There must have been something in the air in the board room at Village Hall in Farmingdale, on the night of Feb. 21. Before a standing-room-only crowd the trustees delved into the agenda packed with pressing issues.

The topic generating the most hostility was the proposal to limit the size of commercial vehicles on residential property in Farmingdale. Buildings Superintendent Ron Craig explained this concept and said, "There will be no more than one commercial vehicle not to exceed 20 feet in width, and eight feet in height, allowed per driveway."

There was extreme angst from both sides of the argument, as Mayor George Graf had to stop the meeting a number of times, in order to interrupt members of the audience who spoke out of turn.

Many Farmingdale residents spoke against the idea, one of them saying he owned a fuel truck in addition to his own commercial pick-up truck, and will now have to find a commercial lot to park one of them, costing him extra money. On the other hand, others spoke to support the board on this law, including one who said, "There is a house on my block with five landscaping trucks parked on one lawn."

This was not a groundbreaking idea by the board, as such a law already exists in surrounding Town of Oyster Bay, and in 90 percent of Nassau County according to Craig. Deputy Mayor Joseph Rachiele explained the main idea behind the law and said, "There have been numerous complaints about the quality of life and how these vehicles affect the look of the neighborhood."

Rachiele and Craig both firmly insisted that the implementation of this law is not looking to take down the independent contractors in the area who might own a truck used for their business.

Ultimately, the law was approved unanimously by the board, to the dismay of most on hand. Following the ruling, several angry opponents of the ruling stormed out of the room, some pointing fingers and making nasty remarks to the proponents of this controversial issue.

The discussion of a moratorium on building within the village was anticipated to be another topic of debate. However, the trustees said they are not ready to make any decision on a moratorium until at least April.

"We will have two new board members coming on in several weeks, so we will give the new board the opportunity to grant a conditional moratorium," Graf said, speaking of the March 21 village elections.

This tied into an update on the Vision Long Island building development plan from executive director Eric Alexander. Alexander just finished a series of three visioning meetings between Feb. 9 and Feb. 15, where he discussed his proposals for the village, and received feedback from village residents.

This proposal consists of changes to the village's development that may be implemented as soon as six months or 30 years down the road. Some of the goals Alexander discussed included improving the "quality of life," adding more "village character," to new buildings, and having plenty of "walkability" in the town. Another meeting on this topic is anticipated for late April as he looks to rank the priorities on the feedback from citizens, and have a plan drafted and ready by then. He is also hoping to add to the number of 200 participants already involved in the process.

There were a handful of complaints from village citizens on various other subjects at the meeting. The most pressing issue being when a Main Street florist, presented a strong speech on the "unethical manner" Farmingdale firefighters used to sell roses on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 for Valentine's Day. She claimed that they stopped traffic to sell them, which took away from her business and ability to make money. Mayor Graf said that he spoke to the Fire Department Chief regarding the matter and the chief apologized.

"I don't think they will be selling flowers anytime soon," Rachiele added.

Mayor Graf then swore in new Deputy Clerk/Village Treasurer Elizabeth Kaye. He said he was pleased to appoint the Glen Head resident to this position and said, "She was definitely the most qualified person for the job."

The next board of trustees meeting is slated for March 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall.