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Background:
Planning initiatives to enhance the sense of community pride, preserve
open space, and stimulate the economic, social, and civic life of the
Three Villages over the last several years include:
1.
The Main Street Project, sponsored by the office of New York State Assemblyman,
Steven Englebright.
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The first coordinated effort to define planning goals for the Three Villages,
done from 1995 to 1996.
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Focused on revitalizing and beautifying Setauket’s main street to
attract shoppers to local businesses and increase
community pride.
2.
The Three Village Hamlet Study:
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Evolving from the Main Street Project, was completed in 1997 and subsequently
adopted by the
Brookhaven
Town Board.
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Produced by a committee of local residents with the assistance of the
Town of Brookhaven.
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Fully researched the community, setting forth a detailed description,
including physical and social issues, of all
elements affecting life in the Three Villages.
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Provided the Town of Brookhaven with an in-depth analysis of, and insights
into, the unique characteristics of
the community.
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Provided local residents with the opportunity to make recommendations
regarding land use and community planning
decisions for the future.
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Intended, along with similar hamlet studies from other communities, to
help guide the Town of Brookhaven’s decisions
regarding future development.
3.
Highlights of The Three Village Hamlet Study:
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Documented the residents’ desire to supplement the area’s
predominantly single-family homes with more multi-family
units to accommodate the needs of seniors as well as young “start-ups”.
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Made land use recommendations to be incorporated into the Town’s
comprehensive land use plan. Recommendations
for vacant land along Route 25A included clustered rental housing and
a Planned Retirement
Community. Also suggested was that the Town of Brookhaven and the
business community work
together to improve the downtown village ambience, create a harmonious
streetscape, and consider a
mixed use of neighborhood businesses integrated with residential units
in the heart of Setauket.
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Numerous ideas to increase the economic and social vibrancy of what, in
reality, has become the Setauket village
center, have been put forward as a result of these early initiatives and
the ongoing discussions among
the various local, civic and business organizations.
Community Concerns:
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The impact of development on the quality of life and overall aesthetic
of the community as the population increases.
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To retain Setauket’s unique aesthetic identity into the future.
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How future development of the property owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese
– 28 acres in the heart of
the business district – will affect the character and quality of
the area.
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Provide for the critical need for senior, empty-nest, and first-home housing
but not lose the last large remaining
open green spaces.
Local
Events Which Made the Community Environment Ripe for a New Concept:
The following recent events focused Setauket residents’ attention
on its business center along Route 25A:
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Furor erupted in late 2002 because of reports that the Stop & Shop
supermarket was planning to move from
its present location in a swap with the Swezey’s department store,
expanding to a superstore, and displacing
numerous small local businesses.
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Evaluation by Corporate Stop & Shop of its Setauket store, reassessing
its interior space requirements and parking
issues.
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Major roadway repair and repaving project along this portion of Route
25A by the New York State
Department
of Transportation. Construction is expected to begin sometime during the
summer or fall of 2004.
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Concern that the large wooded parcel to the east of St. James RC Church,
owned by the Archdiocese of Rockville
Center, may be placed on the market. It is zoned for single-family residential
development.
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The Town of Brookhaven’s land initiatives will provide for the town
zoning ordinances and will include a mixed-use
Main Street zoning category (J-6).
A
Chance Meeting Leads to a New Concept:
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In February 2003, Richardson Robertson III (Rick), an award-winning architect
and town planner from California,
was visiting with friends in Setauket. His return flight to the West Coast
was delayed by a snowstorm,
enabling a chance meeting with several community leaders, including Assemblyman
Steven Englebright.
•
Englebright conveyed to Robertson the local issues relating to the commercial
expansion in the shopping centers.
This exchange lead to a discussion of Robertson's project for a new town
in Southern California. The
planning and design of that town based upon traditional neighborhoods,
integrating vibrant commercial centers
with residences and formal parks.
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Englebright provided Robertson with an overview of the history of the
community, a tour of the landmark buildings,
and discussed the community’s assets and aspirations as set forth
in the Main Street Project and the
Three Village Hamlet Study.
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Robertson’s Concept for the Setauket Village Center
and Village Green is in response to the Setauket
community’s vision for itself.
A
Description of the Immediate Project Area:
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Traveling east of Route 25A, from Bennetts Road towards the Setauket business
district, the landscape is rural
with woodland on the south side and a working farm to the north.
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The East Setauket Post Office, bank, farm stand, church and assisted living
facility at the intersection of Ridgeway
Avenue and Route 25A mark the beginning of the business district.
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On the north side of the road are two large, wooded properties and a NYS
DOT recharge basin, totaling approximately
46 acres.
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Three shopping centers on the south side of the road currently house a
diversity of businesses with an appropriate
mix of merchants with a strong local appeal. Their current design, however,
does not respond to
the ideal concept of a village center.
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The existing shopping centers, while well maintained and successful, are
merely three generic strip centers.
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An office condominium complex adjacent to the shopping centers in included
in the business district.
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There is an awkward connection from the shopping centers to the office
condominium complex.
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There is no connection between the shopping centers and the historic community
that they serve.
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Connections between the shopping centers themselves are not pedestrian
friendly or safe.
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The nearby State University at Stony Brook is the largest SUNY center
in New York State and contributes both
financial stability and cultural richness to the area.
Preliminary
Proposal for a Setauket Village Center and Park:
Rick Robertson has designed a preliminary plan to redevelop the Setauket
Village Center by concentrating density and diversifying land uses, including:
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Using architectural details that closely reflect and respond to the local
Setauket Historic District.
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Introducing residential condominium units into the commercial centers
to create desirable new housing for residents
of the community.
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Including more square footage for retail and commercial uses.
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The incorporation of residential space above the retail and commercial
space as an essential element of this
plan, creating the synergy and vibrancy associated with mixed-use commercial,
retail and residential environments.
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Preserving green space and creating parkland that will host cultural events
and help draw families and individuals
toward the commercial center.
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Connecting the center to the Historic District via new roadways, bikeways
and walking paths.
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The architectural integration of the participating properties, all of
which will continue to be separately owned.
Benefits of the Concept:
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A vibrant and appealing village center is created by the redevelopment
on the south side of 25A opposite a formal
park on the north side, benefiting both the community and its businesses.
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The architecture is in response to the unique architectural character
of the community, establishing a strong
sense of place.
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The village center will be attractive, not only for the shopping and dining,
but because it is both a vibrant and
desirable place to be, creating a “win-win” for all the stakeholders.
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The new integrated village center will substantially increase the value
of neighboring properties and, with a diverse
mix of uses, will enable growing economic success, expanding the customer
base for its merchants and
adding value for the property owners in the community as a whole.
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Both residents and shopping center owners benefit from the creation of
a park on the north side, designed in
the tradition of Frederick Law Olmstead.
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The vacant land remains green and available to the public.
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The Setauket Village Center enhances the existing sense of place and creates
a truly walkable community.
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