HomeMy WebLinkAboutO'Mara, Alexandra R. 10.2025 ALEXANDRA R. O'MARA
friendsoforegonroad@gmail.com
(917) 270-4999
October 31, 2025
Dear Town Board:
I urge the Town Board to re-zone the undeveloped land within the Light Industrial Zone
in Cutchogue to be Agricultural. If not re-zoned, this open farmland on Depot and
Oregon could legally be developed as a car wash, tanning salon, storage facility or a
public utility, to name a few possible uses.
The Town and County have spent millions of our taxpayer dollars to protect Oregon
Road. It makes no sense to leave this open space vulnerable to this sort of
development. Indeed it would represent a waste of the taxpayer dollars already spent
on preservation if this eastern portion of Oregon Road were to be desecrated by
development that is not consistent with prior preservation efforts.
Any argument to leave the zoning intact can easily be refuted:
1. Do we need additional light industrial space? No. There is no lack of light industrial
space within this zone. There remains vacant space available.
2. Do we need this land to create additional jobs? No. As Stonewall Storage (located
within the zone) shows, these businesses do not create meaningful job opportunities
for more than a handful of people.
3. Is it material that the entire "block" has already been re-zoned as Light Industrial
two decades ago? No. This is a meaningless point. The whole purpose of the Town's
zoning exercise is to reconsider existing zoning to meet the current needs of the Town.
Two decades ago the Town and County hadn't spent our taxpayer dollars to preserve
Oregon Road. Since then our community has recognized the importance of
preservation.
Too often our planning efforts in Southold have been reactive and not proactive. A
good example of past mistakes is what happened on Griffing Street. Ms. Lanza once
said to me that the Griff ing Street development was an unfortunate occurrence that she
regretted. I would agree. With foresight from the Town and Planning, that stretch could
have been developed into a vibrant commercial stretch similar to Love Lane, with
affordable housing on the second floor. Instead we are burdened by four overpriced
houses that contribute nothing to the community.
Oregon Road is a different story altogether. Unlike Griffing Street, this is a parcel that
needs to be protected. We need to act now to complete the preservation work on
Oregon Road.
Sincerely,
Alexandra O'Mara