Advocacy groups fought development with protests and legal maneuvers, and as a result, more than 2,500 acres of the Pine Bush have been turned into a preserve.
Invoking the name of one of the world's most famous trout streams to fight development has been used before — with success.
We lobby leaders to fight development, aiming to protect old buildings and precious views, limit crime and traffic, and maintain high-quality schools.
"We're very concerned about it," said Jean Rich, president of the Washington Valley Association, a residents group that in the past has successfully fought development of a jail, a highway and a psychiatric hospital.
"It's hard to imagine a more inappropriate location for a commercial building of this size and bulk," said Bernard D'Orazio, president of Save Our Space, a community group formed to fight development.
Tomorrow, a chat will be offered with Micha X. Peled, the director of the documentary; Al Norman, of Sprawl-Busters, a group that helps residents fight development in their area; and a Wal-Mart representative.
What should rise next on the industrially zoned acreage, which is next to the Long Island Expressway but also at the borders of residential communities, has remained, in the days since the hearing, at the center of one of the most stubbornly fought development battles on Long Island in years.
Keep your farm looking nice, because if it ever comes down to it, the local community may fight development proposals because they perceive your farm to be a haven of agricultural heritage.
It even fought developments outside the zone's borders.
