Scott Howell of the Nassau County Planning Commission spoke with Garden City Life last week to answer questions about their official approval of the Nassau County Comprehensive Master Plan. The new County Charter mandated that a comprehensive plan be developed and adopted by the end of 1998. The plan distributed back in September is not precisely the same document that was approved in December; Howell explains that there were "slight changes" from the September document, but as only a handful of copies were made, they remain too scarce for review by the public.

With concerns about the upcoming Jan. 14 Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals by Roosevelt Field Mall for a variance to allow them to expand, the suggestions in the plan to develop the Hub area and other parcels east of the Village of Garden City seem to most village residents to be just one more obstacle to overcome or proposal to challenge.

The September version stated, "The County, municipalities and developers should identify uses and activities which can provide in-fill or reuse of parcels in the Hub and which are consistent with efforts to strengthen the existing downtowns of adjacent communities." This passage reads to many individuals in the village, who have been outspoken at meetings around Garden City, as a signal to developers to go ahead and build more retail and office buildings in the Hub area, which will in actuality compete against local downtown areas and generate tremendous traffic in the area.

With the County Planning Commission proposing these plans as their official recommendations to local governmental bodies like the Town of Hempstead, questions have been raised about the future of the area and the exact influence that this newly approved document will carry. How much authority does the County have in the future face of Central Nassau? Howell stated that the plan is "a goals and policies type of document. The County doesn't control zoning. We can't look at a specific parcel or site and say that should be developed or not developed in a certain way; we can't get into that kind of policies." Yet, the plan does list numerous recommendations for specific communities, if not specific blocks and lots. If the County's plan suggests that a town use property in a specific way, while the County may not control zoning, do they have the ability to influence the future of the land and if not, then why draft the plan mentioning any land other than County held property?

Howell reiterated, "We can't say look at this site and have the municipalities do what we recommend." He continued, "We made recommendations. The bottom line is determined ultimately by villages and towns to follow or not to follow our recommendations. This Master Plan is not specific; this Master Plan is so vague. More specific studies will be done. There will need to be further analysis."

When asked about specific references to the Hub development, Howell responded that there aren't specific plans for the Hub, rather "Only one thing was stated with regard to the Hub -- there needs to be some sort of mass transportation system there. It could be buses or some kind of mass transportation. The only thing we do is support. The plan is so generic about the Hub. We didn't even refer to the Nassau Hub Study. There was no public involvement with that document." He added that there were no specific recommendations for what form the mass transit system within the Hub ought to take. The September version does specifically state, "The County should evaluate the effectiveness of alternative transit services within the Hub area, including a fixed-guideway transit system." This fixed-guideway system has been heartily recommended by Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta, who has issued public statements explaining his position on what has been termed the "people mover." Howell replied when asked if the same passage remains in the approved revised version of the plan, to which he replied that he hadn't a new copy at the moment, but that he sees any suggestions for the transportation in the Hub as needing serious review and says he and the Planning Commission are well aware of public concern over a "people mover."

In response to questions about the monorail and the plan's references to them as well as Gulotta's press releases on the subject, Howell explained, "These are just proposals. I can't say that they won't happen. They may do partial loops. We'll have to look at all of the alternatives -- nitty gritty analysis. As to what kind of transportation system or how it will be hooked up -- there'll be a federally funded study done within the next few months -- Major Investment Study -- like an environmental study. It will look at the Hub more specifically. This approved Comprehensive Master Plan is not a Hub study, it's suggestions for the entire County." He also commented that while they do not plan to put a connection station between the monorail and the LIRR in "Garden City or Mineola in particular," noting the discontent within such communities at the proposed location of monorail equipment and a station in their midst. He did add, "The people in the Village of Hempstead have been saying, 'We want new development; we want revitalization; we want to be hooked up to the monorail.' They feel that their downtown is really suffering and they really want to see development." Howell concluded, "Many people see the monorail as something that spurs growth."

With a connection station in Garden City's neighboring village, Hempstead, concerns over increased traffic in the area have been expressed by residents. Coupled with comments made by the speaker from the Planning Commission at a public hearing at Hempstead Village Hall earlier this fall, for example, suggesting that Hicksville, Mineola, and the Village of Hempstead would be three major areas of focus for more development. With Mineola and Hempstead bordering the Village of Garden City on the north and south sides, respectively, there is a sense of trouble to come in terms of traffic as far as some outspoken residents are concerned. When asked to address these concerns, Howell explained, "The future development discussed in the plan is focused around the downtown areas where development exists already, where they have a train station and employment and residential space around the centers. Hicksville, for example, has the potential for intensification." When asked specifically about plans for Mineola and Hempstead he noted that none of the plans are specific and that it's really up to what the village governments choose to do.

