By: Angela Marshall
Norman Gerber, a planning expert, said that allowing an apartment complex on the former Darby Drug site on Banks Avenue is not smart growth for the village.
Opponents hire expert
Apartment debate continues before Planning Board
A planning expert hired by the RVC Citizens Association spoke against the proposed Signature Place Apartments complex at a packed March 30 hearing, saying the location is wrong for housing. Rockville Centre Planning Board members also had plenty of questions for the developer, Chase Partners.
The meeting was delayed for several minutes as more than 500 residents who planned to attend looked for parking spaces. Village officials began the meeting by assuring those who settled for illegal spaces that their cars would not be ticketed. Officials also warned the large crowd that outbursts would not be tolerated. After acknowledging that this was a highly emotional topic, Police Commissioner Jack McKeon said speakers had a right to talk without being jeered.
This is not the first time the RVC Citizens Association, a group of residents opposed to overdevelopment, has fought a proposed project. The group hired a lawyer to fight the Rosa Lee Young Childhood Center-s plan to open a new facility on Woods Avenue. The Childhood Center eventually sold the property, and the opposition declared victory.
This time the citizens- association has hired a planning expert, Norman Gerber of Massapequa, to argue its case. Gerber called Chase-s plan to build a 349-unit apartment complex on Banks Avenue, north of the King Kullen shopping center, ludicrous, and questioned whether the development meets six of the 10 standards he believes the Planning Board is charged with evaluating.
He spoke about the existing land uses in the neighborhood, and how they would negatively affect the lives of would-be apartment dwellers. He asked the board how it would vote if the apartment complex already existed and the MTA bus depot, which borders the project on the south, were requesting permission to build. The planner, who has worked for many municipalities, also said there is no room for sufficient landscaping to act as a noise-deadening buffer. This location is wrong for housing, he said.
Planning Board member Bill Croutier asked Gerber if he thought the apartment building would be hard to fill. I think so, yes, Gerber replied.
Gerber-s presentation also focused on the development-s potential impacts on traffic and commuters. He questioned whether Chase-s traffic expert-s calculations were correct, and said there is insufficient accident data for the intersections surrounding the proposed complex. [The] potential for accidents is obvious, he said.
The planner said that if 15 to 20 percent of apartment residents drive to the Rockville Centre Long Island Rail Road station, current commuters could lose 52 to 70 parking spaces. Chase experts have asserted that most commuters will walk to the train because it is within blocks of the site.
Speaking after Gerber, resident Terry Cohen, who has been commuting to New York City for the past 14 years, said, I don-t want my commute to be any more stressful than it already is.
Michael Faltischek, attorney for Chase Partners, did not respond to Gerber-s testimony last week. After the hearing, he said that he will look at the transcript and reflect on it carefully. While not wanting to make a comment on the presentation yet, Faltischek did say it appeared to be a lot of opinion.
