By Matthew McGevna
At a meeting on June 16, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and the town board approved forwarding a draft of the urban renewal plan (URP) to governmental agencies for a 30-day review. The document, which runs to more than 100 pages, was drafted by the development consulting firm Saccardi and Schiff in conjunction with the office of Planning and Economic Development. It outlines the potential uses of several parcels of property that were officially deemed ³blighted² by the town board in May 2006.
According to a release from the town, the URP is a ³necessary component of the governmental process of acquiring blighted parcels for redevelopment by the private sector.² The plan is one of the steps the town must take in order to seize control of the privately owned parcels through eminent domain. ³By the end of this year, West Hempstead residents will be saying goodbye to unwelcome neighbors and hello to a bright and promising future,² Murray said in the written statement.
The URP was released to the Nassau County Planning Commission, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Long Island Rail Road and the Town of Hempstead Planning Commission, each of which has 30 days to review and offer comments on the plan. The town¹s Board of Zoning Appeals, which acts as the planning board, has scheduled a public meeting at which residents may comment on the URP for July 11 at 5 p.m. at Town Hall.
When the 30-day period expires on July 16, the town board will hold hearings to adopt the plan, along with the environmental assessment and the property acquisition.
A copy of the URP was also forwarded to the West Hempstead Civic Association, which has long been involved in fighting for the closure and sale of the Courtesy Hotel. Civic Association President Rosalie Norton said she is dissatisfied with the plan¹s recommendations of no more than 45 residential units per acre of property. Norton and a large number of West Hempstead residents have supported a plan drafted by Trammell Crow Residential, which calls for an 80-units-per-acre apartment complex where the Courtesy now stands ‹ nearly double the town plan¹s recommended density. Charles Theofan, the town¹s commissioner of planning and economic development, has repeatedly voiced his concern that 80 units per acre is too dense for that section of the community, a concern many residents say is unfounded.
A copy of the document is available for reviewed at the West Hempstead Public Library.
Comments about this story? Mal-wheditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
