Some 100 Carle Place residents attended a North Hempstead Town Board meeting Sept. 12 regarding a pending application to construct senior housing at 234 Glen Cove Road (the site of the former Nassau BOCES building). Since the property is currently zoned commercial, construction of senior housing, in this case condominiums, requires a change in zoning by the town's zoning board. At the meeting, a petition signed by more than 600 Carle Place residents opposed to the zoning change was submitted to the town board.

As it currently stands, property owner AVR Realty has submitted an application to construct 118 two-story senior-restricted, market-rate condominiums for those 62 and older only; the submitted application is for 20 units less than town code allows for the total acreage and four less than what was proposed last September. Each unit would be two bedrooms and approximately 1,200 square feet. The site would host 10 buildings, including a resident-only recreation center with year-round indoor pool; on-site parking; and one entry/exit along Westbury Avenue. The proposal also provides for a 14,000 square foot outdoor recreation area, which includes a 5,000 square foot passive public park on the western portion closest to Waldbaum's, making approximately 38 percent of the property open space.

Currently, the property is zoned as "Industrial B," which permits virtually any commercial use (industrial, retail or office development). Any change to a use not consistent with the current zone - i.e. multifamily homes, senior housing - town approval is necessary. As a result, construction of senior homes would require a zoning change in addition to typical site plan and environmental review/approval by the town as well as particular variances, including one to waive a required 30-foot space separation between two of the buildings; currently, the plans include 30-foot plus separations between all buildings except in one location because, said AVR Realty's attorney Paul Bloom, the layout doesn't provide for it.

Town code currently requires one parking stall for every .67 units, which, for this particular proposal, equates to a total of 79 spots. AVR Realty, however, is requesting 184, over 100 more parking stalls than the code requires. Under the current code, only 20 percent of all parking can be 9 feet by 18 feet, therefore, since AVR is looking to construct parking stalls that are 9 feet by 10 feet, a variance must be sought.

"We are requesting the smaller size stalls specifically so that we can provide more than the parking required by the code and better parking for our residents while keeping guests from parking in front of neighbor's houses," Bloom said. "We are looking to provide [more] than sufficient parking not only for ourselves, but also for the community. Since there is no on-street parking right now on Westbury Avenue, we want to make provisions so that our visitors remain on our site and away from everybody's homes."

He added that a general office building would require 655 parking stalls while a medical office would require 867 parking stalls and a retail store would require 396 parking stalls. "We only require 79 by code, but want to provide 118," Bloom said. "No matter which way you slice it, it's significantly less."

Variances may also be needed if the buildings were to include balconies while others may be necessary for the total square footage of the indoor recreation center and for landscaping, according to Bloom. In addition, since AVR Realty is seeking to convert the site from Industrial B to a Residential Multi-Family (RM) zone, a conditional use permit must also be obtained. The conditional use permit will further restrict the use of the property to senior independent living 62 years and older only.

"We welcome the town placing restrictions on the granting of the zoning change and restrictions by the zoning board in their granting of the conditional use permit that would ensure that the property would only be used for 62 and older. This is a comfort level that we feel comfortable with as well as one the community should feel comfortable with," said Bloom.

According to Bloom, the property owner has no intent of using the property for any other purpose and must comply with the same New York State guidelines as any other condo and co-op development in that approval must also be granted by the state attorney general's office, which would further restrict the property to just senior independent living.

"There will be not only restrictions placed by the town but in the offering plan and bylaws of the condominium," he said. "Nobody who is under 62, unless it is a spouse, can live there. A 42-year-old may be able to inherit the property but will not be able to live there, sublet it or lease it. Their only option would be to sell it to someone who is 62."

In addition, North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman, in a previous article, stated that a change from senior to regular residential housing would require the applicant to go through the entire rezoning process all over again. "If the property is zoned for senior housing the [property owners] couldn't just change it themselves," Kaiman said.

While residents are not opposed to senior housing, they are concerned on the impact it will have on Carle Place's tax base. As a result, the 603 people who signed the petition would prefer the property remain commercial and that an office/medical building be constructed instead.

"We have dealt with this as a commercial space. That's what is has always been," Glen Cove Road resident Edmond Rice told this paper, that there is a fear that down the road the property will be reverted to "something we did not bargain on from the beginning [particularly] one that would put pressure on the schools and further deteriorate the tax base."

