Rockville Centre approves building freeze

Moratorium could affect development of North Long Beach Road senior living project

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The Village of Rockville Centre approved a temporary building, zoning, construction and development moratorium in parts of its Business A district that surround North Long Beach Road and Maple Avenue at its Jan. 3 board meeting.

The moratorium could affect the development of property at 117 N. Long Beach Road, whose current owner, Caddy 100 LLC, has entered into a contract to have the site redeveloped into a Brightview Senior Living home by buyer and developer Shelter Development.

During the public hearing portion of the meeting, attorneys for both companies explained why their clients should be exempt from the moratorium.

“We are concerned that a deal that would and should, under all circumstances under existing zoning, go forward, would be killed under the moratorium,” said Michael Mulé, who represents Caddy 100.

Both he and Anthony Guardino, Shelter Development’s attorney, argued that the proposed redevelopment of the property into a senior assisted-living home would cause no harm and that the moratorium would cost both companies significant amounts of money.

At the meeting, Guardino said that David Holland — vice president of the Baltimore-based property management company — had contacted Elizabeth Boylan, a village resident and the vice president of the Maple Avenue Task Force, to gauge community reaction to the property’s proposed redevelopment. Guardino said that she had not raised any significant objections.

After the meeting, Boylan acknowledged that Holland contacted her in July, but said she did not speak on behalf of her community group. She added that although she was not opposed to an assisted-living home nearby, she did have major concerns about the building’s height and whether there would be proper access to the building for emergency response vehicles.

In a statement, the board gave its reasons for the moratorium:

“The Board of Trustees established the moratorium in order to gather data and perform an analysis of the existing and potential land and property uses in the neighborhood that reflect the needs of the community. Once all of the data is collected, the Board can emerge from the moratorium prepared to make a decision about what type zoning is best for the area.”

After the meeting, Mulé said he hoped that the village and his client would find a way to work together. “Caddy looks forward to working with the board to ensure that its property could be developed in accordance with applicable law,” he said.

This is not the first time the village has had disputes with companies trying to develop property in Rockville Centre. In 2009, it was forced to pay $1.15 million to settle a lawsuit filed against it by Chase Partners.

The suit accused the village of trying to limit its plans to build a housing development on the former site of Darby Drugs. The property was later purchased by AvalonBay Communities.