By Tom Jordan
Village officials are determined to revisit the process of rewriting the village zoning code this fall, but have advised that there will not be any "wholesale changes" in the way Rockville Centre is laid out. While no meeting dates have been set, the village board announced at a briefing this month that the long dormant recodification committee is being called back into action soon.
"The goal of recodification is not to have a radical impact, but to make the zoning code more manageable for the building department and zoning board, to give them the tools and definitions necessary to correct incongruities in parking and so forth," said Wayne Lipton, village trustee. "We are not really looking at wide-sweeping zoning changes, because the current code has been remarkably successful. At the same time, I would like to look at and tweak some things I have particular issues with, as would other board members. Everyone has different proposals, each with different priorities."
The village board of trustees will discuss ideas in work sessions before introducing them in public hearings. A committee of citizens has been commissioned to join in the discussions, and comprises Kevin Akner, Mary Jane Baumann, David Blumenthal, Ronald Burke, James Cowan, William Croutier, Jeff Greenfield, David Karp, Mary Beth Kearns, Fred Levine, Sara Mandarich, Ernestine Small and Lisa Szcerba.
Talks originally began last summer, but died off because of changes on the board, including the retirement of Deputy Mayor Chris Amato.
Updating the entire village zoning code will take several years, village officials have said. Although municipalities are encouraged to perform such an update every 10 to 15 years, the RVC code hasn't undergone a major overhaul in four decades,. Some of the ordinances, nearly a half century old, have become obsolete. Village attorney Martha Krisel used code 134-100, which restricts, in part, the building of any "blacksmith shop or horse- shoeing establishment," as an example of a provision that needs to be updated.
"We'll be working hard to modernize the code and make it more adaptable to the times," said Zoning Board Chairman Jeff Greenfield, who mentioned provisions regarding telecommunications structures as an issue not currently broached by the village code. "Our hope is to make it function so that both the applicants and the board can work within its framework."
Everyone involved agrees that changes will be slow in coming. Even if the entire zoning law were rewritten, said trustee Lipton, "nothing would happen the next day. Commercial buildings would remain in some residential areas and vice-versa, because that's where they've been for years and years. Changing the code does not have the same immediate impact as some of the beautification projects the village has undertaken."
Maple Avenue, on which commercial and residential buildings coexist, is an example of a village street that has gone through a revitalization process within the past year. Concerned that theirs had become "the forgotten street" because of increasing commercial traffic, the residents of Maple Avenue, viewing the pending recodification plans as an impetus to lobby for change, formed a task force to present their ideas to the board.
In a letter to Maple Avenue residents in August, Mayor Eugene Murray wrote: "As it relates to the recodification process, please be aware that nothing would be done in the future to harm this area in any way. As a matter of fact, there may very well be changes that will help in restoring character in the future. Accordingly, please attend the public recodification sessions and let us know what you think and I promise all of you will be heard."
Joe Kelly, a resident of Maple Avenue, said the task force intends to be present and "vociferous," and issued this reminder: "We will be involved as much as possible in the recodification process, just as we will be in the electoral process. We want to get an idea of where recodification talks are going, and of course, we want someone who supports our views. The village has done great things for us in a short amount of time, such as the beautification efforts, but now it's time to address the code."
Among the topics the Maple Avenue Task Force hopes are addressed are height restrictions for buildings, the way new businesses are dealt with when they move into existing facilities, the creation of setback regulations for commercial buildings, just as there are for residential buildings, and the density of traffic.
"Whether [rewriting the code] takes two months or five years, these issues need to be addressed," Mr. Kelly said.
