Ahead Of Public Hearing, Group Holds Rally Against Mall Plan

A rendering of Villadom’s proposed commercial shopping center planned for Elwood. A public hearing on a zone change and amendments to the town’s master plan that would aloow the project to move forward is set for May 17. (Rendering courtesy of Mark Smith)

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Over 100 opponents of a developer’s proposal to construct a commercial center along Jericho Turnpike in Elwood gathered across from the site Saturday afternoon in protest.

Great Neck-based developer Villadom has plans to build the 486,380-square-foot center across the nearly 50-acre site at the northwest corner of Jericho Turnpike and Manor Road – west of the Mediavilla Orchards Farm Stand. Plans include office, retail and medical spaces, along with parking for 1,929 vehicles, according to town documents.

First, the Huntington Town Board would need to approve both a zone change for the property and an amendment to the town’s Horizons 2020 Comprehensive Plan that would add the site to the major commercial corridor along the turnpike.

An online petition in opposition to the project had garnered 5,700 signatures as of deadline Wednesday.

Ahead of an upcoming public hearing on the board’s consideration of the proposal, Elwood resident Andrew Kaplan, one of the creators of the Stop the Villadom Mall Facebook group, urged opponents of the project to make their voices heard.

“Our water does not come from some big well in upstate New York, our water comes from under your feet,” Kaplan said. “The five human beings who will make the decision to save this precious resource will have an opportunity to listen to what you have to say.”

At Saturday’s rally, signs and chants highlighted some residents’ concerns that the proposed shopping center would create a traffic nightmare on surrounding roads, add pressure on the Greenlawn Water District and negatively impact the environmental.

Mark L. Smith, a Villadom spokesman, said in a statement yesterday that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement commissioned by Villadom addresses traffic and environmental concerns, and concluded that “due to the depth of the groundwater table on the site there is not anticipated to be a significant impact on the aquifer.”

He added that, since 2013, Villadom has met with community members more than 30 times to discuss concerns and has modified its proposal “numerous times” in response.

Smith also claimed the project would boost the commercial tax base in Elwood, add $3 million in tax revenue to the Elwood School District and include a new, modern and permanent home for the Elwood Library, which Villadom would plan to construct and gift to the district.

The town board’s public hearing on the project is scheduled for Thursday, May 17, 7 p.m. at Elwood Middle School (478 Elwood Road).