint use of recreational facilities owned by school districts and other recreational providers.

Policy A.12

Meet the growing need for active recreational playing fields.

Strategies

A.12.1 Work with community athletic associations and leagues to identify service areas, age distribution, and field-size needs.

A.12.2 Extend usefulness of existing fields with synthetic surfaces or new field configurations.

A.12.3 Partner with public and private institutions and corporations to identify possible locations for new fields.

A.12.4 Identify suitable locations for new fields as part of comprehensive parks and recreation planning (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Policy A.11).

A.12.5 Encourage private sector development of recreational facilities to help meet demand for playing fields.

Policy A.13

Improve access to Huntington’s open space and recreation areas.

Strategies

A.13.1 Develop a town-wide bikeway and pedestrian trail network.

• Appoint a Huntington Trails Committee as defined in the Town Code.

• Prepare a Huntington Greenways and Trails Plan.

• Implement Huntington’s Bikeways Plan.

• Integrate Huntington’s bike and pedestrian network with the Non-motorized Transportation Plan for Long Island.

• Require new development projects to include trail easements.

• Create “whole access” trails to provide outdoor recreation for all regardless of physical ability.

A.13.2 Improve public access to and use of Huntington’s waterfront.

• Implement the public access recommendations of the Town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, including exploration of a potential Huntington Harbor walkway consistent with existing public uses of the waterfront (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Policy A.3).
• Identify other opportunities to establish public access to the water for recreational activities.

Policy A.14

Budget sufficient resources to maintain the high quality parks and recreation facilities.

Strategies

A.14.1 Increase staff resources as new acquisitions and programs increase Huntington’s park acreage and facility use.

A.14.2 Add a Land Management position to inventory natural resources, contribute to park management plans, and manage environmental education programs (see Environmental Resources and Open Space Strategy A.10.1).

A.14.3 Increase partnerships with volunteers and citizen groups on park maintenance and improvement projects (park stewards, school students, trade unions, corporations, “adopt-a-park” programs, etc.)

A.14.4 Identify opportunities to augment current Town funding of park and recreational facilities, e.g.:

• Fair pricing of recreational activities and programs.
• Development of new revenue-producing facilities.
• Corporate/institutional grants.
• Corporate sponsorships and advertising.
• Outsourcing/concessions agreements.
• Park “friends” group(s) (established as 501(c)(3) nonprofit(s) for fundraising purposes).

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4 community character

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Issues, Objectives, and Recommendations

4.3 Policies and Strategies

Goals

1. Maintain and promote Huntington’s historic resources, heritage, and position as a center of the cultural arts.

2. Preserve and enhance Huntington’s visual character and community appearance.

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4.1 Overview

Community character defines what is special and unique about Huntington. This chapter addresses the Town’s built environment, including historic and cultural resources and physical appearance, as a key component of community character. Other community character components addressed by the Comprehensive Plan include parks, environmental resources, and open space (Chapter 3) and community facilities (Chapter 5).

4.1.1 Historic and Cultural Resources

Historic Resources Some of the oldest parts of Huntington, such as Cold Spring Harbor, were settled as fishing and whaling villages in the 18th Century while most of the upland portions of the Town first served as potato and cucumber farms for European settlers. The North Shore of Long Island was a center of activity during the American Revolution and many Huntington residents played important roles in the birth of the nation. With the advent of the railroad, Long Island began a long and steady transition from a rural community based on maritime and agricultural activity to a thriving suburban community. The Town’s population increased dramatically in the 20th century with the construction of the

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Long Island Expressway and as population shifted out of the hamlet centers into suburban-style developments. Today, many historic resources remain to tell the story of Huntington’s heritage, including Main Street in Cold Spring Harbor, Walt Whitman’s birthplace, and noteworthy places and structures throughout the Town.

Designated historic resources in the Town of Huntington are shown on Figure 4.1. These resources include twelve local historic districts and eight national historic districts. In addition to these districts, the Town of Huntington lists 109 individual historic landmarks under its Historic District, Buildings and Landmark Ordinance and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At this time, not all properties on the National Register are locally designated, but the Town is developing mechanisms to certify properties on the National Register for local designation. Only properties designated under the Town ordinance have regulatory protection through the requirement that a Certificate of Approval must be issued for construction, reconstruction, alteration, or demolition of historic properties.

