Public Hearing on DEIS for Port North's 41 Acres

By Alice M. Peckelis
(appeared in the 10-19-01, Vol 11, No. 12 edition)

The Village of Port Washington North has scheduled a public hearing to discuss the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the 41-acre parcel, owned by Dallas Realty, for which a zoning change is proposed to build senior housing in what is currently an industrial zone. The announcement was made at the November 12th Board of Trustees meeting.

Sandy Hollow Associates, contract vendee of Dallas Realty, wants to have the zoning changed from Economic Development A which is a light industrial zone, to a new zoning category, "Golden Age" in order to construct 327 units of attached housing for persons 62 years of age and older. Prerequisite to applying for the zoning change it is necessary for Sandy Hollow Associates to submit an Environmental Impact Statement which must be approved by the Board.

Mayor Thomas Pellegrino said that the applicant, Sandy Hollow Associates, has made revisions to the DEIS in response to prior comments made by the Board and residents and that the Board must now decide whether to approve the DEIS. The Board, therefore, has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, December 11th at 7:00 p. In. at the Landmark on Main Street building.

Meanwhile, Trustee Bert Goodstadt was not satisfied with the revisions made to the DEIS. In particular, he felt that the traffic study was deficient since it was primarily undertaken during the winter months when traffic patterns are substantially lighter than during the summer months. He also said that it is necessary to adjust the timing of the light at the intersection of Shore Road and Main Street to take into account the additional population from this development. "The people who are going to own these homes they're not shut?ins," said Goodstadt.

Resident Hank Ratner suggested to the Board that it conduct a nonbinding referendum to get a sense of how Village residents feel about what he categorized as "the single biggest issue on the table."

However, Mayor Pellegrino declined to entertain the proposal. "I wouldn't want to go that way," he said. "We're the stewards of this Village."

Trustee Ross Altman added, "The vast majority of the residents don't care to keep themselves informed," he said.

Resident Peri Zausner, however, also felt it should be put to a vote. "Don't you think it would be better to put this to a vote instead of bantering back and forth?"

Village Attorney Steve Limmer said a community referendum was not permissible. He also said that it would not carry any weight in any legal challenge. "Courts vote on facts, not community sentiment," he said.

In response to a question from Ratner as to how the average layman refutes expert testimony provided in the DEIS who are on the applicant's payroll, James Antonelli, who is reviewing the DEIS for the Village, said that individuals "can write comments and ask for further documentation."

The entire DEIS is available at the Village Hall for $128 per copy. An Executive Summary is available free of charge.

In other business, the public hearing for relocating the drop off facility for Blockbuster Video has once again been adjourned. The reason given is that the revised parking plan for the Soundview Marketplace which is pending before the Board of Zoning & Appeals (BZA), has yet to be approved.

BZA chairman Sheldon Greenbaum addressed the issue by stating that the BZA cannot approve a portion of the plan unless the entire parking plan is approved. He advised that King Kullen supermarket wants to expand by 7,000 square feet in order to compete with the Stop & Shop expected to occupy the Lewis Oil property. As a result, the western side will lose an entire row of parking spaces. The other problem is that if the multiplex movie theater closes, whatever comes in its stead will amount to a change in use, with a different ratio of parking spaces. Acadia Management which operates the shopping center wants the current parking requirements to remain with the space.

Greenbaum pointed out that the movie theater's use, which is primarily patronized at night, is significantly different than say a retail use which would be occupied throughout the day and early evening.

Resident Steve Kaplan said there is a serious problem at Blockbuster where vehicles whose operators get out to drop off tapes block the fire lane and impede ingress and egress onto Soundview Drive. He said the Village keeps putting this off "while Blockbuster continues to break the law."

Greenbaum said that "the shopping center management is not comfortable with the plan." He said that a veiled threat has been made that they will sue the Village and that the BZA wants to resolve the issue without the expense of litigation to the Village.

Ratner said the parking lot plan is the least of the Village's problems. "You can't look at this in a vacuum," he warned, a theme he has reiterated many times before. ?Rampant development exacerbates the infrastructure. Where are all tile people going to park beyond King Kullen?" he asked.

Limmer said that Blockbuster needs Arcadia to authorize the application for the drop box which it won't do until the parking plan is approved.

Mayor Pellegrino said, " We're between a rock and a hard place. Our hands are tied in terms of moving Blockbuster's drop box."

Village Building Inspector Matthew Korn advised that a 7-11 is going to open on the site of the present Citgo gas station on Shore Road. He said that it meets all of the Village ordinances.

That angered Hank Ratner who had asked whether the Board knew anything about this application at last month's meeting.

7-11 would like to operate 24 hours a day which did not sit well with residents. Joe Kellner said that in one New Jersey town they shut it down altogether because it became a hangout for kids and drugs were being sold.

Restricting its hours will be difficult since King Kullen is open 24-hours and its is expected that Stop & Shop will be as well.

The Board is considering drafting an ordinance that would be applicable to this type of store that sells food products and pumps gas. Evening hours would be limited to a 10:00 p. m. closing time. However, that would also impact on the Bott's Amoco gas station on Shore Road. Mayor Pellegrino s ' aid he would speak to the owner of Bott's to see if an earlier closing time would negatively impact on its business.