For those who are new to Smart Growth News, we welcome you. Vision is actively seeking those interested in community planning, downtown revitalization, green energy, transportation, curbing to suburban sprawl and open space preservation.

A top priority for this week is the advancement of the Lighthouse project, which is the subject of this email.

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If you Support the Lighthouse Project, We need your help!

This past Tuesday, the Town of Hempstead scheduled a 12-hour public zoning hearing for the Lighthouse project; the nearly 500 attendees at the hearing quickly learned why the hearing was scheduled for so long.

The hours of questioning left the Town and the audience with a much more thorough understanding of the project's components. At the end of the night, of the remaining 100 or so attendees, a poll was taken that determined up to a 90% support level for the Lighthouse--not unlike the level of support earlier in the day. The community clearly came out to support the project and hope to see it move forward.

Because many who wanted to were unable to speak, the Town Board left the comment period open.

Vision Long Island advocates for “Smart Growth” planning and development that includes: a mix of land uses; compact building design; a range of housing choices; walkable neighborhoods; attractive communities with a strong sense of place; preservation of open space; infill development; a variety of transportation choices; decisions that are predictable, fair, and cost effective; and encouraging community and stakeholder collaboration in the development process.

Towards that end, Vision Long Island Board and Staff strongly supports the Lighthouse project and believe it to be a promising model of Smart Growth for the region.

The Lighthouse project has incorporated many Smart Growth principles and designs:

• A mix of uses including retail, office, residence, and entertainment.

• Appropriate density, though much higher than any in the surrounding areas,  that is necessary to support the Nassau Coliseum redevelopment, entertainment improvements and onsite retail.

• Public spaces: Celebration Plaza, the gathering area by the Sports Complex, and the Canal. We believe that the inclusion of restaurants and shops, and recreational and entertainment options for residents and visitors will help make it a place that people will want to live, work, and play.

• A new urban community with the kind of ambiance that might attract the young professionals that are leaving Long Island in large numbers.

• Availability of the loft-type housing option and the availability of 20% workforce housing units on site..

• Green building and energy efficient design as the developer will seek LEED ND certification.

• A real street grid for an area devoid of connectivity. This project encourages efficient and easy transit choices and less dependence on the automobile. We understand, however, that many of the preferred options require the political and financial support of the surrounding communities, Nassau County and New York State.

• $55 million of transportation mitigation that the developer has proposed which, to date, is higher than other regional projects with potentially larger impacts.

What makes this project unique for Long Island is that it has the opportunity to become a true place, destination and essentially a new town center redeveloped out of a sea of asphalt and unworkable sprawl.  This transformation in and of itself is a huge benefit.

Lastly we have been very impressed with the level of community outreach that the developers have performed to nearly 200 civic, business and community organizations over the last year.  This level of bottom up planning sets the standard to help Long Island residents to participate in change.

Vision Long Island supports this project as it achieves many of the goals of proponents of Smart Growth and is on its way to becoming Long Island’s premier development, one that sets the standard for the future of our region.

Take Action: Submit your comments about the lighthouse proposal now!

If you have already provided testimony, we thank you. For those who have not, please do so and be specific about placemaking, economic, and environmental issues so that the comments are substantive for the record.

Interested parties can submit your comments to the Town by mail to Lighthouse Comments, One Washington Street, Hempstead, NY 11550, or by emailing lighthousecomment@tohmail.org.

For more information, Vision Long Island's testimony is available here.

The DGEIS for the proposal is available online here.

Please visit www.lighthouseli.com or the official blog of the Lighthouse Development Group, The Light Post at lighthouseliblog.blogspot.com.

SMART GROWTH NEWS

Newsletter Editor: Michelle Dutchen, Communications Director
Contributors: Eric Alexander, Executive Director; Tara Klein, Planning Coordinator;
Tawaun Weber, Director of Special Projects; Juliana Roberts Dubovsky, Planning Consultant

We strive to provide continued quality publications such as this each week. If you are interested in becoming a newsletter or news blast sponsor, please call the office at 631-261-0242 for rates and opportunities. If you have any news or events that you would like to add to our newsletter, submit them to info@visionlongisland.org for consideration.

For more information about Vision Long Island, visit http://www.visionlongisland.org or contact us at:
24 Woodbine Ave. Suite One Northport, NY 11768. Phone: (631) 261-0242. Fax: (631) 754-4452.
Email: info@visionlongisland.org