Dozens of local residents gathered at the Feb. 5 afternoon meeting of the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals to voice their concerns regarding a proposed church to be constructed on the North Village Green in Levittown. While the issue at hand was parking, those in attendance also discussed traffic concerns, the church's expected hours of operation and the impact that this church would have on the community. In addition to residents, those on hand at the hearing included representatives of the proposed St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church and expert witnesses.

The board room overflowed with residents, many of whom have been present at recent meetings of the Levittown Property Owners Association (LPOA) at which they had met with some church representatives, at the start of the hearing. While the crowd thinned out as the hours went on, several residents were still present to listen to testimony and ask questions of witnesses. All residents who stuck around to have the opportunity to do so were permitted to speak, although Chairman Gerald G. Wright did suggest residents break into groups and have one representative from each group address all issues. When residents stated they would prefer to have all be allowed to address the board, Wright said he would follow his usual policy of allowing all interested parties to speak. Those who had to leave were permitted to submit statements to the board to be put on record.

The representative for the church, Attorney Kevin O'Brien, noted that the only reason they had to come before the board was to request an off-site parking variance, allowing church goers to park in the surrounding Town of Hempstead municipal lot. He stated that no other variances are required and that builders would use the existing wall frame of the current vacant building on the property to construct the church. He further noted that the building has a first floor, a full basement and will be equipped with an elevator. There will be a bathroom, kitchenette (warming kitchen not to be used for cooking) and office space constructed and builders will put in new windows and a pitch roof (with steeple). O'Brien lastly noted that the only real addition that would be made to the building would be the installation of handicap ramps.

Traffic expert Robert Eschbacher addressed the board regarding his opinion on how many parking spaces would be necessary to accommodate church goers. He stated that the busiest time for the church would be on Sunday mornings and afternoons, and that there's minimal activity occurring in the surrounding town lot during those hours. He said that there are two ways to look at parking needs: one being town code, which is based on occupancy; and the other based on the size of the congregation and number of people arriving at the church at the same time. He noted that town code would require 73 parking spaces be available for church goers but estimated that only about 60 families would belong to this church.

Eschbacher said that since the first floor and basement would very rarely be occupied simultaneously since congregants would gather upstairs for Mass or ceremony and would then go down to the basement for other activities. He further added that not all families come to church every Sunday, so out of the 60 who belong to the church, they anticipate that only about 45 will attend regularly, especially since very few will be coming from local towns. In addition, he said that some families have three or four members, which would amount to about 160 total people, and that not all of them will drive in their own car.

"On a typical Sunday morning, we expect that about 45 cars would be coming," he said, adding that this number would be below the 73 necessary spaces required by town code.

Eschbacher further noted that there are 357 parking spaces in the surrounding town lot.

"On Sunday mornings, there's very little activity going on with any of the tenants," he said. Surrounding tenants include the Montessori School, another nursery school/day camp, a business office and gas station, as well as the nearby bowling alley and swimming pool. Based on a study done in recent weeks, Eschbacher stated that there are more than 320 of those 357 parking spaces available on Sunday mornings.

"That makes this church a very good occupant for this area," he said. "My professional opinion is that there is very adequate parking. This area is very under-utilized in terms of parking. We would have at least five times the amount of parking spaces needed."

Eschbacher added that a retail store, such as a 7-11, would increase traffic and congestion in the area much more than this church would.

Residents questioned the timing of the study, noting that in January there would naturally not be much activity in the pool or playgrounds, resulting in empty parking spaces. Further, they said that a 7-11 hidden in a residential area would doubtfully attract residents from areas such as Queens and Muttontown, as the church will.

Board member Richard Bianculli also questioned how so many cars can be allowed to drive through such a residential area. Eschbacher said that arrivals and departures would all occur at different times, as not all congregants would come at the same time and said he expects arrivals to be spread out over at least a 20 minute period.

"People would predominantly arrive between 8 and 9 to be at the Mass. People do not always arrive on time, some are early, some are late," he said.

Bianculli noted that Schoolhouse and Parkside Roads are not equipped to handle such traffic.

"[These are not] major thoroughfares, these are regular streets," he said. "It worries me that 60 cars would move through there." Although Eschbachker said that there are multiple routes congregants could use to arrive at the church, Bianculli said that there is no way of knowing how they would drive there as a study was not done during a service. Residents also expressed concern regarding traffic flow, especially since the study was done at a time when not many children would be playing outdoors due to the cold weather. Many stated that youngsters play outside in warmer weather and that their safety may be at risk if many cars start driving through the area.

Eschbachker further noted that congregants would also not leave at the same time, as some would leave a Mass early, some would go to group meetings held in the church basement and others would stay around to talk to other congregants.

In addition to Sunday services, both the traffic expert, as well as Reverend Mathai Yohannan, who later testified, said that there would be limited activity during the week, none of which they said would go beyond 9 p.m. Actual church activity was not really determined, as the pastor's testimony somewhat conflicted with other testimony given. The pastor also stated that he would be on call all hours.

Residents again brought up the fact that this study was not done during summer months, when there would be increased traffic because of the local swimming pools, as well as playgrounds and bowling alley. Eschbacher said that it was indicated that those facilities do not experience high usage on Sunday mornings.

In addition to pool and playground usage, residents were also upset at the fact that this town lot is maintained by taxpayer money and that a non-profit church may be permitted use of the lot without any financial obligations. Some residents expressed concern over the fact that similar variances were granted to other nearby tenants. However, they said that those tenants requested variances for buildings which serve the nearby community, such as the nursery school.

One resident brought her tax bill to the hearing and pointed out that she, along with all Levittown residents, pays an additional annual fee due to Levittown being a special park district. She and other residents said they felt it was unfair that they pay to maintain this lot and yet may have to fight for a parking space to use the nearby facilities. Many noted that permitting excessive use of the lot to one group, especially one outside Levittown, would be unfair to taxpayers.

Other residents echoed the concerns of those who spoke earlier in the hearing and much evidence was submitted by LPOA President Jim Morrow and other representatives who spoke on behalf of residents.

Ultimately, the board reserved decision regarding the possible granting of a variance. Those who signed in at the hearing will receive notice by mail when the board makes its decision.