By Tom Jordan
With only days remaing before the Feb. 12 public hearing on building site plan review, the Rockville Centre Village Board has yet to make some key decisions about the proposed change in the process for approving large commercial buildings. For nearly two years, the board has been looking at the benefits and drawbacks of adding this new layer to the village code.
Site plan review is intended to provide the Village with an evaluation of a proposed structure's expected impact on its surrounding area. The comprehensive study will analyze everything from a project's impact on surrounding buildings, ecological considerations, disposal of wastes, parking, noise, lighting and impact on traffic.
The board will likely make a motion during the Feb. 12 hearing, stating that the proposal would not have a negative impact on the Village. If passed, the bill would go before the Nassau County Planning Commission for its comments, which the Village Board would have to take into consideration. The proposal could not be adopted until after a second public hearing.
Our current statute uses the Village Zoning Code as a vehicle to determine what can and cannot be done, and when there is a difference of opinion, the application goes before the zoning board, said Deputy Mayor Wayne Lipton. However, occasionally a unique or larger project surprises us and we can't anticipate the effect it will have, he continued. Site plan review provides us with additional scrutiny so that we may determine in a far more detailed way whether a project is consistent with the needs and wants of the entire village.
Trustee Jack Matthews described site plan review as a more formal and better organized way for the village to gather information. All of the information will be available, and it allows the public a chance to comment. I think site plan review should help everyone, including the commercial establishments, end up with a better product in the end.
Zoning Board Chairman Jeff Greenfield said he understands the value of adding site plan review but hopes it doesn't slow down the process for applicants. The Zoning Board has always prided itself on giving applicants quick hearings and a quick response, while at the same time being responsive to the residents.
It is estimated that the entire process, including a public hearing and a review by the Nassau County Planning Commission, should take a maximum of 62 days from the date the application is received. Response time was a major part of the discussions when the board struggled with where exactly to set the standard of which buildings would be subject to review.
As the proposed legislation stands, any new building or those planning alterations with a footprint in excess of 10,000 square feet or an aggregate of 20,000 square feet will be subject to the evaluation procedure. Residential homes and smaller businesses would continue to go before the zoning and architectural review boards.
Lipton initially wanted to set the footprint at 15,000 square feet, and Trustee Mary Bossart wanted it at 10,000 square feet. The was some apprehension that including projects of 10,000 square feet or more would prove excessively burdensome.
Trustee Bud Cosgrove still feels that the requirements might be set too high. Based on what has been discussed, I'm not on board 100 percent at this point with confining site plan review to projects of greater than 10,000 feet. In 1999, there were 67 applications issued to either build or alter commercial buildings, and only three would have qualified for review. I still want to see what has been done at the 7,000 or 8,000 foot threshold.
A report from Steve DeClue, superintendent of buildings, indicated that of the 273 commercial permits issued in Rockville Centre between 1995 and 1999, seven fit into the proposed categories. They are the Long Island Savings Bank; the Merit Station and Mercedes showroom on Sunrise Highway; the Champion Drill Co. on Park Avenue; the foundation permit for Hassett Belfer, the yet-to be-built long-term care facility known as the senior hotel; the Rite Aid store on Merrick Road; and the Mercy Medical Center.
Six of the seven applications were issued in 1998 and 1999. DeClue said that the report did not include data from the year 2000 because complete records are not available.
The biggest question in the development of site plan review remains
