The Village of Massapequa Park's board of trustees held a public hearing last week to gain information on a proposed local law for the establishment of an S-2 Golden Age Housing Zone. The meeting room was almost filled to capacity, and opinions on the subject were mixed.

While the hearing was only to consider the legal establishment of the new zone, Whitewood Landing Corp. representatives Brad Kenealy and Robert Havasy outlined their proposal for the development of the property located on Whitewood Drive, just south of Merrick Road. Some residents from the Bar Harbour area objected to the plans. "This law that we're proposing is just to create the zone, eventually these developers will submit an application for a site plan," said Trustee Scott Wiss, who, along with Deputy Mayor Bill VanWagner, was a driving force behind the proposal.

Bar Harbour resident James Abate argued that because the plans call for low cost housing, the property would not be taken care of. Real estate appraiser Barry Nelson, an East Meadow based appraisal firm, addressed the concerns of neighborhood home values near golden age housing complexes. He said that in a similar development in Seaford, just a few miles from the Whitewood Drive site, there was "no diminishing of home values."

"In my opinion, there has never been any negative impact on residential homes," said Nelson.

The plans they presented call for the construction of a senior housing complex to accommodate 52 units with a larger land/unit density then any other development in Nassau County. Havasy noted that the parking space ratio would be 1.4 spaces for each unit. "The amount of parking that we have proposed is certainly sufficient," said Havasy.

The style of the proposed development, as the architect presented it, is a Tudor style designed to match the architectural design of the Southgate Shopping Center and the Southgate at Bar Harbour Condominiums. Both the condominiums and the shopping center are located just west of the Whitewood Drive property.

The starting price for each unit would be $139,000 with a monthly maintenance fee of anywhere from $230 to $290 per month. The units would be set at a fixed price and would only be sold at that amount, with the exception of cost of living increases. "Basically these communities have a wonderful track record of keeping these expenses in control," Havasy added.

Kenealy, a Massapequa based lawyer who is representing the developers, also noted that residents of an S-2 Golden Age District receive certain tax abatements. Some residents at the public hearing were concerned that the tax reductions would only be good with a prosperous economy. Kenealy responded, "the tax abatement is established legislatively and is a legal document for 25 years, it is not whimsical."

Some of the qualifications for golden age housing, as outlined in the proposed law, require that village residents receive the first priority for occupancy, followed by school district 23 residents. The minimum age required for at least one of the occupants would be set at 62, and the household income shall not exceed $66,000 per year. In other S-2 districts, such as the Town of Oyster Bay's Sunnylane at Bethpage and Central Park Estates, the maximum income was set at a much lower rate. For both the sites at Bethpage, the limit was set at $38,000 for an individual and $44,000 for couples.

Despite the low income requirement, both developments sold out very quickly. Councilman Len Symons said that one of the advantages of senior housing was that the cost of living for seniors reduces dramatically, after moving into one of the developments. "Those individuals on a fixed income will soon find that they have extra money for leisure activities and other pursuits. In addition, they will have more free time to enjoy themselves because they no longer have to maintain their large homes."

Havasy said that he expects the units at Whitewood Drive to sell out very quickly, if they are built.