Howell added that with regard to train stations and other transportation developments within downtown centers that the County is engaged in devising plans to "get people out of their cars and to create a center where they'll work and live and play." He added that in drafting their plans they "wanted to be extra sensitive and boost the downtown areas by bringing in housing and mix-use development -- apartments, stores, service." He noted, "One issue that kept coming up was downtown revitalization. People want Main Street life again and want to get away from the suburban sprawl."

He explained that in order to facilitate this, certain transportation initiatives would need to be made. When asked what role the County would actually play in this process, Howell answered, "Funding. The bus system and the railroad and the County have worked together to make it better than it was. We've worked on bus/rail coordination and the County has helped the LIRR purchase a whole bunch of trains. There's always room for improvement, so we're always working on it with them. The County's doing its share to institute for its employees new programs like telecommuting, compressed work weeks, car pools, and other commute alternatives."

In the September version of the plan, the discussion of land usage returns to the subject of the Hub. It reads, "The only proposed Regional Center is the Nassau Hub...there is potential for traffic and pedestrian improvements, as well as more development in the Nassau Hub, including proposed plans for entertainment, cultural and recreational activities as well as housing. A critical component of the Nassau Hub is transit service and the integration of new development with existing uses and services in the area." The plan specifically defines the Hub as, "...the area bounded by Old Country Road, Hempstead Turnpike, Clinton Road and Merrick Avenue." This has been seen as the urbanization of an already urbanizing County by residents expressing their discontent with the plans for the Hub.

The term urbanization has also been used by concerned residents in communities across the County in cases where the push for development leads to situations in which multiple residences are constructed on lots which initially had only one home. In the unincorporated community Albertson in the Town of North Hempstead, for example, there was one home on the corner of Searingtown Road and Old Searingtown Road, where now there stands 22 new homes. Many houses have been demolished in there to make room for two or three homes that are actually larger than the original one. Villages like Garden City have their own zoning codes and planning commissions to control this situation whether or not the town would allow it. In cases such as the development east of the village, the construction of new homes or new businesses is under the jurisdiction of the Town of Hempstead, yet the impact of any new construction impacts the traffic throughout the Village of Garden City. When asked to address this overcrowding issue, Howell responded in agreement that part of the problem is overpopulation and added that while the plan calls for the creation of more housing for the County's residents, the need to preserve green space and the need for more housing makes things complicated.

Howell explained that the County sees a need for more housing, but that, "the County can't build on its own." He added that very often now there will be "one house on a lot, and then when it's sold the lot is subdivided. The towns grant variances to those that don't conform to the zoning codes to allow homes that are too big for the space to be constructed. The County has no say. It's a problem throughout the County."

"The creation of new housing will be most likely funded by groups like The Department of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs," Howell stated. He also added that another serious housing issue is the matter of illegal apartments. He noted that as far as he is aware, all basement apartments are illegal throughout the County, but this is determined by the individual towns and cities, as the County doesn't set zoning. If governmental bodies enforce the housing codes, countless people will be displaced, leaving them homeless and in need of placement assistance.

Maintaining green space throughout the County is a priority of the Planning Commission, according to Howell, who noted, "The County maintains parks, preserves, playgrounds, and other facilities and we do have the Open Space Advisory Committee." Three other agencies, The Environmental Management Council (EMC), the Nassau County Water Resources Board (NCWRB), and Nassau County Recycling Board (NCRB) are not active. The EMC and the NCRB were never activated and the NCWRB was formed, but has not met in a few years.

Other initiatives include road improvements through funding for new and improved signage, signalization, and adding left turn lanes. Though some of the roads are County roads, Howell said that the County will work with the villages and town through which they run, an assurance many concerned over the development of the Clinton and Stewart Avenues intersection want in Garden City. The funding and plans come through the Department of Public Works. Howell commented, "The thing about doing stuff in this County -- nothing gets done overnight."

The step now is looking at implementation, according to Howell. The plan proposes further study, with over 300 implementation strategies, and so the County must now examine how to actually follow those strategies, he explained. Howell said, "A separate study just to examine where the money is going to come from for various projects will have to be done. We have money budgeted for implementation, but we'll need to analyze all of our options."

Howell concluded his comments by saying that he feels he must "give all the credit in the world to this plan. The outreach was unprecedented with the public and we'll continue that; that's the only way the plan could be legitimate."

Over this new year, the projects will be prioritized and examined and the implementation of various projects will be studied. While the County lacks jurisdiction of town or village property, land like the Nassau Coliseum site is the County's and so the future of that large area in central Nassau will be largely determined by the County. Funding and encouragement could go a long way to help promote its other initiatives as well. This is certainly an issue that will be watched closely by residents in Garden City and will be continued to be covered extensively in Garden City Life.