It was a full house that showed up at Glen Cove City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 14, but not everyone was carrying a Valentine. On the agenda was a public hearing on the city's proposal for a six-month moratorium on residential subdivisions, and it seemed everyone in attendance had an opinion. Mayor Ralph V. Suozzi, in speaking to the Record Pilot after the meeting, made it clear that Tuesday's meeting was just the beginning of the process.

"I have done what I said I would do and held a public hearing. It gave the residents a chance to hear what the city council and I have proposed, and gave us an opportunity to hear what the residents feel. We did not have any intention of voting at the meeting. The city council and I will take time to consider the public comments. It will be a while before we are ready to vote," he said. The mayor added that the hearing is not closed and written comments will be accepted at city hall until Feb. 24.

The mayor feels a moratorium on residential subdivisions is necessary in order for the city to take a look at the land in the city and evaluate which areas should be upzoned, downzoned or left alone. It's important, he said, to examine the effects of continued building on services such as sewage, water, police, fire and EMS protection. "I do not want to exacerbate any problems to the city, therefore I feel it is the prudent thing to do, an obligation on my part, in fact, to impose this moratorium. The city has done spot zoning in the past, but it is time to look at the city as one unit, not piecemeal. I want to look at past studies, and weed out ambiguities and discrepancies in the code."

He continued, "I'm the one elected to manage the city ... not just the everyday, but to manage growth. Much of the true impact of growth is hidden, for instance traffic finds the point of least resistance and is impacting on the more residential areas. Our city wasn't build for the amount of activity it currently experiences and it is time to assess the whole situation."

With regards to the waterfront, which proved to be a particularly important issue at the meeting, Mayor Suozzi said, "I don't wish to look at any one area of the city in particular. We must look at the waterfront in the same net as the rest of city ... no differentiation.

Some people disagreed.

Attorney Michael Sordi is against a blanket moratorium, liking it to "using a sledgehammer when you need a flyswatter." "The city has held several moratoriums in the past for discrete areas, including Cedar Swamp Road and Sea Cliff Avenue, and all of the information is available to the mayor in various studies, Mr. Sordi said. He also questioned who the outside consultant would be, adding that Stuart Turner, consultant to the planning board for about 30 years, has authored dozens and dozens of studies. Mr. Sordi also questioned the impact of the moratorium on the city's budget and counseled against spending money needlessly by "reinventing the wheel."

Continuing in comparisons, Glenn Howard of the Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce said his main concern is that "We are the Titanic headed for an iceberg." He believes that the proposed moratorium stops all considerations for a residential component on the waterfront and implies that the city will impose a moratorium at any time. This proposal, he said, implies a threat to the business community in Glen Cove. Mr. Howard said he feels the waterfront development should proceed as rapidly as possible, adding that the city has a planning board and zoning board and each has the power to hear and determine any proposed subdivision. "I ask you to reconsider the moratorium or at least narrow the wording," he concluded.

Other members of the chamber spoke, including newly installed president Craig Goldstein, who read a letter to the mayor and council. He stated that the chamber fully supports the waterfront plan, and believes that the waterfront project must proceed with the long-term interests of the city as a focus. He added that the city should consider that the moratorium could trigger litigation as procedures and plans are already in place. He suggested Mayor Suozzi, the waterfront developers and the chamber get together to discuss the waterfront.

Marie Coyle, past president of the chamber commented that Mayor Suozzi had assured the chamber that the waterfront project would go forward, adding that it appears he has changed his mind by including the waterfront in the moratorium. She said it has come to the chamber's attention that the mayor plans to revisit contracts and she feels that businesses have come to the city and investments have been made because of the waterfront development. Glen Cove City Attorney Frank Davis stated that by law, the burden of a moratorium must be shared by the entire city, not just one sector and must be of a reasonable period of time. He added that the advantages of imposing a moratorium must outweigh the disadvantages. He said the city feels there has been unchecked development which puts pressure on city services and on the school district.

Waterfront developers Don Monti and Michael Posillico of Glen Isle were in attendance and added their opinions against the moratorium. Mr. Monti said that from the date of signing the Land Disposition Agreement in May of 2003, Glen Isle has been involved with Crowe Deegan, attorneys for the city, the city council and the planning board. "The planning board has been at our side every step of the way, working hand-in-hand." He is also concerned because, more often than not, a six-month moratorium becomes 12 months, and 12 becomes 18 months. Mr. Posillico stated he is concerned that the representation Glen Isle has made to numerous agencies will be lost because the moratorium will hurt public trust. Additionally, he said fragile public funds could be lost as there are many municipalities vying for grant money. Glen Cove cannot shut down, he said, and should continue running business as usual, so as not to squander current opportunities, especially now that it has received Empire Zone designation.

