Civic groups oppose moratorium on DRI projects

On April 14, the Baldwin Civic Association and the Chamber of Commerce held an impromptu town hall meeting at the Baldwin Public Library. The lone agenda item was a discussion with residents of a moratorium proposed by the Town of Hempstead that would delay Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects in Baldwin.

The moratorium, which will be voted on at a town meeting on April 26, would keep developers from breaking ground on projects that have already been approved by the town for at least another year. The civic association and the chamber felt the need to join forces and arm residents with information in preparation for the meeting.

They planned to appeal to the town not to pass the moratorium because the process by which the DRI was approved, following the guidelines of the State Environmental Quality Review Act, was valid, as were the resulting environmental impact statements.

The next step in the development of the Baldwin Mixed Use Overlay District, as originally proposed by the town, was the appointment of a three-person Design Review Board, which has not yet been done. The project’s proponents planned to urge the town to appoint the board within 30 days so that projects that are part of the overall initiative that have already been approved can proceed.

The president of the BCA, Darien Ward, described the creation of the board as “low-hanging fruit” that could have been done during the pandemic.

For projects where the parameters have changed along the way, environmental impact studies would have to be re-evaluated. But as the BCA and the chamber see it, this should not affect other projects where the hamlet’s infrastructure was shown to be capable of accommodating development. This process was explained at last week’s meeting by Elissa Kyle, placemaking director at Vision Long Island, and a representative of VHB Engineering, Surveying, Landscape Architecture and Geology, the town-approved firm that completed the environmental reviews for the DRI.

The worry for stakeholders is that the longer the projects are delayed, the more developers must pay to hold the locations, meaning some may back out. “Baldwin Downtown Revitalization Initiative: Strategic Investment Plan,” published by the state in December 2020, stated that the time frame from design development to construction completion was expected to be three years — until June 2023.

The projects are anticipated to bring an additional 975,000 square feet of development to downtown Baldwin, including 750 residential units and 225,000 square feet of commercial space. The state environmental quality review of the potential impact on land, groundwater, flooding, transportation, energy, noise/light, historic preservation, aesthetics and community character began in 2019.

State Assemblywoman Judy Griffin wrote a letter to the town, expressing her concern for the Baldwin’s future. “Baldwin’s current businesses and those looking to set up shop in the downtown Baldwin we have all worked so hard to improve are now operating under a cloud of confusion,” Griffin wrote, “because the Town appears set on halting this already delayed vital project … I am urging you to reconsider and not place a moratorium on the DRI.”

Griffin concluded, “I am still hopeful the Town of Hempstead will push this project forward with the same excitement first touted in bringing new development to Baldwin, especially since the funding has already been earmarked.”

UPDATE: The Town of Hempstead announced plans to propose the withdrawal of the moratorium put on the Baldwin DRI on 4/20/2022.  Please see the article, "Town Board to create alternative to moratorium, plans to withdraw."