Currently, Huntington’s Historic Preservation Commission serves in an advisory role to the Town Board, Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals. It has been proposed that the Commission’s responsibility should be increased by giving it regulatory authority to issue permits for specific alterations to historic sites. This step would reduce some of the Town Board’s work load and leave minor decisions—such as façade alterations, signs and interior modifications—with those that are more familiar with historic preservation.

Some steps have been taken to strengthen historic preservation in Huntington. For example, the Town now has authority to prevent demolition of historic sites by neglect. By becoming a Certified Local Government under the National Historic Preservation Act, the Town would become eligible for state grants for historic preservation activities.

Heritage Historic preservation is one component of a broader strategy to protect the heritage of the Town of Huntington. As part of the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area (LINSHA), Huntington has a long and interesting history to share with residents and visitors. The Town can honor this heritage by protecting and restoring historic buildings, districts, and landmarks; and by interpreting Huntington’s history for present and future generations. Interpretation means conveying the importance of the historic, cultural, and natural resources of the Town to residents and visitors.

The LINSHA was created by state legislation

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in 1998 to tell the story of the region's historic resources and to promote economic revitalization through the protection and beneficial use of these resources. A heritage area with a special coherence or sense of place defined by significant natural, cultural, and historic resources that, when taken as a whole, tell the story of the region's people. Heritage areas help residents and visitors to connect with the places and cultures that have shaped the region and its inhabitants. The policies of the LINSHA Management Plan are intended to preserve the historic resources of the region, encourage sustainable development based on the area's heritage, and to foster economic revitalization and community renewal. The Management Plan also seeks to support the local economy and ecology by emphasizing the importance of Long Island Sound itself as a source of pride and sustenance. The Town of Huntington is one of a number of municipalities in the region that have passed resolutions of approval of the Management Plan.

Arts and Culture

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The Town's vibrant arts and cultural life—museums, libraries, arts and cultural institutions, activities, and events—is a source of pride and shared experience for residents. Due to its many institutions, Huntington has earned the moniker of the “Cultural Capital of Long Island.” In particular, the Heckscher Museum of Art is a hub for visual arts appreciation, education, and outreach on Long Island.¹ Towns across the country are investing in the development of cultural attractions as part of their economic development strategies. Huntington already has a solid foundation of cultural offerings, which should continue to be nurtured.

4.1.2 Visual Character

The Town of Huntington contains a diverse tapestry of livable neighborhoods and scenic, walkable hamlet and unincorporated village centers. Outside of these areas, the visual character of the built environment often becomes less appealing – especially in automobile-oriented commercial corridors. There are many sites in both public and private ownership that could project a more positive image of the Town.

The Town should aim to preserve and enhance its aesthetic character and identity by setting high standards for design quality, protecting neighborhoods and hamlet centers from incompatible influences, and by enhancing the Town's scenic corridors, civic facilities, and landmarks.

The Public Realm

Publicly-owned properties that contribute to the visual character of the Town include gateway entrances on components of the transportation system (roadways, highway interchanges, and LIRR stations) and other highly visible locations such as heavily traveled roadway and intersection rights-of-way, parks, and public spaces. These properties comprise Huntington's “public realm.” The appearance of other pieces of public property, including elements such as landscaping, street furniture, and streetlights, can also impact the Town's visual image, as can the presence and condition of street trees. Landscaping, improved maintenance, and the inclusion of public art are just a few of the techniques available to improve the visual character of public property.

Privately Owned Properties

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4-5

Figure 4.1 Historic Districts and Resources

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Legend

• Historic Streets
• National Historic District
• National Historic Register Site
• Town Historic District
• Town Historic Site

Data Source: Town of Huntington, New York State

Chapter Four: Community Character

The design and maintenance of private property can also have a significant impact on the visual character of the Town. Much of the negative visual character in the town is the result of a lack of design standards for architecture and site design. Fronted by large parking lots and lacking design character, many commercial properties in automobile-oriented areas, including big box and strip retail centers, are among the most visible—and least attractive—components of Huntington’s built environment. The Town can use design standards and regulations to improve the visual character of private development.

Community Beautification

In order to reinforce healthy community character, it is important to maintain clean and attractive public spaces that can be enjoyed by the entire community. The level of cleanliness and attention to beautification are related to community pride. Sidewalks, parks, and roads are just a few examples of the public spaces that deserve extra attention. There are many ways to ensure that the Town of Huntington remains an attractive place for residents and visitors alike, for example: community clean-up events, tree plantings, removal of overhead wires, and enforcement of penalties for unkempt properties, illegal signage, and littering.

