Background:
Planning initiatives to enhance the sense of community pride, preserve open space, and stimulate the economic, social, and civic life of the Three Villages over the last several years include:
     1. The Main Street Project, sponsored by the office of New York State Assemblyman, Steven Englebright.
          • The first coordinated effort to define planning goals for the Three Villages, done from 1995 to 1996.
          • Focused on revitalizing and beautifying Setauket’s main street to attract shoppers to local businesses and increase community pride.
     2. The Three Village Hamlet Study:
          • Evolving from the Main Street Project, was completed in 1997 and subsequently adopted by the
Brookhaven Town Board.
          • Produced by a committee of local residents with the assistance of the Town of Brookhaven.
          • Fully researched the community, setting forth a detailed description, including physical and social issues, of all elements affecting life in the Three Villages.
          • Provided the Town of Brookhaven with an in-depth analysis of, and insights into, the unique characteristics of the community.
          • Provided local residents with the opportunity to make recommendations regarding land use and community planning decisions for the future.
          • Intended, along with similar hamlet studies from other communities, to help guide the Town of Brookhaven’s decisions regarding future development.
     3. Highlights of The Three Village Hamlet Study:
          • Documented the residents’ desire to supplement the area’s predominantly single-family homes with more multi-family units to accommodate the needs of seniors as well as young “start-ups”.
          • Made land use recommendations to be incorporated into the Town’s comprehensive land use plan. Recommendations for vacant land along Route 25A included clustered rental housing and a Planned Retirement Community. Also suggested was that the Town of Brookhaven and the business community work together to improve the downtown village ambience, create a harmonious streetscape, and consider a mixed use of neighborhood businesses integrated with residential units in the heart of Setauket.
          • Numerous ideas to increase the economic and social vibrancy of what, in reality, has become the Setauket village center, have been put forward as a result of these early initiatives and the ongoing discussions among the various local, civic and business organizations.

Community Concerns:
          • The impact of development on the quality of life and overall aesthetic of the community as the population increases.
          • To retain Setauket’s unique aesthetic identity into the future.
          • How future development of the property owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese – 28 acres in the heart of the business district – will affect the character and quality of the area.
          • Provide for the critical need for senior, empty-nest, and first-home housing but not lose the last large remaining open green spaces.

Local Events Which Made the Community Environment Ripe for a New Concept:
The following recent events focused Setauket residents’ attention on its business center along Route 25A:
          • Furor erupted in late 2002 because of reports that the Stop & Shop supermarket was planning to move from its present location in a swap with the Swezey’s department store, expanding to a superstore, and displacing numerous small local businesses.
          • Evaluation by Corporate Stop & Shop of its Setauket store, reassessing its interior space requirements and parking issues.
          • Major roadway repair and repaving project along this portion of Route 25A by the New York State
Department of Transportation. Construction is expected to begin sometime during the summer or fall of 2004.
          • Concern that the large wooded parcel to the east of St. James RC Church, owned by the Archdiocese of Rockville Center, may be placed on the market. It is zoned for single-family residential development.
          • The Town of Brookhaven’s land initiatives will provide for the town zoning ordinances and will include a mixed-use Main Street zoning category (J-6).

A Chance Meeting Leads to a New Concept:
          • In February 2003, Richardson Robertson III (Rick), an award-winning architect and town planner from California, was visiting with friends in Setauket. His return flight to the West Coast was delayed by a snowstorm, enabling a chance meeting with several community leaders, including Assemblyman Steven Englebright.
          • Englebright conveyed to Robertson the local issues relating to the commercial expansion in the shopping centers. This exchange lead to a discussion of Robertson’s project for a new town in Southern California. The planning and design of that town based upon traditional neighborhoods, integrating vibrant commercial centers with residences and formal parks.
          • Englebright provided Robertson with an overview of the history of the community, a tour of the landmark buildings, and discussed the community’s assets and aspirations as set forth in the Main Street Project and the Three Village Hamlet Study.
          • Robertson’s Concept for the Setauket Village Center and Village Green is in response to the Setauket community’s vision for itself.

A Description of the Immediate Project Area:
          • Traveling east of Route 25A, from Bennetts Road towards the Setauket business district, the landscape is rural with woodland on the south side and a working farm to the north.
          • The East Setauket Post Office, bank, farm stand, church and assisted living facility at the intersection of Ridgeway Avenue and Route 25A mark the beginning of the business district.
          • On the north side of the road are two large, wooded properties and a NYS DOT recharge basin, totaling approximately 46 acres.
          • Three shopping centers on the south side of the road currently house a diversity of businesses with an appropriate mix of merchants with a strong local appeal. Their current design, however, does not respond to the ideal concept of a village center.
          • The existing shopping centers, while well maintained and successful, are merely three generic strip centers.
          • An office condominium complex adjacent to the shopping centers in included in the business district.
          • There is an awkward connection from the shopping centers to the office condominium complex.
          • There is no connection between the shopping centers and the historic community that they serve.
          • Connections between the shopping centers themselves are not pedestrian friendly or safe.
          • The nearby State University at Stony Brook is the largest SUNY center in New York State and contributes both financial stability and cultural richness to the area.

Preliminary Proposal for a Setauket Village Center and Park:
Rick Robertson has designed a preliminary plan to redevelop the Setauket Village Center by concentrating density and diversifying land uses, including:
          • Using architectural details that closely reflect and respond to the local Setauket Historic District.
          • Introducing residential condominium units into the commercial centers to create desirable new housing for residents of the community.
          • Including more square footage for retail and commercial uses.
          • The incorporation of residential space above the retail and commercial space as an essential element of this plan, creating the synergy and vibrancy associated with mixed-use commercial, retail and residential environments.
          • Preserving green space and creating parkland that will host cultural events and help draw families and individuals toward the commercial center.
          • Connecting the center to the Historic District via new roadways, bikeways and walking paths.
          • The architectural integration of the participating properties, all of which will continue to be separately owned.

Benefits of the Concept:
          • A vibrant and appealing village center is created by the redevelopment on the south side of 25A opposite a formal park on the north side, benefiting both the community and its businesses.
          • The architecture is in response to the unique architectural character of the community, establishing a strong sense of place.
          • The village center will be attractive, not only for the shopping and dining, but because it is both a vibrant and desirable place to be, creating a “win-win” for all the stakeholders.
          • The new integrated village center will substantially increase the value of neighboring properties and, with a diverse mix of uses, will enable growing economic success, expanding the customer base for its merchants and adding value for the property owners in the community as a whole.
          • Both residents and shopping center owners benefit from the creation of a park on the north side, designed in the tradition of Frederick Law Olmstead.
          • The vacant land remains green and available to the public.
          • The Setauket Village Center enhances the existing sense of place and creates a truly walkable community.