On April 26, Avalon Bay Communities, which proposes to build two luxury apartment buildings in Glen Cove, appeared before the Glen Cove Board of Zoning Appeals, (upon the direction of the planning board), and was successful in obtaining the variances they needed. Avalon Bay returned to the planning board on May 1, for a public hearing on its plans to build 108 units along Glen Street on 1.3 acres of property the Glen Cove CDA owns adjacent to the Acclaim building, (AB-I), and 254 units on 3.5 acres encompassing the former Eisenstadt's/OTB sites along Pratt Boulevard, (AB-II). Both projects will be located in the B-1 Central Commercial District which allows multiple dwellings as a special permit use. Both developments needed a height variance; AB-1 needed an open space variance and AB-2 needed a waiver of the city's hillside slope ordinance. The average height of AB-II is approximately 52 feet; of AB-I it's 58 feet. Each site has triggered the concern of the planning board and the projects' immediate neighbors regarding adequate parking allotments and potential traffic generation. AB-I has 190 spots for parking; AB-II has 490 spots with eight spots designated for visitors. For each development, the applicant has included its proximity to municipal parking garages as an advantage.

In appearing before the zoning board and planning board, attorney Vincent Pizzuli, counsel for Avalon Bay, said his client is the buyer for each proposal and both deals are conditioned upon board approvals. Avalon Bay will purchase the CDA property for $2 million; they will purchase the former Eisenstadt's/OTB site from the current owners, Glen Cove Partners, (who have an approval from the planning board for middle market housing on that site), for $7.1 million. Mr. Pizzulli said without the variances his client couldn't proceed with the closings and "the numbers don't work for anything less" than what his client proposes. He said the approval of both projects has economic benefits to the city of $1.168 million in real estate taxes annually, $665,000 of which would go to the school district. Mr. Pizzulli said since tenants in luxury apartments don't generate children, there would be no impact on the city's schools. The projects are essentially the definition of smart growth planning which puts tenants with significant disposable income into the heart of a downtown which in turn benefits the businesses located there. Each Avalon Bay development will have amenities for tenants such as a fitness center, computer/business center, concierge, clubhouse, picnic area with gas grills and, at the Pratt site, an outdoor heated pool. Avalon Bay's real estate expert said more than 90 percent of the tenants will come from within 10 miles of Glen Cove; 50 percent from within 5 miles. He said that income demographics show there's a need for apartments in Glen Cove for young adults and empty nesters. Studio apartments would rent from $1,000-$1,500; one bedrooms from $1,800-$2,900 and two bedrooms from $2,875-$3,750.

Speaking in favor of the proposal was Marie Coyle, the president of the chamber of commerce who said she had informally polled the chamber members. She said the members look favorably on the proposed projects as long as they comply with the zoning board and planning board stipulations. Several people offered favorable, yet cautionary, comments during the planning board public hearing. Angelo Santoro, who owns the building which North Coast Subaru calls home said the Glen Street project will damage his business and increase traffic congestion. He said the driveway off Glen Street into the project was not a good idea and noted the parking problems and plethora of senior citizens on Glen Street who would be in danger because of increased traffic. Fred Galante said the projects were too high and dense for the acreage involved. Esteemed architect Herb Beckhard, FAIA, made comments in a letter to the zoning board and offered his thoughts in person to the planning board. He opposed the variances because the projects will be out of scale with the downtown, they lack open space for the public to enjoy. Billy Long, proprietor of The Metropolitan, questioned the wisdom of destroying the hillside at the Pratt site just to increase the value of the project and its rate of return.

David Zatlin, who lives on Hendrick Avenue at a spot he called "ground zero" at the entrance to the Pratt development, said there was no way that the traffic engineer's report and findings on parking and traffic reflected the true situation in the neighborhood. He said there is no parking in Glen Cove or anywhere on Long Island. Noting the eight parking spots for guests, Mr. Zatlin wondered where people would park who would visit their friends and relatives on a weekend afternoon. "You can't get up and down Hendrick Avenue now especially when The Metropolitan, the First Baptists Church and the Polish Hall are operating at full steam," said Mr. Zatlin. "You'd better re-think the parking situation big time." Janet Blatt noted that in 10 years of attending planning board meetings and hearing reports from traffic engineers she never heard an applicant's expert say their particular project will cause a problem. "When the Jumbo Buffet restaurant, which was going to be much closer to the municipal parking garage, was before this board you turned it down because you said there wouldn't be enough parking," said Ms. Blatt.

Building Department Administrator Anthony Maurino said the numbers used by the applicant's traffic engineers, those included in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual, were accepted by the NYS DOT. He added that the parking allocation at the Pratt site was adequate because the city's parking requirements as stated in the code were more stringent than those of other municipalities.

Planning board member Robert Benazzi zeroed in on drainage issues as noted on the applications, the fact that stairs leading to the parking garage at Pratt were noted as obstructing parking spots and that the handling of trash was not clear as indicated on the plans. He added a comment that the Glen Street building would be very high rendering the narrow thoroughfare a dark, narrow alley. Mr. Benazzi also asked if the developments would be green buildings. The answer was yes, each building would be recycling and a meeting was being set up with LIPA regarding energy efficient uses. Planning board member Phil Maisch said he was very concerned about the Pratt site's "only eight visitor parking spots." His colleague on the board, Thomas Scott, asked Mr. Beckhard how one would deal with a developer who says give me the application as is, or we walk. Mr. Beckhard said, "Call his bluff. It's a card game. Ask for evidence that they would fail."

The planning board adjourned the public hearing and the date of Avalon Bay's next appearance before them is pending.