Village of Great Neck trustees are faced with its first application for an “incentive zoning” building request after the board voted to rezone parts of Middle Neck and Steamboat roads in an effort to revitalize the community’s core business district in October 2014.
Village Clerk-Treasurer Joe Gill said representatives of the owners of the property at 733 Middle Neck Road appeared at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting seeking to construct a four-story, seven-unit apartment building.
The “incentive zoning” legislation approved by trustees almost two years ago changed zoning for Steamboat Road from commercial and residential to only residential and Middle Neck Road changed to only residential at its northern and southern ends, with a central business core.
Steamboat Road residences, according to the legislation, are zoned for townhouses and Middle Neck Road residences are zoned for multi-family apartments.
Middle Neck Road from Hicks Lane and Arrandale Avenue to Baker Hill Road will only be for business use, Gill said.
Mixed-use buildings, with commercial properties on the first floor and residential on the second floor, are permitted under the zoning changes.
“The idea is that trustees would have authority to grant waivers from the ordinary zoning in exchange for something that may be more community-oriented,” Gill said. “For a price maybe you can get a bigger building or a taller building because by right, you can have a three-story building but with the incentive zoning you can have four stories.”
He said the application marks the first time since the law was approved that trustees will have to make a decision on an “incentive zoning” application.
While the owners of the property are seeking to construct a seven-unit building, Gill said, the board requested that the project be condensed to just six units in an effort to decrease the number of parking spots required.
He also said the board gave the applicant’s representatives “guidance” on how they wanted the building to look in the business district.
Gill said the applicant’s representatives agreed to come back at the May 17 board meeting with redesigned plans for a six-unit building “in the style the board would be looking for.”
