I am writing in response to Councilman Anthony Macagnone's recent letter criticizing my position calling for a limited moratorium on land in the Special Groundwater Protection Area (SGPA) in the Town of Oyster Bay.

First some background. In a ruling July 3, in Matter of Doremus v. Town of Oyster Bay, the Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld a lower court ruling invalidating the Oyster Bay Town Board's 1996 decision to settle a lawsuit with the Tilles Investment Company and rezone the environmentally sensitive 81-acre Underhill property in Jericho which is located within the SGPA, to permit a 270 unit housing development. Soon thereafter, I called upon my fellow board members to take immediate action to preserve land in the SGPA. More specifically, I called for a comprehensive groundwater management plan that included: a limited one-year moratorium on any building in the SGPA, adopting the 1992 SGPA plan as every other town on Long Island has done, and establishing an Aquifer Overlay Protection District in conjunction with the formulation and adoption of a Master Plan for the Town of Oyster Bay.

I have long been a staunch advocate for the environment, including preserving land within the SGPA. Since everyone on Long Island receives their water from underground aquifers, we as elected officials have a moral obligation to the public to take whatever steps are necessary to guarantee a continuous source of pure drinking water. In fact, the town board was forced recently to approve bonds to build a new well in Massapequa because the toxic plume from the Liberty Industrial site in Farmingdale is leeching toward the existing well. It is my hope that by adopting a comprehensive groundwater management plan now, we will never again have to face the specter of contaminated wells in Oyster Bay.

Unfortunately, Oyster Bay has not kept pace with other towns on Long Island in protecting land in the SGPA from overdevelopment. The recent decision in the Underhill case (where the court went out of its way to criticize the town for failing to conduct even the most cursory environmental review before downzoning) and the town board's decision last December to sell 50-plus acres of town owned land in the SGPA for the development of over 350 units of housing only serves to underscore the point. There are no effective mechanisms in place to control development in the town. No one is looking at the big picture. The town's Department of Planning and Development and TEQRA Commission look at projects piecemeal and never consider the cumulative impact of approving project after project. The TEQRA Commission does not even know the parameters of the SGPA, having misinformed the town board on a recent project. And site plan review, which was enacted to give the town board greater control over the aesthetics of a project such as lighting, landscaping and signage, does nothing to strengthen the board's hand when it comes to protecting the environment or our precious drinking water supply.

My call for a limited moratorium is consistent with current mainstream governmental policy throughout Long Island, including the Town of Oyster Bay. Last year, Oyster Bay adopted a moratorium on new building permits in Greenvale to give the town an opportunity to address the threat of overdevelopment in that area. Councilman Macagnone, along with the rest of the town board, voted in favor of a six-month extension of that moratorium in February. Additionally, the towns of Southampton and East Hampton have received very favorable public reaction after taking steps similar to those that I am proposing to protect our drinking water supply.

Finally, I want to assure your readers that I understand how critical continued economic growth is for the residents of Oyster Bay. I have long been a vocal proponent of the concept of "smart growth" within the town to ensure economic expansion while combating the over development and suburban sprawl that now plague us. My proposal for a limited moratorium is but one piece of a comprehensive groundwater management plan that includes adopting a Master Plan to direct development in the town where it is appropriate and needed. Given that the proposed moratorium is limited in both geographic scope and duration, adopting all of the components of a comprehensive groundwater management plan would not create a financial hardship but would finally allow the town to chart a course that would benefit everyone in the long term.

Bonnie Eisler

Councilwoman