Nassau & Suffolk legislatures join for bi-county public hearings on future of L.I. Regional Planning Board

Wed., Nov. 10, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. in Nassau & Thurs., Nov. 18, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. in Suffolk
Nassau County Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) and Suffolk County Presiding Officer Joseph T. Caracappa met today for the first of a series of public hearings before the Nassau Legislature's Planning, Development & the Environment Committee and Suffolk's Environment, Planning & Agriculture Committee to discuss a proposal by Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy to reorganize and strengthen the Long Island Regional Planning Board.

"Following the recent approval of four environmental bonds across Long Island, it becomes even more critical that Long Islanders have a regional board that can evaluate all of our environmental needs," said Presiding Officer Jacobs. "An effective regional planning board can guide local governments into the future, while giving us a vision for what our counties will look like as we move forward."

"This is a valuable opportunity for both counties to join together to create a unified vision for Long Island's future through a revitalized Regional Planning Board," Said Presiding Officer Caracappa.

Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick), chair of the Planning, Development & the Environment committee, said, "In recognition of the fact that the Regional Planning Board and regional planning are vital to both Nassau and Suffolk, we are holding the first ever bi-county Planning, Development and Environment meeting. I look forward to a multi-jurisdictional dialogue and shared responsibility in moving forward."

In 1965 both Nassau and Suffolk counties introduced legislation that gave birth to the Nassau-Suffolk Regional Planning Board (now known as the Long Island Regional Planning Board). Now, 40 years later, both county executives have introduced legislation designed to strengthen the bi-county planning board and to make it more accountable to Nassau and Suffolk counties.

It falls upon both the Nassau and Suffolk legislatures to hold public hearings to study the joint proposal. The hearings will be held on Wednesday, November 10, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. in Nassau County, Fifth Floor Legislative Chamber, One West Street, Mineola. The second hearing will take place on Thursday, November 18, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m at the William H. Rogers Legislative Building, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge.

The first of the substantive changes being proposed by the county executives is expansion of board membership from three to five appointees per county executive. Appointees must reside in their respective counties and would be subject to legislative approval. The County Executives, the County Comptrollers, Presiding Officers of the County Legislatures and the Commissioners of the County Departments of Public Works will serve as ex-officio members of the Council without voting privileges. Council members will continue to serve in a non-salaried capacity.

Secondly, the Council will be charged with focusing on regional priorities such as Transportation, Workforce Housing, Environmental Protection, Health Care Planning, Homeland Security, Economic Development and Energy Planning.

Lastly, the County Executives have crafted new criteria to raise the accountability of the Council, which include:

• regular bi-monthly meetings open to the public
• minutes of Council meetings required and, along with meeting agendas, will be made available to all Council and ex-officio members
• submission of an Annual Report summarizing Council activities, financial status, annual budget (including all federal, state and local funding as well as private sector financial assistance), and planned future activities
• Council to be subject to audit by both the Nassau and Suffolk County comptrollers.

Speakers before the committee included

Patricia Bourne, Director of the Nassau County Planning Department; Thomas Isles, Director of the Suffolk County Planning Department; Lewis Yevoli, Chairman, Nassau County Planning Commission; Dr. Lee Koppelman, Executive Director, LI Regional Planning Board; Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island; Sarah Lansdale, Sustainable Long Island; Neal Lewis, Neighborhood Network.