The Cathedral of the Incarnation and Sunrise Development, Inc., an assisted living developer, petitioned the Garden City board of trustees back in April to amend the village zoning code to allow for the construction, operation and maintenance of an assisted living facility where the Cathedral House currently stands (at least three acres in the R-20 District).

The petitioners are also seeking a special use permit from the board of trustees because the text amendment, if approved, would require such. The Cathedral and Sunrise Development, Inc. submitted a draft special use permit application and site and architectural plans to assist the board in visualizing the proposed project, according to Jeffrey Forchelli of Forchelli, Curto, Schwartz, Mineo, Carlino & Cohen, LLP.

Although this request has not been highly publicized, several residents who did get wind of the proposal have written Mayor Barbara Miller and the board. A Stewart Avenue resident writes, "If the Cathedral needs to cash out on this property, there are uses that the village could consider that would provide the church with more dollars, a quicker closing and result in a development more in keeping with the village master plan. A town house concept of 12 to 15 dwelling units on this three-plus-acre site comes to mind for openers," he said.

The resident noted that many assisted living sites located throughout the county are usually adjacent to commercial road arteries, citing one that's located on the easterly side of the Meadowbrook Parkway south of Hempstead Turnpike and another located on the southwesterly corner of Sunrise Highway and Peninsula Boulevard in Lynbrook.

"An assisted living facility at the subject site is surely not compatible with the multi-million dollar homes that have been erected and are being erected on Sixth, Fifth and Fourth Streets, ironically on former diocese property that also became surplus," he wrote. "Garden City was the first planned community. Let us not deviate from the master plan of which the zoning ordinance is the linchpin."

Further talks will take place in the future, including a discussion at the Central Property Owners' Association's board meeting and ice cream social, slated for Tuesday evening, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Gazebo on the Village Green. Look for more articles in future issues of the Garden City Life.