Garden City Center Associates, care of the Albanese Organizations, propose that 116 Eleventh Street be converted from its current residential use into private supplemental parking to serve the commercial community along the west side of Franklin Avenue between Tenth and Eleventh Streets.

This latest proposal is yet another idea some feel could alleviate the "lack of parking" issue that has plagued the village for decades. Plans to make commercial properties viable and potential safety concerns of building owners' minimal have been bounced around since the inception of the village's initial parking plan, first devised back in 1959.

The Albanese Development Organization tore down the home on the property Dec. 6 of last year because it no longer made economic sense to continue paying taxes on an empty house. The proposed private lot could create 56 new spaces. But in order to do that, two parking spaces in the village's existing lot would have to be removed to accommodate the new access. The plan further proposes that Lot 10 be expanded four feet to enable the conversion of the westerly two rows of parking to 8.5-foot parallel spaces. In doing this, the total number of spaces in Field 10 would increase by six. In total, 62 new parking spaces could be provided if the plan is approved.

Officials believe the new spaces could help enhance the economic viability of the commercial building they serve; reduce unnecessary pedestrian crossings of Eleventh Street; and also reduce vehicular activity resulting from the hunt for a parking space. Even if extra spaces were incorporated on that property, officials who proposed the plan still feel parking for the commercial buildings between Tenth and Eleventh Streets will still be far from adequate.

"Only with the use of two additional properties fronting on Tenth Street (113 and 115 Tenth Street) and the integration of these parcels with the subject parcel and Village Field 10 can enough parking be provided to meet minimally acceptable standards," Ronald Hill, P.E. of Dunn Engineering Associates of Westhampton Beach, said. At the request of Russell Matthews, executive vice president of the Albanese Organizations, Dunn Engineering Associates reviewed the adequacy of the parking provided for the existing commercial buildings fronting on the west side of Franklin Avenue between Tenth and Eleventh Streets.

Dunn's review included on-site inspections of existing conditions and a determination of the size and use of the commercial space between Tenth and Eleventh Streets. Dunn Engineering Associates also provided an inventory of parking available on-site, along Franklin Avenue and in Parking Field 10. The review also included past parking studies, including Parking Field 10 and Environs (August 1989).

John McKay is an Eleventh Street resident who thinks the issue was premature to discuss without the Board of Zoning Appeals having ruled on it. "I don't know if there's any legal opinion for the granting of the access but I think this would be in some way giving the party proposing the lot an easement over the buffer strip area in that location.

"Has it been thought of as to whether or not that easement is going to be done through way of deed, gift of land or some other manner? It appears to me that this is a loss of village property and a loss of potential parking space that already exists in Lot 10. I think the aisles have been shortened and it doesn't appear to be up to code with the standards of Garden City. We're going to reconfigure our whole lot just to give someone the right to have their own private parking lot?"

A 20-foot vegetative buffer would be provided against the residential property to the west. Ten-foot vegetative buffers would also be provided to the south against vacant land the village currently owns and to the north along Eleventh Street. Further, as part of the proposal, no buffer would be provided on the easterly side along Lot 10 and the parking field's existing 10-foot vegetative strip would be narrowed to allow for the re-striping of the westerly two rows of parking.

In order to maximize the number of spaces that can be provided in the proposed private lot, they would be dimensioned at 8'6" wide by 17' deep with 22' aisles. The dimensions are somewhat less than provided for in the code but officials understand that the spacing is generally consistent with that currently being used in other existing village parking lots.

Garden City Center Associates along with representatives from the Albanese Organizations, including Matthews, intended on presenting the plan to the village board during its July 18 meeting. However, because Trustee Jon Segerdahl was not present, Mayor Robert Lewis proposed to defer the issue until the entire board is present. "It is a policy of this board to have all its members present when making such a significant decision," Mayor Lewis said. Trustees voted in favor of deferring the issue; trustee John Watras voted against it. The next board meeting is slated for Aug. 22.

Ross Mongiardo, Chamber of Commerce president, told trustees he's disappointed the board did not act on the proposal at the meeting when officials were all present, including a consultant, to make a presentation.

"The Chamber fully supports the Garden City Center Associates' plan," he said. "However, we feel a better solution would be the further implementation of the Park Buffer Strip Plan, including the sliding over of the Kanner home, the acquisition of 116 Eleventh Street and 114 Sixth Street. The two acquisitions would provide for a landscaped 50-foot buffer strip and, more importantly, were both recommended by the planning commission."