The North Hempstead Town Board held a public hearing on Feb. 13 and March 6 to consider a proposal for a site zoning change and preliminary site plan approval that may lead to the building of a 46-room, approximately 40 foot high hotel on Main Street, Port Washington opposite the PAL field.

Some of the concerns expressed at the hearing by Port Washington residents were:

Cellar parking in high water table area and unknown impact on surrounding land.

Serious traffic problems in the area.

Strain on the peninsula to provide water.

Danger to the children at PAL field.

Car pollution.

Impact on the neighborhood and the homeowners possible loss of an adequate buffer zone between their residential zone and the commercial zone.

In previous studies we have been advised to encourage livable neighborhoods, implement effective land development, preserve our historic areas and use Smart Growth principles that enhance the living conditions of the residents. We were advised to give careful concern for the waterfront area; plan carefully so that the residents of Port Washington and the town would have a waterfront area that promoted enjoyment from recreational uses of the area; build no structures of bulk on this roadway.

This proposal will bring a 24-hour commercial business with garbage trucks, delivery trucks, cars coming in and out at all hours of the day and night. This is not a small B&B, nor a 20-room hotel but a 40 foot high, 46-room, hotel with a canopy of unspecified material covering the sidewalk to the curb.

If you believe this project is the wrong building in the wrong place, please call Town Hall at 627-0590 and leave that message for Planning Commissioner Michael Levine, Supervisor Jon Kaiman, and Councilman Fred Pollack by March 20. The next town board meeting and probable vote is March 27, 2007.

Sue Fitzgerald

Land Use Chairman League of Women Voters