Portion Road Land Use Plan Receives Award

The Town of Brookhaven received the 2011 Smart Growth Award for "Certainty and Predictability" for its Portion Road Land Use Plan at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury last month.

In a video about the award, Brookhaven Councilwoman Kathleen Walsh describes the Land Use Plan as "the perfect opportunity to...come forward and engage the community with some redesigning."

Walsh says that a goal of the plan was to create an "old-town feel" to the stores and businesses along Portion Road. The Town's vision was to create a downtown, she said.

"When a business is interested in coming in, it's not as intimidating for developers," Walsh said. "They can grab our Land Use Plan, they can see the designs that we've recommended. It's not just words."

Walsh said that another one of the Town's goals as a result of the plan is to decrease the amount of vacant stores along Portion Road and increase the amount of businesses that come in. 

"It's because of the visioning really pulling everyone together," Walsh said. "Everyone is taking a piece of ownership in the community and it's really a nice thing to see."

A representative from the Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization did not return comment for this story.

The Smart Growth Award is an award given out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every year to communities "that use innovative policies and strategies to strengthen their economies, provide housing and transportation choices, develop in ways that bring benefits to a wide range of residents and protect the environment," according to the EPA's website.

The Town of Broohaven received the award from Vision Long Island. This year was the 11th year the award was given out.