Town Zoning Board Continues Public Hearing On August 23

Still Clueless At Hempstead Town Hall

From the Malverne-West Hempstead Herald:

We shall meet again
By Matthew McGevna

After weeks of confusion surrounding the Town of Hempstead¹s draft urban renewal plan, the Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals is now apparently prepared to fulfill its alternate role as a planning commission, and vote to accept or reject the plan.

When West Hempstead residents gathered at a meeting of the BZA on July 11, they expected the board to vote on the urban renewal plan. Residents were under the impression that the BZA¹s approval, or rejection, of the document was a key component in the town¹s most recent attempt to seize ownership of 10.5 acres of land in West Hempstead and secure it for private development. Residents came to the meeting to express their views about the plan, their concerns and, for most, their desire to see the parcel of land where the Courtesy Hotel now stands developed by Trammel Crow Residential. Trammell Crow is currently in contract with the owner of the Courtesy, and has been waiting to be granted rezoning for the property.

But the draft urban renewal plan, a brainchild of the town's Department of Planning and Economic Development and the independent consulting firm Saccardi & Schiff, does not support the vision of Trammell Crow Residential, and if approved, it could instead disqualify the company from building what it wants. So residents filed into the July 11 meeting hoping to convince the BZA to reject the town's plan.

As the meeting progressed, however, it became clear to those in attendance that the BZA had no intention of approving or rejecting the plan, and board members continued to reiterate to residents that the board¹s only role was to determine whether or not the 10-acre area was blighted, and that ³something should be done about it.

Listeners began whispering to one another. Hadn't there already been a blight study approved by the town last May that made that determination? Attorneys for the hotel and the nearby National Wholesale Liquidators, whose property the plan includes, read a resolution drafted by the town board that charged the BZA to accept, reject or make recommendations to the plan.

Then, after numerous statements from residents, the matter was tabled for a later meeting, and the audience dispersed in confusion.

Now, apparently, the BZA is prepared to act as a planning board. A date has been set ‹ Aug. 23 at 1 p.m. ‹ to "clarify the jurisdiction" of the board, and to "take further testimony," according to a release.

The release states that after the July meeting, board members received a memo from the Department of Planning and Economic Development claiming that "there may have been some confusion as to the public's perception of the [Board of Zoning Appeals] jurisdiction and scope of review."

"I requested that they re-open the hearing just to clarify exactly what their scope of review is," Charles Theofan, commissioner of the DPED, said of the BZA. "It's not a new hearing, it's re-opening the old hearing. All the old testimony that's been taken is still on the record."

Theofan said he could not predict what the zoning board would do, but added that its members are expected to more fully understand the town board's resolution and clarify to the public what the BZA's role is.

West Hempstead Civic Association President Rosalie Norton said the confusion was not the public's. "The resolution that was passed by the town board said the [BZA] was supposed to review the urban renewal plan and make recommendations," Norton said. "We weren't confused, we were offering our suggestions for them to use in their recommendations."

The Nassau County Planning Board, meanwhile, released a report with its comments and recommendations regarding the urban renewal plan. Theofan said that while the town board is under no obligation to follow the county's recommendations, it would consider all of the comments.

"The Nassau Planning Commission was phenomenal," said Norton, who attended the Aug. 9 hearing that introduced the county's comments. "At the session they said, 'Get together with the community.' They understood the difficulty the community was having."

The West Hempstead Civic Association and other civic groups are opposed to the urban renewal plan because, among other things, it recommends only 45 units of residential housing per acre, far fewer than the 80 units per acre that Trammel Crow is planning for the land. Norton suggested that the town board get together with all the principal players and hammer out a deal. "We understand you don't want 80 [units]," she said in an interview, as if addressing the board, "but we don't want 45, so let's negotiate for something closer to 80, and I don't mean 79."

The Aug. 23 BZA meeting will take place in Town Hall's Bennett Pavilion.

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