Community Corner

Donald Trump Proposes Plum Island Golf Course

Do you think Donald Trump should buy Plum Island and build a golf course?

Donald Trump said he wants to build a golf course on Plum Island.

According to a report on Newsday, billionaire Trump said he is interested in buying the 840-acre island, which is currently home to the 59-year-old Federal Animal and Disease Center and developing it with a world-class golf course.

With the federal government poised to sell the island by 2020 when it moves the disease center to Kansas, Trump told Newsday that he has already started talks with officials, including Congressman Tim Bishop and Southold Supervisor Scott Russell.

Russell, according to the Shelter Island Reporter, has already expressed his reservations about Trump's proposal, stating that it is not in-step with the island's new zoning regulations.

In August, the island was rezoned by the Town of Southold to allow for a 125-acre Plum Island research district, which would comprise 20 percent of the island, and a 350-acre Plum Island conservation district, that would make up the remaining 80 percent, which would be a natural preserve.

Trump may also face resistance from other public officials, who in September urged the Obama administration use executive action to put the brakes on the proposed public sale of Plum Island.

Those officials stated that they feel that a public sale will not yield as much money for the property given the new zoning regulations.

Patch wants to know: Do you think Donald Trump should buy Plum Island and build a golf course? Let us know in the comment section below.

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