By:Leslie Gonzalez
Court approves zoning change for project at Tanglewood site
Builders can now move forward with plans to construct a four to five-story, 125-unit senior assisted living facility at the former Tanglewood Day Camp site in Lynbrook, after a county Appellate Court dismissed a lawsuit by residents attempting to block the project.
Plans submitted to the village by Manhattan-based Forest City Daly Housing and Four Corners Development, Inc. call for a 90,000 square foot, residential-style building to be built on the two-acre site, at Peninsula Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. Daly purchased the two-acre parcel in 1997.
The appellate decision, issued July 9 by four judges, permits the zoning to be changed from residential to commercial, which is needed for builders to start the project.
The court threw out a lawsuit filed Feb. 24, 1999 by resident Sheila C. Stone and eight other property owners near the site, who charged it was inappropriate for the village to change the zoning for the project. The group alleged the village violated zoning laws for the overall, comprehensive development of a community, and that the project benefited only a group of individuals.
"They believed it was wrong to rezone the site to permit this building for intense use," said John Jaye Markos of Lynbrook, a former village attorney who argued the residents' case. "They believe the zoning change was inconsistent with the history of that parcel, and the village."
The new home will house about 200 occupants, Markos said.
In a unanimous decision, Appeals Court judges Gloria Goldstein, Leo F. McGinity, Robert W. Schmidt and Nancy E. Smith overturned a Jan. 6, 2000 ruling by Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Joseph DeMaro, who sided with residents. In his ruling, DeMaro voided the village's residential-to-commercial zoning change, which was required for the facility to be built.
In their July 9 decision, the four appellate judges ruled the village acted correctly, and that its action was not "spot zoning," but in the best interests of village residents.
The Tanglewood site has been vacant since 1994. On June 10, a homeless man admitted to starting a fire in an abandoned, two-story house on the property, where squatters were believed to be living inside. The abandoned house, deemed unsafe, was demolished by order of Lynbrook's Building Department.
Peter Ledwith, village attorney, said attempts to redevelop the site for single-family houses have fallen through, because the cost to demolish and rebuild was prohibitive, and the property value and demand for single-family homes near such heavily-used, multi-lane county roads is relatively low.
"The residents of the village should be pleased in that the Tanglewood property will finally be made attractive," Ledwith said. "We can now anticipate that the Tanglewood location will be cleaned up and the project will move forward."
"It's about time. It will be a pleasure to see something beautiful on that corner," said Mayor Gene Scarpato. "I believe there's a need for [these facilities], because every one of them is filled. We're happy."
Agnes Gogol, president of Lynbrook's Sunshine Club for senior citizens, has mixed emotions about the proposed home, which will be the village's fourth senior residence.
"I can't say we need this. You have to have a certain amount of money to live in these assisted living residences," said Gogol, 89. A 16-year resident of Nathan Hale Senior Housing, Gogol said the village needs senior housing that's more affordable. The average waiting list for Nathan Hale apartments, which are subsidized, is five years. Gogol had to wait eight.
The proposed site consists of several parcels, including the abandoned day camp and six single-family residences. The land, and its surrounding neighborhood, has been continuously zoned "Residence A," limited to single family houses or churches, since 1926.
Daly proposed to demolish the houses and camp buildings, and construct a building that would occupy about 48 percent of the site. In December 1997, Daly applied to the Village Board for a special use to build an assisted-living residence for senior citizens. Since adult home facilities were restricted to commercial zone districts in Lynbrook, Daly also requested that the board rezone the site from residential to commercial.
A series of four hearings were held between January 1998 and January 1999, during which village officials considered neighborhood feedback and letters of objection. Many believed the five-story building would be an eyesore that would disturb wetlands, and add additional traffic to an already congested area.
"We were overwhelmingly against it," said Carl Mileo, a Monroe Street resident listed on the suit. "We saw it as the beginning of the commercialization of Ocean Avenue that would change the complexion of the community." Although 350 residents signed a petition against the project, Mileo said village officials misplaced the document and denied its submission.
Stone, who lives at Ocean Avenue and Peninsula Boulevard, said employees' cars and round-the-clock truck deliveries to the new home will only pose problems. "I can't see how putting this in place can make an already bad traffic situation any better, and it's detrimental to real estate value," Stone said.
Nevertheless, the board unanimously approved the zoning change and special use permit on Jan. 25, 1999, under the condition that the commercial use be limited to an adult home. In response to complaints that the proposed building would be too big and too high, developers reduced its height by 20 percent, and its size to occupy less than half the property. Traffic signs will be installed to prevent left turns by those leaving the facility, Ledwith said.
"We made sure the building would not shadow Tanglewood Preserve, and raised landscaping will conceal it from Ocean Avenue," said John M. O'Connor, housing and development attorney.
A study completed in February 1998 concluded that construction of the senior home would pose no threat to the environment. Site plans call for exquisitely detailed landscaping, Ledwith said. Because the property borders the Tanglewood Preserve, additional trees will be added by order of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Village officials said the new senior home will generate an estimated tax revenue of $360,000 per year. School taxes would be payable to the Malverne School District.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," said Alice Juliana, president of Lynbrook's American Association of Retired Persons. "They'll have to put it there first, and we'll see."
