"We read their letters for our own information and to help us spot any deficiencies in the DEIS that our consultant didn't, or that we didn't," Ms. Lanza continued. "I think it's safe to say we all share similar concerns."

Traffic is a big concern for residents, which was expressed graphically last Saturday with a 50-car "demonstration drive-through" on Shipyard Lane, organized by East Marion resident John Kent. He said the point was to show how the traffic study in the existing DEIS underestimated the full traffic impact Shizen will have on the residential neighborhood.

The consultant's report called for more extensive traffic studies in the revised DEIS, saying that "the following specific tasks will be undertaken and documented in the traffic and transportation section of the DEIS: hourly volumes for a seven-day period should be collected on Gillette Drive and Shipyard Lane; perform a gap study at the intersections during the peak periods to record available gaps in traffic along Main Road."

EMCA members have long opposed the development of Shizen, a high-end resort designed to cater to a transient, international clientele. The 18.3-acre parcel, formerly an oyster processing plant and now owned by Ms. Tatsumura Hillyer, is zoned Marine II, which can accommodate hotels, restaurants, fish processing plants, marinas and boat repair facilities.

Letters from EMCA members to the Planning Board have pointed out that the Shizen DEIS fails to address key issues besides traffic.

"We believe the town would be wasting time and money to hold public hearings on such an incomplete DEIS," read one letter. "Many of the issues outlined in the scoping document are not even addressed... The proposed mitigation measures are impractical or irrational, [like] an underground garage where the water table is a mere 2.5 feet below the surface."

Another, written by Mr. Kent read, "It is evident that the proposed action favors quality of life, with the fresh air of waterfront, for the guests, while the northwesterly neighboring residents are exposed to the proximity of human waste disposal facility, garbage disposal facility, electrical generator and a large parking lot with its auto-generating exhaust fumes. All these are proposed besides the traffic, lack of accessibility to the scenic waterfront and expenses to taxpayers."

The consultant's review of the DEIS addressed some of Mr. Kent's concerns as well as "inaccurate or confusing information requiring clarification and revision" on issues such as:

* historic dredging and use of the existing boat basin

* non-tax-related benefits of the proposed project

* the types of jobs created that relate to the spa

* adequacy of on-site parking

* use of permeable pavement

* water supply

* the impact of Chromaglass sanitary discharge

* utilities, lighting, landscaping and amenities like tennis courts, arenas and playgrounds

* method of construction

* location of dumpsters

* internal traffic circulation plan

* lake/stream system operation and maintenance

* presence of organic material within the soil

* Great blue heron habitat.

At the traffic demonstration last Saturday, Greenport resident David Kiremidjian said that projects like Shizen show a "preposterously absurd" contempt for the environment.

"It's a tragic thing," Mr. Kiremidjian said. "The people that want to develop the North Fork are here, and they're ready to cannibalize here."

He said he can't see the logic in spending $20 million on a "useless" resort that no locals will probably ever go to.

"Turn it over to the town," Mr. Kiremidjian said. "Make it a public park. Or make it a small marina. There's not very much public access [to the water] on the North Fork right now."

In her e-mail message, Ms. Lanza said that the developers of Shizen have as much time as they need to revise the DEIS, and the Planning Board will wait.

"It took them two years to get us the first one, so I expect [it will take] at least a couple months for them to get back to us with a revision," she wrote. "But it could be faster."

Ms. Moore said that drafting the original DEIS always takes longer due to the fieldwork involved, and that revision requests focus more on issues.

"They're reasonable requests," she said. "The Town would prefer as complete a document as possible to put out to the public."

Shizen facts:

The Shizen Hotel Wellness Center (formerly known as Oki-Do or Gaia

Holistic Circle) would be composed of 28 buildings, to be developed on

an 18.3-acre site on Gardiners Bay at the southern end of Shipyard Lane

in East Marion

Buildings would included:

One 51,422-square-foot, two-story building that would house 27 units of

the proposed "transient motel;" nine two-story buildings would house

five units; and 14 one-story buildings would each house three units

One 3,834-square-foot restaurant open to the public

One 1,987-square-foot "manager's residence

One 7,205-square-foot maintenance / utility building

One 1,373-square-foot pool house with an indoor pool

Other construction plans would include:

Within the existing 1.38-acre dredged basin, a marina with 16 private

boat slips A wooden bulkhead, boardwalk and three timber floating dock

systems

A rock revetment to replace an existing dilapidated bulkhead

On-site parking facilities for 189 cars

The widening of the northbound side of Shipyard Lane to two lanes

Installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Shipyard Lane

and Route 25

The Shizen property is zoned Marine II, which allows for commercial

marine uses, including boat and storage repair

The developer's name is Developer Kazuko Tatsumura Hillyer

At a meeting with the EMCA in mid-September, the attorney for Ms.

Tatsumura Hillyer said that her client had already invested about $1

million into the Shizen project

eschultz@timesreview.com

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