Plum Island Zoning Hearing Less Than 1 Month Out

After town planners suggested land use ideas for Plum Island last fall, a public hearing on the suggestions will take place in a little under a month.

Since added to the list of suggested zoning plans is the creation of a Marine II zone, which would accommodate ferry access to the island, the status of which still remains up in the air as federal funding for Plum Island's replacement remains hard to come by.

Currently the 840-acre island, purchased by the federal government in the 1800s, is unzoned.

In addition to the Marine II zone, town planners pitched a 175-acre Plum Island Research District and the Plum Island Conservation District, at least 600 acres. Town leaders hope to use the existing infrastructure to continue the island's use long-term as a research facility.

The federal government, deeming the current facilities on Plum Island not secure enough to handle its highest level of testing, decided to build a new $1 billion facility in Kansas in 2009. In the meantime, the immediate future of Plum Island is business as usual – at least through 2019. Long term, the town is zoning the land for an eventual sale, the proceeds of which would be required to help pay for the Kansas facility.

Next month's public hearing on the zoning proposals is scheduled for May 7.