After the charette, developers detail planned development district By Drew Crouthamel ROCKY POINT--Fairfield at Rocky Point has filed its pre-application package with the town as it moves forward with a development that was shaped after the community came together last spring and reached a consensus during the North Shore's first-ever charette. Plans for the 33-acre Fairfield site, a planned development district, include 235 residential units with a variety of sizes and types of homes, as well as eight commercial units housing both businesses and living space. In addition, the project incorporates smart-growth design elements such as sidewalks, boulevard road design, substantial landscaping and traditional architecture. Affordable housing will make up 10% of the housing units. "The smart growth philosophy," the developers say in the pre-application submission, "is based upon the need for locating places where people live, work and play within one community. This allows people to be a part of a community where they can walk and bicycle for recreation, be in close proximity to shopping and rely less on automobiles." The developers, Gary Broxmeyer and Steven Laverty of Fairfield Properties, have an as-of-right yield to build 45 single-family homes under the existing B-1 residential zoning. In seeking a change of zone to a PDD, which gives them greater density in building, the developers will provide a number of public benefits to the community. Dedication of 6.4 acres to Rocky Point schools is included, as is construction of an administration building for the school district and a public park. The developers say the PDD will generate substantial tax revenue to the school district in an amount exceeding $750,000, compared with a tax liability to the school district of $400,000 if only single-family homes were built. "I think it delivers in scope and density, but there are details that still need to be looked at," said Richard Johannesen, land-use chairman of the Rocky Point Civic Association. He said further clarification was needed on structuring the affordable-housing component of the project. Will the units be affordable for first-time home buyers with no age restrictions? Will the affordable units remain affordable after a unit is sold? How do you define affordable? And who would be eligible? Those are questions that still need to be addressed. Mr. Johannesen said they wanted to attract new home buyers and young professionals who live and work in the community, such as a newly minted teacher in the Rocky Point School District. The public benefit portion of the package also is still being tweaked, he said. There are six acres for ball fields, a new school administration building and a pool, but Mr. Johannesen said the school district now is not sure it wants an indoor pool. Entrances to the development are planned from Rocky Point Landing Road and Hallock Landing Road. Gale Road will also connect to the development from Route 25A. The development should break ground in 2008, Mr. Johannesen said. The charette last spring, the first ever on the North Shore of Brookhaven, was deemed an unqualified success. Now Mr. Johannesen wants to stage another charette in Rocky Point to come up with a vision for the downtown business district. The community is in the process of establishing a business improvement district in downtown Rocky Point, and money generated from the BID could be used to carry out whatever community vision there is for the lagging downtown area. The new charette would be conducted in the same manner as last year's gathering. "Everyone comes together. We walk the area. Presentations are made. They design a plan," Mr. Johannesen said. He is hoping that the town will come up with money to organize the charette. Last year's charette was conducted by Eric Alexander of Vision Long Island. As for the BID, Mr. Johannesen said the land-use committee was moving forward with plans for the BID. Representatives from Port Jefferson will come to Rocky Point to tell community leaders here how Port Jefferson structured its BID. Mr. Johannesen said the business community here was behind a BID. "I'll be surprised if there is any real opposition to a BID," he said.
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