Great Neck Plaza trustees began the environmental review process for a proposed mixed-use building at 16 Maple Drive on Wednesday night, requesting a litany of documents and studies for further review.
Spiegel Associates, a Jericho-based company with roots in Great Neck, wants to turn 16 Maple Drive into a four-story mixed-use building with commercial development on the bottom floor and 11 apartments total on the next three floors. Currently, it is home to a barber shop.
Developers have also pitched restriping and updating the Maple Drive parking lot, which could also be accessed via the below-grade parking planned for the site. The plan currently calls for nine parking spots.
Village Attorney Richard Gabriele, citing a six-page memo from Nelson, Pope and Voorhis, the village’s environmental review consultant on the project, said the village should request numerous documents.
Among the requested documents are an expanded environmental assessment form, a traffic impact study, a shadow study, bulk analysis, a parking management plan, emergency response plan, a restriping plan for the Maple Drive parking garage, and further explanation of the façade design and features.
“It indicates additional information that they believe we should request in order to be able to conduct an adequate review of the potential environmental consequences of this project” under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, Gabriele said.
He also said that many people attended a recent Board of Zoning Appeals meeting to voice their opinions on the project. The project currently requires variances for height, setback and lot coverage, which need to be approved by the zoning board.
Among attendees’ concerns were a parking shortage, the building not fitting into the neighborhood and hesitance to widen the garage entrance, Gabriele said. Supporters, meanwhile, said that the changes to 16 Maple Drive are needed for revitalization.
“There were numerous neighbors and members of the public there who voiced some objections and concerns about the project and there were some people that voiced some comments in support of the project,” Gabriele said.
Christopher Prior, an attorney representing Spiegel Associates, said the company will work to provide the documents. He also said the shadow study is done and bulk analysis is a work in progress.
“I would think that a month from now would be a good time frame,” he said. “If we could adjourn the meeting until that night, your second April meeting, we should be able to make significant headway and have materials submitted before then.
Trustees ultimately voted to continue the discussion to Wednesday, April 17, at 8 p.m.
In unrelated business, trustees heard a proposal for a store at 5 Great Neck Road that would focus on products with CBD, or cannabidoil, a naturally occurring compound found in cannabis plants.
Hardik Patel, a Huntington resident, said he has found CBD to be a relatively harmless, yet effective alternative to opioids that could help people with pain, especially considering more than 66,000 people a year died from drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It is a natural cannabinoid that exists in plants that you can consume,” Patel said of CBD, “and it could help you with all sorts of physical pain, mental stress, even emotional [pain].”
Some studies suggest that CBD could help with anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain, according to the Harvard health blog, but more research is needed to come to a firm conclusion about the supplement’s benefits.
A recent report in The New York Times reached a similar conclusion, saying, “Most of the information about CBD’s effects in humans is anecdotal or extrapolated from animal studies, and few rigorous trials have been conducted.”
Great Neck Plaza trustees ultimately adjourned the matter to their April 3 meeting.
In unrelated business, trustees approved a conditional use permit for Lady Lash at 10 Bond St. The applicants said its services would include eyelash extensions, threading, facials and microblading, a semi-permanent tattoo procedure that mimics the appearance of real brow hairs.
In other business, trustees also held off on approving a law regulating the cutting down of trees and plan to review further changes to the proposal.
The next Board of Trustees meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 3, at 8 p.m.
