Valley Stream zoning rules holds up school rental plans

Two newly vacant school buildings in Valley Stream cannot be rented until the village’s Board of Zoning Appeals grants a variance, school officials have learned.

In June, District 30 closed the Washington Avenue Kindergarten Center and moved its three classes to the nearby Shaw Avenue School. Blessed Sacrament School, on Rose Avenue, also closed its doors at the end of June, after serving the community for more than 50 years.

Both schools are located in the R-1, or residential, zone. Tom McAleer, superintendent of the village’s Building Department, said that is the most restrictive zone in Valley Stream, requiring property owners to go through the BZA in order to get approval to use a building for a different purpose — even schools, which typically receive all approvals from the State Education Department.

Lisa Rutkoske, assistant superintendent for business in District 30, said that school officials are looking to rent the Washington Avenue building out to a day care facility. She added that at least three businesses have expressed interest in the building, which has three classrooms, a multi-purpose room and some office space.

Blessed Sacrament also has a day care center lined up as a prospective tenant, according to the parish’s pastor, the Rev. Peter Dugandzic. He said that while the church and rectory are in a commercial zone, the adjacent school property is zoned residential.

McAleer said that the Building Department denied the parish’s application to install three sinks and a new door for an infant day care center. “You can’t have a day care center in an R-1 zone,” he said. “That’s it. That’s our code.”

However, McAleer explained, the church can appear before the BZA to seek a variance. Dugandzic said he plans to do that, and has gotten on the schedule to appear before the board in September. He added that he is looking to rent out only part of Blessed Sacrament to the day care center. “The rest of the building we still need for religious education and other parish events,” he said.

As for Washington Avenue, Rutkoske said that the State Education Department has given its approval to the rental plan, but discussions have only begun with the village. “Everything takes paperwork and time,” she said, adding that the district would soon file an application to appear before the BZA as well.

Washington Avenue has been used as a day care center in the past. Built in 1956, the school closed because of declining enrollment in 1978, and was leased to the village for a few years as a cultural arts center. In 1981, the Wooden Shoe Nursery School moved in, and occupied the building until 1990, when District 30 decided to use it for its central offices.

In 2003, it was renovated to serve as the kindergarten center for the Clear Stream Avenue School. Rutkoske said she was surprised about the delay with the village because of the building’s prior use by the nursery school.

But former Village Clerk Vinny Ang explained that when Wooden Shoe moved out and the school district took the building back, the ability to use it again as a day care center without village approval was gone. “They would have to apply under the code as it stands now,” Ang said, noting that village codes were overhauled in 1990.

Ang said that the situation would be different if District 30 or Blessed Sacrament church were running the centers. “Neither one of those day care centers are owned and operated by the schools,” he said of the prospective tenants. “They’re outside companies. They get treated like a business.”

Village officials cannot determine that one potential use of a building is more acceptable than another, Ang explained. That decision can be made only by the Board of Zoning Appeals, which holds a hearing and listens to the applicant and residents before deciding whether another use is acceptable. “The law is across the board,” Ang said. “The village cannot pick and choose the application of the law.”

Rutkoske said that if the Washington Avenue school had been rented to BOCES — another public education institution — no village approvals would have been required. She said she is still hoping to have Washington Avenue rented at some point this year.

The school was closed to save the district money, and a nurse, custodian and security guard position were eliminated. The district also eliminated a teacher’s position by combining classes with the move to Shaw Avenue, which already had four kindergarten sections. “If we didn’t do this change, there would have been further reductions elsewhere,” Rutkoske said.

Closing Washington Avenue is not just a one-year plan to save money, she said. If and when the district receives the go-ahead to rent the building, she would like the day care center to sign at least a two-year lease, with the ability to extend it every year. The building is nearly ready for a tenant, she said. The equipment that the district needs has been taken out, while some furniture suitable for a day care center has been left behind.

District officials currently have no plans to sell the Washington Avenue building, in case it is needed in the future. Rutkoske said that no significant drop in enrollment is expected in the coming years.

At Blessed Sacrament, Dugandzic said he is hopeful that the parish will be granted a variance so that its prospective day care tenant can move in by October. He sees it merely as an obstacle to overcome. “We’re working with it,” Dugandzic said, “but it’s just slowing us down.”