Three Town Supervisors on board with call for a master plan at Republic
by Carolyn James

For years, the Towns of Babylon and Huntington have been asking Republic Airport officials to consult with them on airport planning and to implement a long-term strategy for growth and development there. Now, Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto has joined Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone and Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone on that same heading.

"We have spent a long time monitoring the situation (at Republic) carefully and were content to allow it to play out, believing patiently that ultimately everyone would do the right thing, but in the course of that time I have read a lot of things and gotten a lot of feedback and believe that the time for monitoring and waiting is coming to an end," said Venditto who sent a letter to Airport Director Michael Geiger last month saying he now believes that "no substantive planning for the future is occurring or is being contemplated. "

"This type of an approach might be marginally acceptable if a framework were already in place to define the Airport's goals and objectives and to set forth evaluation standards for the review of such projects," said Venditto. "However, such a framework is conspicuously lacking and the current piecemeal scheme for the review of the proposed development and redevelopment at Republic Airport does not provide a good basis for decision making and clearly does not adequately serve the communities, including the areas with the Town of Oyster Bay who are unnecessarily disenfranchised."

At least one civic leader says he's pleased to see that Oyster Bay officials are on board with the other towns and that they have come out strongly for the community.

"It appears that Supervisor Venditto is experiencing the same frustration that every civic organization has felt with every project over the past decade," said civic leader Phil Healey. "Development is going on all over, including at the airport, and no one seems to be taking the community's concerns and interests seriously."

Venditto said that the letter represents an "evolution of his thinking" on the subject, not a change of his position of concern. "At this point I think everyone has had a reasonable amount of time to act and I am not satisfied with what is taking place at the airport."

Like his counterparts in Babylon and Huntington, Venditto said he believes community anxiety exists about development of the airport because airport projects are being proposed and completed in isolation. The only way to allay such fear and anxiety, he said is if airport officials would act responsibly and bring the public-and public officials who represent them, into the process.

"I was happy to see that Supervisor Venditto is concerned with the environmental impact that could result from the changes at Republic," said Helen Norjen, a member of the airport committee and a longtime and outspoken critic of the way development has occurred at the airport. "These three supervisors represent hundreds of thousands of people and the fact that they are now united in their request for the airport to complete a master plan and environmental impact statement should get the state to acknowledge the community's vested interests."

Over the past decade, the airport has completed numerous projects, including expanding an existing hanger, building two new hangers, widening the taxiway for planes and acquiring 11 acres of new land-all without a comprehensive master plan and all under a determination that each does not have any impact on the environment. Its current "wish list" to the federal government includes more than $40 million of improvements over the next five years.

"What the airport officials are telling us is that what they are doing has no impact at all and that a plan for the future is not necessary or possible," said Bellone. "But the fact is that redevelopment is a constant thing; a normal process, so to suggest that half a dozen projects won't have any impact once completed, is just not realistic."

"The 110 corridor continues to thrive as a premier location for corporations to call home," said Petrone in a letter to Geiger in December. "As such, any development within this area must be the result of careful and comprehensive planning.... failing to prepare an environmental impact statement or a master plan for future development of the airport is a disappointment and we are deeply concerned," he said.

The airport had made efforts to complete a master plan almost 20 years ago, but that became mired in debate and controversy and the project was abandoned. Recently, Geiger said he does not believe that a master plan can be completed, given the political environment, and that it is impossible to determine what the airport will look like in five or ten years.

"There were two attempts to put a master plan into place that failed and I don't believe a third would work any better," said Michael Geiger, airport director. "There is not a lot of undeveloped space left at the airport anyway and all of our leases in place are for ten or 20 years so we don't really see the use changing."

Petrone said that master plans are living documents that are important for not only development but redevelopment as well. "They (master plans ) don't hold you back from progress," he said. "It helps you control and plan your growth."

Bellone put it this way: "If you don't know where you are going, you might end up some place you don't want to be," he said. "And that is precisely why the three town supervisors, and the public, are so concerned."

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