At last week's meeting, Rice presented each councilmember and the town clerk with copies of the petition, which were signed over a three-day period, along with a letter stating that the "proposed zone change will adversely affect our tax base no matter what spin the proposers of this change wish to put on it. Once housing units of any description are erected in that area, it just opens up a slippery slope of adverse change that can take effect later, further deteriorating our tax base and the quality of life our community that we are trying so hard to preserve."

Although he is not necessary opposed to senior housing in and of itself, resident Thomas Sobczak said he signed the petition because of the effect it would have on the community's tax base. "I am opposed to not maximizing the tax base, which in this case means not building an office building," he said. "The Carle Place community (using the school district lines) is small with approximately 40 percent of its tax revenue coming from its commercial areas, primarily west of the Meadowbrook Parkway surrounding Glen Cove Road. With limited opportunity to grow this tax base, the community needs to take advantage of each opportunity as it presents itself."

Sobzcak added, "If the tax base/tax burden impact issue is satisfactorily addressed, then I can see no compelling reason ... not to grant the zoning change to the owner. If the proposed use maximizes the tax base, all is well. If not, then I believe the proposal should be rejected. Even $1 million in revenue is significant to a small district like ours."

Peter McDonnell, in speaking as a resident and not in his role as president of the Carle Place Civic Association, said he feels that "whatever ends up being built will bring more tax dollars to our town than the current structure, but that any tax benefit should not be the main reason for what is built at the site." He continued, "The additional tax benefit received from this site, whether senior housing or an office building, will only amount to a small reduction in our school tax. We should therefore be concentrating on the other effects on our community that the new structure will have." Ideally, he said, "most residents would love to see some type of park built on the site, but this is not realistic because of the tax revenue that would be lost."

According to Bloom, based on information from the Nassau County Assessor's Office, senior housing will generate approximately $7,800 or more per year. Based on the tax assessor's method, that would equate to approximately $917,000 a year in taxes compared to the little under $800,000 currently being paid now. While a new retail complex would generate around $712,000 a year, an office would generate somewhere around $1 million.

"The taxes generate by this project equal to, but in all likelihood, greater than what is being produced right now and just slightly less than what a huge office building on that site would produce," Bloom said.

Mineola Village Mayor Jack Martins, who attended the meeting but did not speak, told this paper, "The Carle Place School District is a very, very, very small district. Things like this have a significant tax impact. The projected taxes from the redevelopment of this area residential, as presented, would be more than what they are currently getting now in taxes." He continued, "There would be a tax benefit even if it's developed residentially. It would not maximize the tax yield and there would be more taxes available to the local school district if it were developed commercially but then you would have the downside of more traffic, cars, etc."

Tax revenue aside, Martins said that, as mayor of an adjourning community, he is concerned for the residents of Westbury Avenue who are not in the Carle Place School District. "From my prospective, I would favor anything that has less of a traffic impact." Martins said. "Development of the area residentially would certainly lend itself to being less traffic, but I certainly understand the residents' concerns about the taxes and wanting to weigh the tax impacts of one and the other."

In terms of traffic, Bloom said that while there "is no question that our traffic, whatever it is, will add to the existing conditions, it is going to have the least impact of any additional condition created by any other use." Retail, he said, would generate close to 450 trips during peak a.m. hours and some 486 trips during peak p.m. hours while an office building would generate around 223 in the peak a.m. hours and about 233 in the peak p.m. hours. Senior housing, said Bloom would generate around 56 in the a.m. and 16 in the p.m. "The difference is significant," he said.

After nearly two hours of discussions at the Sept. 12 meeting, the North Hempstead Town Board agreed to table the issue and reconvene on the topic at the Tuesday, Oct. 3 meeting. The board has requested that AVR Realty provide additional property tax information based on the proposed 118-unit project. "The board will be considering this in making its decision regarding the zoning change," Councilman Robert Troiano said, adding that the town council will also be "gathering additional input from residents about what they want on the site."

In the meantime, Rice is challenging the town board to show the community a petition with 600 residents supporting the proposal. "...We do not believe one exists," Rice stated, adding that if the "town truly wishes to work together with the Carle Place residents [they should] listen to us now when we give you a resounding 'no' to the proposed zone change. Let the builder build under the present code and zone restrictions, which are his right and will not trouble our community with a risk we are not willing or able to take with this proposal."

He added that if a change in zoning is what the community wants, the decision to do so should be left up to a public referendum. " ... Let the residents have a say in their own community," Rice said.