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As another example, the Red Cross operates a Graffiti Unit that enlists individuals who are required to perform community service to paint over graffiti. The Town could create a more official linkage that makes use of this group to reduce graffiti in Huntington.

Key issues affecting community character as it relates to Huntington’s physical environment include:

• Huntington is rich in historic resources that are essential to the Town’s community character and identity. While the Town has a good program in place to preserve Huntington’s historic resources, additional steps could be taken to strengthen protection of these resources.
• The Long Island North Shore Heritage Area (LINSHA) is a potentially useful tool to promote preservation and interpretation of historic and cultural resources, economic development derived from sustainable use and enjoyment of those resources, and community pride and identity. Funding is available through the New York State Heritage Areas Program for eligible heritage preservation and development projects. However, public awareness of the heritage area and its benefits is low.

The high visual quality of historic hamlet centers and neighborhoods contributes greatly to Huntington’s community character. Conversely, much of the newer commercial development and major roadway corridors project an undistinguished visual image of the Town. Huntington’s development regulations do not provide the tools needed to protect the visual character of traditional, high quality development patterns or to improve the visual character of new development.

• Together with private development, the character of Huntington’s “public realm” defines the overall visual quality of the Town. Sustained investment is needed to support a high-quality public realm.
• Similar to Huntington’s history and heritage, the Town’s cultural and performing arts institutions and status as the “cultural center” of Long Island make both tangible and intangible contributions to its community character and identity.

The policies and strategies presented in Section 4.3 below are designed to address these issues and to achieve the following major objectives:

• Protect Huntington’s historic resources.
• Strengthen and promote Huntington’s cultural and performing arts institutions.
• Protect and promote Huntington’s natural, historic, and cultural heritage in coordination with the LINSHA Management Plan.
• Maintain and improve the visual character of Huntington’s public realm.
• “Raise the bar” on the visual character of private development.
• Continue to enhance community beautification efforts to improve visual character and enhance safety and security.

Key recommendations to achieve these objectives include:

• Pursue a variety of approaches to recognize and protect historic resources, including:
  • Improve the Historic District, Buildings and Landmarks Ordinance.
  • Update the 1979 historic resource inventory.

4.2 Key Issues, Objectives, & Recommendations

Complete town designation of eligible resources as Historic Districts or sites.

Investigate designation as a Certified Local Government in order to be eligible for state grants for historic preservation projects.

Explore use of incentives and regulations to promote adaptive reuse of historic properties.

Investigate the use of neighborhood conservation overlay districts to preserve the character and scale of older neighborhoods.

• Strengthen and promote the visual and performing arts.

Consider a “Percent for Art” initiative for projects built with Town funds.

Support efforts to provide community groups access to adequate facilities for the performing arts.

• Participate in implementing the LINSHA Management Plan, taking advantage of funding opportunities under the New York State Heritage Areas Program.

• Continue to make visual improvements to highly visible, publicly owned and maintained places within the Town and establish high standards of design quality for public improvement projects.

• Enact design standards and regulations to improve the visual quality of new development.

• Continue to increase code enforcement, sponsor community clean-ups, study the feasibility of removing overhead utilities in selected locations, and pursue other approaches to promote community beautification.

4.3 Policies and Strategies

Policy B.1

Preserve Huntington’s historic resources.

Strategies

B.1.1 Identify ways to improve the Historic District, Buildings and Landmarks Ordinance.

• Review delegation of authority to issue Certificates of Approval to the Historic Preservation Commission while maintaining Town Board authority to designate historic properties.
• Develop criteria to define local significance (non-National Register properties).
• Develop criteria to evaluate the appropriateness of alterations to historic buildings or sites and construction in historic districts, including exterior alterations to non-contributing structures.
• Develop criteria to determine hardship cases.
• Develop criteria for minimum maintenance standards and demolitions by neglect.
• Increase penalties for violations.

B.1.2 Complete designation of eligible resources as Historic Districts or sites under the Historic District, Buildings and Landmarks Ordinance, giving priority to those listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

B.1.3 Update the 1979 historic resource inventory using more specific criteria to define locally significant historic properties. Link historic status to other town property records.

B.1.4 Address the full range of historic resources (cemeteries, landscapes, trees, archaeological sites, etc. in addition to individual buildings and districts) in historic preservation activities.

B.1.5 Strengthen and enhance public awareness programs on the value of Huntington’s historic resources and advantages of historic designation, including:

• Disseminate information on historic resources to residents through general mailings such as tax bills.
• Undertake outreach to owners of historic properties.
• Study requiring that properties with historic designations be so identified when advertised for sale and at closing.