Wayne Edwards, a partner at Certilman, Balin, counsel to Glen Isle, said he believes that Frank Davis' interpretation of the moratorium regulations is wrong, calling it "using shotgun approach when what we need is a scalpel."

Counsel for Certilman, Balin began with a comment that Glen Isle is vehemently opposed to the moratorium as it applies to the MW3 district. She also cited the LDA signed by the city's IDA and Glen Isle. She stated that Glen Isle has taken polluted property and through Smart Growth and other planning tools will make the waterfront a model. "Glen Isle has spent $4 million since signing the LDA," she continued. "Countless meetings with myriad federal, state and local agencies have taken place." She cited November 2004, when the city council voted to amend MW3. She said that in April 2005, Glen Isle, through the State Environmental Quality Review Act process, received a positive declaration, but needed a DEIS and scoping document. On March 1, Glen Isle submitted the DEIS and revised site plan. She stated she believes all parties must meet their obligations in good faith and echoed that the city will suffer a decline in bond rating, lose grant funding and revenues, jobs and an annual tax revenue of $3 million to the city and $8 million to the school district if the program does not continue to go forward.

Despite the number of persons speaking on behalf of the waterfront project, Mayor Suozzi stated that the waterfront is not being targeted.

Off the waterfront, other objections continued to be made.

Pat Blanco, of La Fuerza Unida said he was "an original member of the city's Master Plan Committee back in the '60s and '70s. I was also a member of the Charter Revision Committee. We need comprehensive planning and must revisit the Master Plan." Mr. Blanco believes a blanket moratorium would be detrimental to Glen Cove as the city and residents need to know the impact of the moratorium and the effect it will have on affordable housing and the low income community. "A moratorium will constructively evict them from Glen Cove," he said. He fears a moratorium will affect the economic well-being of the city in which the city might lose a golden opportunity, create a precedent and ultimately go back to the 70s and 80s way of development "when everything was a political football," he concluded.

Joe Graz Jr, whose family has lived and owned a business in Glen Cove for more than 40 years, said the company is in line for projects on which they have to spend considerable amounts of money and the moratorium could affect their revenues as well as stop growth and progress. While he is concerned about a blanket moratorium, Mr. Graz said he is not against looking at the zoning laws.

Don Brown of the Slant Fin Corporations said that Glen Cove needs jobs and housing and the city needs to expand the tax base, gain revenue for the school system, encourage tourism and invigorate retail in the downtown. "We must continue the course for the waterfront development and wait for the due process already in place by the city," he said. "Waterfront development must continue in order to deliver long-denied benefits to Glen Cove residents."

Gabhor Karsai owns buildings in Glen Cove and is himself a resident. He said that when he moved here 10 years ago, there was no Avalon Bay, no Staples and the open spaces were dilapidated. As the downtown became revitalized, he said, property values went up and the waterfront, once a toxic wasteland, now is clean.

Residents spoke in earnest about their feelings on the moratorium issue.

Tom Russo firmly stated that the city has a responsibility to consider its residents. Time and again the planning board and zoning board can't deny a subdivision or proposal because of the city code, he said, adding that, for example, the city code doesn't have a definition of a front yard. He feels the city must examine building code and how it is written.

Brenda Weck was concerned because, she said, it seems that after a sub-division is granted, "driveways and kitchens appear that don't belong or were never in the original plans." She feels that what could come next is illegal housing issues or the appearance of a two-family house which changes the neighborhood's configuration. Ms. Weck said that she would like to see immediate action by code enforcers to requests for investigations.

Ruth DiChiara believes a citywide moratorium is long overdue and she cited other areas of Glen Cove that over the years have been the focus of a moratorium, namely Sea Cliff Avenue and Cedar Swamp Road.

Members of the Coalition to Save Red Spring Woods stated the group is in favor of the moratorium and against the building of "McMansions on postage stamp-size lots." Members Gordon Allan, Bill Nolan and Victoria Crosby urged the preservation of green and open space.

After the meeting, resident Linda Darby said she felt as though the residents and city council were being "threatened by developers and their attorneys, who were only there in their own self-interests." She believes that a six-month moratorium should not cause a problem at the waterfront as, she said, they are not even ready to break ground there yet. "If they want to work with Glen Cove, they should work with a plan that will make both the residents and the developers happy. After all, we will have to live with it," she said.

The next meeting of the Glen Cove City Council is on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. in the main chambers of city hall. The proposed agenda for that meeting includes a continuation of the discussion to consider imposing a temporary moratorium on residential subdivisions within the City of Glen Cove.