Plans for a new North Hills subdivision on the former site of the Inisfada Retreat House drew less criticism at a public hearing Wednesday than the destruction of the house it would replace, but some of its neighbors expressed reservations.
Residents of the two Estates at North Hills subdivisions questioned how developers of the proposed “Manhasset Crest” subdivision would prevent drainage problems, rodent infestations and security issues.
“Whether we realize it or not, it will have an impact on Estates I and, I assume, Estates II,” said Henry Lippold, an Estates II resident, at the Dec. 9 planning board meeting.
The Manhasset Bay Group, which bought the property for $36.5 million in July 2013, has made several recent changes to its plan for the gated community of 46 high-end custom homes off Searingtown Road.
Those changes, made in response to comments from village planning officials, include a new drainage basin and boons to the existing infrastructure to address potential drainage problems
“It’s a significant improvement to the existing drainage situation on the property,” said Carrie O’Farrell, a senior engineer from Melville-based firm Nelson, Pope & Voorhis.
Some neighbors worried the new basin would gather standing water and breed mosquitoes and other insects, and that construction would push underground rodents into the Estates.
Others, including Estates II resident and North Hills Deputy Mayor Dennis Sgambati, asked what plans existed to keep construction crews from “jumping over the fences and disturbing our communities.”
Anthony Guardino, Manhasset Bay Group’s attorney, said these concerns are “typical” for subdivision projects and the developers will follow any conditions the planning board sets for the project to move forward.
“We want to do the right thing by the village,” he said.
The Manhasset Crest project has been in the works since March 2014, about eight months after Manhasset Bay Group, led by four Hong Kong-based real estate magnates, bought the property from the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church and subsequently demolished the historic but dilapidated retreat house.
The initial plan for 51 homes was downsized to comply with village zoning code, but it still needs five zoning variances.
Construction would require Inisfada’s remnants — a few small buildings, a reflecting pool and a stone maze — to be demolished, plans say. The developer plans to build the new houses, expected to sit on half-acre to one-acre lots, as the individual properties are sold.
Civic leaders and local lawmakers led a failed effort to make the site a state landmark and preserve the house and rare trees there. The Manhasset Bay Group eventually agreed to leave some trees untouched.
Arlene Travis, an Estates II resident who joined the charge to save the site, said the plan still has issues, but knows it has a long way to go.
“There are so many questions that I have, but it’s too early to ask those questions,” she said.
The planning board will hold a second hearing on Manhasset Crest Jan. 13.
