On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the Village of Brightwaters held an open discussion with the planning board and the community regarding Orinoco Corridor.

The planning board held the open forum to get feedback from residents on proposed new zoning changes. Planning board chairman Joseph Paliseno opened the meeting by welcoming residents and showing a draft of very substantial proposed legislation. The map that was displayed of the proposed changes as well as given to attending residents was prepared by village building inspector, Robert O’Shea.

Paliseno noted that the board is “looking to set plans to put in motion today that will affect the village long term.”

Paliseno also said that the rezoning discussed was actually put in motion nine years ago with the greening of the Four Corners by the planning board. According to Paliseno, the planning board got the first grant for the village nine years ago for sidewalk curving, paving, and lighting.

The idea behind rezoning Orinoco Boulevard is to eliminate industrial use as well as any blight. Open land is very valuable on Long Island, and the board wants to make sure that how it gets used conforms with the village.

The Sept. 13 meeting was not the first time the planning board held a public meeting on this issue. In April 2021, the idea was launched to the public in a sparsely attended meeting.

Planning board member Michael Kane presented the proposed zoning changes to the public.

The proposed zone Business District 1 would encompass the Four Corners area, where the deli and Chinese food store are located. These would be establishments where patrons are going in and out rather quickly to get an item, food, or service. The proposed zone Business District 2 would be for professional-type buildings such as medical offices, real estate offices, and  businesses that are not necessarily retail but where patrons go in for a professional service. This area would be near the current beer distributor and directly across from the post office on the north side of Orinoco Drive. The board noted that this area would be good for professional buildings because directly behind the zone are residential buildings. The proposed zone Business District 3 would be the least restrictive area, allowing anything in B1 and B2 to be added. This area would encompass everything from Mamma Santina’s going west on the south side of Orinoco. The proposed zone Business District 4 would see no change in the area with the mini-storage unit on the north side of Orinoco. Proposed zone Residential C would be for apartments on the north side of Orinoco, while Residential C would encompass everything after the storage unit going west on the south side of Orinoco. Kane noted that there is a huge plot of land at this site that is currently zoned as B3.

While nothing in the Village of Brightwaters is currently zoned for industrial use, O’Shea noted that over the last 100 years, industrial-style sites came in and were allowed to exist, and unfortunately, the village can’t legally tell them to leave. However, the planning board’s proposed plan is attempting to stop this from happening in the future and giving the village control over what type of businesses come in the future.

After the presentation, residents brought forth questions to the board regarding the proposal. Many of them noted that they would prefer not to have apartments in the area and that parking is a big issue on Orinoco Corridor, as it is not plentiful and must be taken into consideration when it comes to what type of businesses are allowed in the area.

The day after the meeting, the village board of trustees and the planning board sent out an e-mail thanking residents who came to the informational meeting.

“We felt it was a very informative meeting with a lot of productive feedback from our residents,” the board said in a statement. “We look forward to future meetings and always welcome residents to give their feedback at any time.”