Lessons in Planning from the Future Long Island

Suffolk County Chief Planner Andrew Freleng recently sat with the Foggiest Idea" website to participate in an interview process called "Foggiest Five." During the interview, Freleng discusses the charms and challenges of life on Long Island, including the following: "Long Islands [sic] greatest regional challenge is to recognize that there is a carrying capacity/saturation population to our island. In that respect, finding a model for sustained economic growth is a huge challenge."

One of the solutions Freleng proposes for managing growth on Long Island is a regional transfer of development rights (TDR) program, which he describes as shifting "anticipated growth from undeveloped land to areas of sewer and waste water infrastructure….Usually in downtowns or in intermodal transit overlay districts."

His prediction for the Long Island of 20 years reflects lofty ambitions: "By 2034 Long Island would have [sic] long embraced the land use planning model of the new suburban downtown grown around transit hubs."

Richard Murdocco reviewed the conversation in a separate article, picking up on Freleng's "instinct for and adherence to following sound planning principles." Writes Murdocco: "What was most compelling about Freleng’s answers was that he touched upon many aspects of regional development now often ignored. Those engaged with the issues forget that development issues are complex, and cannot solely be captured by buzzwords or agendas."