By:Nick Buglione
The Town of Hempstead Council unanimously passed a code amendment at a meeting in late April requiring businesses of certain sizes to apply for "special exceptions" with the town Board of Zoning Appeals when moving onto roads allowing only a single lane of traffic in each direction.
That would likely apply to 7-Eleven, which plans to build a store on a corner parcel of East Meadow and Prospect avenues -- both roads with only a single lane of traffic in either direction.
"From a general standpoint, there is a good chance that the new code provision does come into play," said attorney William Bonesso, who has done some work on the 7-Eleven project. Bonesso stressed that he has not been hired to handle any more zoning issues for 7-Eleven, but likely will be.
Before the amendment was passed, the project was deemed "as of right," meaning the company didn't have to apply for variances or receive any kind of approval from the town Board of Zoning Appeals.
Under the new law, however, any convenience store larger than 1,300 square feet that is proposed for a road with only two lanes of traffic must apply for a special exception.
Although he stressed that he hasn't seen any detailed blueprints, Bonesso said that the 7-Eleven on East Meadow Avenue would measure roughly 2,000 square feet. This is good news for those opposed to the plan, since they now can go before the zoning board and challenge 7-Eleven's special exception application to block the move.
Citing mostly traffic concerns, East Meadow resident Kathy Volpe has expressed reservations about the plan. "The kids are going to be running across the street, and they're going to get hurt," Volpe said. The corner of East Meadow and Prospect avenues already has a reputation for accidents and traffic congestion, she said.
"You know how many car accidents happen by the 7-Eleven on Newbridge Road now that there's one there?" she asked, adding that other residents agree with her.
If the 7-Eleven is built, it would be East Meadow's fifth, a fact that has upset small dairy and deli owners in the area. In a Herald article detailing the project last November, Roseanne Hatzelman, whose family owns the Meadow Dairy across from the proposed site, said she was afraid a big chain like 7-Eleven would swallow up the smaller businesses.
"It just seems so unfair that we let all these big corporations come in and take over," Hatzelman said. "It's just unfortunate that in our small town you can't have small businesses."
In the past few months, East Meadow Civic Association President Robert Zafonte has tried to push 7-Eleven officials to present their plans to the public in an open meeting, but to no avail. He hopes, though, that with the zoning law change, 7-Eleven will be more apt to try and get the community on board. "I've been in touch with the owner, and soon we'll be setting up a meeting," he said. "We want to look at the plan. You have to hear the facts before you make a determination on it."
A recent town study examining how businesses impact traffic congestion on two-lane roads precipitated the zoning amendment. Front Street was one of 12 thoroughfares in the study, which grew out of a pitched civic battle in nearby North Bellmore.
There, residents are fighting Western Beef supermarket's planned move onto Peapond Road and Jerusalem Avenue, where they say traffic is already heavy.
