The Village of Great Neck Plaza continues to explore options regarding a proposed local law to allow mixed-use development and additional building height for retail and office uses and community services.
At a regular board of trustees meeting Feb. 16, the issue was carried over for further discussion until next month after a brief discussion between village officials.
“We’ve been kind of grappling with how the code is going to be set up for this,” said Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender. “There’s a lot of different scenarios because of the way the downtown Business ‘B’ district is developed.”
The village’s mixed-use development plan could increase activity within the downtown area, potentially provide greater housing options, promote transit-oriented land use, reduce growth of vehicle trips, promote smart growth and reduce sprawl.
“I want to make sure that we do this without any pressure and that we do it with the input of our property owners and developers,” said the mayor.
According to Celender, there is a lot of different moving parts to consider and the Plaza is under no deadline to get the plan approved.
“The idea is to get the zoning in place that will be long term, said Celender. “That’s the main consideration. Main Street grants are secondary.”
As the initial draft gets prepared by village officials, Celender said overall sentiment has been positive for the plan but some negative concerns have been raised concerning parking and densification.
“Hopefully after you have these meetings we will have everybody’s input and we be able to present to the public a draft that is a good working point for public discussion,” said village attorney Richard Gabriele.
According to the village website, the Business ‘B’ District currently permits a variety of retail and service uses as-of-right and allows other business uses conditionally with authorization from the village board. Residential uses, which comprise apartments and condominiums, are neither allowed as-of-right nor are they specifically prohibited. Thus, residential uses within the Business ‘B’ District are currently non-conforming uses.
Two approaches for amending the district zoning provisions are being considered by the board.
Under the first approach, the zoning would simply be amended to allow the conversion of existing second-floor or higher commercial uses to apartments.
Under the second approach, the zoning for Business ‘B’ district can be amended to allow apartments on the second and third floors above first-floor commercial uses while raising the building height limit to three stories.
“It’s something that is doable and viable and workable with our property owners and with the board so we are going to keep doing it and keep going,” said Celender.
