Brookhaven Charts Future With New Master Plan

Brookhaven is moving ahead with a major update of its comprehensive master plan, the first such overhaul in three decades, as town officials look to reshape how future growth and redevelopment are handled.

Supervisor Dan Panico said the town’s current master plan dates to 1996 and no longer reflects the challenges Brookhaven faces today.

“The emphasis must be on redevelopment of existing underutilized commercial areas and the preservation of open space, especially wooded open space and farmlands,” Panico said in an exclusive interview with the South Shore Press.

He said the town is taking a different and more realistic approach than the previous “Brookhaven 2030” planning effort advanced by an earlier administration.

The updated plan will focus heavily on land use, zoning and redevelopment, with particular attention to commercial properties that have declined, become outdated or are no longer serving their original purpose. Panico’s approach is to steer new investment toward areas that are already developed while limiting pressure to build on remaining open land.

That philosophy can already be seen in redevelopment efforts underway in North Bellport, Coram, East Patchogue and the Tri-Hamlet community of Mastic-Shirley. Panico said improvements in individual properties can build momentum and encourage additional private investment, creating broader revitalization throughout a community.

The town is also examining newer land-use challenges that did not exist when the 1996 plan was adopted. Brookhaven currently has a moratorium on data centers while officials study how the facilities should be regulated, particularly given their potentially enormous electricity demands and the capacity of Long Island’s power grid.

Panico said the broader planning philosophy is about balancing economic growth and redevelopment with preservation, while ensuring projects fit the communities where they are proposed.

He said residents ultimately judge government by tangible results rather than promises.

“People believe more of what they see with their eyes than what they hear with their ears,” Panico said.

The updated master plan is intended to provide the framework for those decisions and guide Brookhaven’s growth and preservation efforts for decades to come.