Councilwoman Connie Kepert has sure changed her tune since she was a civic leader.  Then, she fought against reckless development that raises taxes, increases traffic and undermines our environment.  Then, she fought for good government.

Not so, since becoming a politician. Now, she’s a big fan of high-density development, whether or not it’s in downtowns. She’s become a member of the “development-at-any- cost crowd” and her campaign contributions show it.

She’s undermining the Carmans River Watershed Preservation & Management Plan like no other council member and her commitment to water and Pine Barrens protection is a thing of the past. Worst of all is her betrayal of good government.

Residents adjacent to the proposed “Sandy Hills” mega-development filed a protest petition against the project.  Under state law, that should have triggered a requirement for a ¾ majority to approve the re-zoning from 34 units to 101 along with 17,000 square feet of new commercial space.  But no. Brookhaven Town passed a local law that says protest petitions — permitted by state law in the more than 900 towns in New York — don’t count in Brookhaven.

The court will decide that.  We’ve sued over the matter.

But that’s beside the point.  Why has Brookhaven tried to thwart a state law that protects communities and private property owners by making it tougher to build mini-cities in their backyards?  Town officials, including Supervisor Mark Lesko say the town has superseded state law.  The last time the town said that, civic leader Connie Kepert brought and won a lawsuit that said the town couldn’t supersede state law on the matter of creating council districts.

Boy, has she changed her tune.  And the sorry days of Crookhaven are back.

Finally, Councilwoman Kepert says that in exchange for the developer’s being able to build 300 percent of what zoning permitted, the community gets the benefit of 18 preserved acres and a path through them. Is she kidding? The open space was a required mitigation measure, not a public benefit.  And a recent report by the Suffolk County Health Department says that the sewage treatment plants Councilwoman Kepert is boasting about, frequently don’t work and that contamination of our Magothy Aquifer is up 200 percent since the last tests.  So Ms. Kepert’s developer friend gets a windfall and the community gets a headache, increased traffic, higher taxes and diminished water quality along with a walking path?

Richard Amper
executive director, Long Island Pine Barrens Society