B.1.6 Investigate designation as a Certified Local Government under the National Historic Preservation Act, making the Town eligible for state grants for historic preservation activities such as planning, staff support, and public education.

B.1.7 Explore use of incentives and regulatory provisions to promote adaptive reuse of historic properties.

B.1.8 Investigate the use of neighborhood conservation overlay districts as a tool to preserve the character and scale of older neighborhoods.¹

Policy B.2

Strengthen and promote cultural and performing arts institutions to reinforce Huntington’s identity as the “cultural capital of Long Island.”

Strategies

B.2.1 Continue to support programs at the Heckscher Museum of Art and strengthen its position as a center of visual arts appreciation, education, and outreach on Long Island.

B.2.2 Improve the sustainability of local historic and cultural non-profit organizations through grants or other means of support that leverage organizational resources.

B.2.3 Support efforts to provide community groups access to adequate facilities for the performing arts.

B.2.4 Build connections among and promote local cultural organizations (e.g., a link on the Town's web site with “one-stop shopping” for organizations and events).

Policy B.3

Protect and promote Huntington’s natural, historic, and cultural resources as part of the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area (LINSHA) initiative.

Strategies

B.3.1 Coordinate planning initiatives to support implementation of the LINSHA Management Plan, including:

• Immediate actions identified by the Plan:
  • Develop a plan for the Scenic and Historic Route 25A Corridor.
  • Develop a Long Island Sound waterfront trail.
• Four primary strategy areas identified by the Plan:
  • Preservation of cultural, historic, and natural resources.
  • Revitalization of traditional commercial areas and maritime communities.
  • Interpretation of North Shore heritage.
  • Recreation.

B.3.2 Ensure that implementation actions respect local conditions, resources, and environmental and physical constraints (e.g., traffic congestion on local roadways).

B.3.3 Take advantage of funding opportunities available under the New York State Heritage Areas Program for projects that implement the Management Plan.

Policy B.4

Maintain and improve the visual character of publicly owned and maintained landscapes within Huntington.

Strategies

B.4.1 Continue to make visual improvements (landscaping, lighting, identity signage, streetscape elements, public art, etc.) to highly visible locations within the Town, including gateway entrances to Huntington (roadways, interchanges, and train stations), major corridors, landmarks, and well-utilized community facilities/spaces (e.g., parks).

• Develop a plan identifying the location of improvements, consistent design treatments, funding sources, etc.
• Initiate a phased capital program to implement the improvements.

B.4.2 Establish a high standard of design quality in new public improvement projects (buildings, landscapes, and infrastructure).

• Develop design standards for public facilities and spaces, addressing design elements such as accessibility, building treatment, landscaping, outdoor lighting, safety and security, signage, site layout, and LEED (green building) certification.
• Explore design treatments that reinforce an overall identity for Huntington while allowing for local expression (e.g., streetscape treatments appropriate to local village character).

B.4.3 Improve the health and appearance of trees on public streets.

• Implement standards for species selection, spacing/location, planting, and maintenance.
• Coordinate with the Long Island Power Authority to ensure the long-term viability and proper pruning of street trees planted under overhead utility lines.

B.4.4 Upgrade municipal streetlights and other outdoor lighting managed by the Town to reduce impacts on adjacent properties and the night sky, conserve energy, and improve aesthetic quality.

• Bring outdoor lighting into compliance with the Town’s new lighting ordinance.
• Implement context-sensitive streetlight plans for neighborhoods.

B.4.5 Building on Huntington’s present public art program, introduce a “percent for art” initiative on town capital improvement projects.¹

B.4.6 Improve maintenance of public facilities and spaces by accounting for ongoing costs upfront, committing sufficient resources in staffing and budgeting processes, and developing an improved protocol and schedule of routine landscape maintenance.

B.4.7 Acquire strategically located properties to enhance visual quality in key locations (e.g., to accommodate gateway improvements or neighborhood enhancement projects).

Policy B.5

“Raise the bar” on the visual character of private development through improved design standards and regulations and through targeted redevelopment.

Strategies

B.5.1 Enact improved design standards for developments that exceed designated thresholds (e.g., size limits, exclusion for single-family homes). These standards should be appropriate to the local context and address design elements such as:

• Placement of buildings and parking areas in relationship to each other, public streets (e.g., build-to lines), and adjacent properties.