Garden City residents, particularly those living in the east, provided comments for the record either for or against a construction project proposed for 550 Stewart Avenue, commonly referred to as the old Newsday building. The property has been broken up into two parcels - Parcel A on the north side of Stewart Avenue and Parcel B, on the south side. The majority who spoke during the Oct. 6 public hearing welcomed a change in zoning from commercial (C3) to residential while others believed the property should remain commercial to eliminate an undue burden on the school district and the traffic condition in the area.

Before residents voiced their opinion, they heard from planner Frank Fish of Buckhurst, Fish & Jacquemart (BFJ), whom trustees asked to formally look at the property in question. With regard to Parcel A, BFJ concluded that any commercial use adjacent to Raymond Court homes would be inappropriate. Rather, a transitional use between Raymond Court and Roosevelt Field Mall would be more fitting. BFJ suggested an R-T (residential-townhouse) zone be created with 8,000 square feet per single-family home and 6,000 square feet of land area per townhouse. "A residential-townhouse district is appropriate for the north side," Fish said. "It gives an applicant a choice."

550 Stewart Avenue LLC, the current owner of the property, has proposed 36 townhouse units for Parcel A, which is 4.45 acres. However, BFJ suggests constructing 32 townhouses (maximum height three stories) and 19 single-family homes (maximum height 2.5 stories) on Parcel A.

As for Parcel B, 550 Stewart Avenue LLC has proposed a four-story, 150-unit multifamily dwelling. BFJ, however, suggests amending the C-3 zoning text to allow multifamily housing by special permit, subject to approval by the board of trustees and the following standards: minimum site acreage five acres; minimum land area per unit 2,000 square feet; maximum site coverage 25 percent; maximum building height 40 feet; and minimum floor area 500 square feet per unit. Setbacks were also suggested: front yard 90 feet (parking is prohibited within this setback); rear yard 50 feet, including a 25-foot landscaped buffer; and side yard 25 feet.

BFJ also suggests re-zoning the Marine Corps facility parking lot from its current R-6 zone to C-3. "We suggest re-zoning the parking lot to C-3 so that the entire southern parcel be the same," Fish explained. Although a 150-unit multifamily dwelling has been proposed, BFJ suggests 114 units, which decreased because of the suggested increases in setbacks.

As for environmental impacts, Fish further noted that residential development would produce less than half the traffic an office use would (four spaces per 1,000 feet for office use versus two spaces for a house or apartment for residential use). "At this density, we think you'd get less traffic," Fish said.

As far as the impact on the school district, Fish said the number of children generated depends on the exact bedroom distribution. According to Fish, Parcel A (32 townhouse units) would generate 6-11 school children while Parcel B (114 apartments) would generate 11-14 for a total of 17-25 total school children generated for both the north and south sides. "We think these numbers are within reason," he said.

One resident suggested moving forward with north side construction. She, however, is gravely concerned with the number of school children predicted for the south side. Bob Burrows of Grove Street, however, believes any zoning change is a big mistake. "These properties should remain commercial," he said. Burrows further believes that the south side is probably the worst for residential use with the Marines facility, FedEx with constant truck traffic, KeySpan and the potential exposure to health issues and the railroad tracks on Commercial Avenue.

Catherine O'Sullivan submitted a petition signed by Raymond Court residents, including herself, in favor of the zoning change to residential. Robert Stark, Jr., president of the Eastern Property Owners' Association, added, "In a perfect world, we would love to see parkland." Stark noted, however, that residential use - the lesser of two evils - would bring greater revenue to the village.

Bill McAndrews of Lincoln Street told trustees an apartment in a superb school district would bring children. A fellow resident urged trustees to keep it commercial. "I would love to hear the trustees' reasons on why they'd be in favor of residential," he said.

Kevin Walsh, who represents 550 Stewart Avenue LLC, told trustees his client would not oppose condominium development on the south side rather than rental. "We have worked a great many months with this village ... We believe the most appropriate zoning for this transition area is townhouse on the north and multiple, residential condo on the south ... It is our hope to make this entranceway - for the first time - meaningful to the village," Walsh said.