Study will explore physical and financial aspects of Huntington village structure
The Huntington Town Board, at its July 11 meeting, took a significant step toward construction of a parking structure in Huntington Village, approving the second phase of a feasibility study looking into the physical and financial aspects of the project.
The Board voted to extend the contract with Level G Associates of Old Bethpage, which performed the first phase of the study. In a report completed in May, Level G concluded that it was both physically and economically feasible to construct a 528-space parking deck over part of the current municipal parking lot between New and Green Streets. In the second phase of the study, Level G will finalize the various models, estimates and projections used to draw its preliminary conclusions. Phase Two will also include a functional plan of the proposed deck, financing models and revenue projections. The expanded final report is expected to be suitable for submission to financial institutions and other stakeholders involved in funding and financing the project. The $12,700 cost is partially funded by the Town’s Economic Development Corporation.
“This is an exciting next step in bringing the Town closer to a long-term solution for the parking issues in Huntington Village,” Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “The question of whether to build a parking structure has been discussed for many years, and the fact that we are moving into a detailed study of how to make it happen represents significant progress.”
Retaining Level G to conduct the second phase of the feasibility is the latest measure undertaken by the Town to address the shortage of parking in the Village during peak hours. The measures have included forming the Huntington Village Parking Consortium, which includes the Town, the EDC, the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the Huntington Village Business Improvement District and the Paramount Theater. Other measures, as recommended in a study the consortium commissioned a few years ago, have included instituting tiered pricing for metered parking spots, improving signage to direct motorists to municipal parking lots and a pilot valet parking program. The consortium also evaluated requests for proposals that explored possible public-partnerships and a mixed use structure before opting to consider a public project for a parking-only structure.
In other action, the Town Board:
-- approved amendments to Town Code to regulate short-term rentals such as are offered through services such as Air BnB, Home Away and VRBO. The regulations include requiring a short-term rental permit, that the premises be owner-occupied and that a property cannot be rented for more than 120 days in a calendar year and for more than 29 days to an individual guest.
-- scheduled an August 15 public hearing on a proposal to purchase 2.75 acres on Candlewood Path in Dix Hills as an addition to John Coltrane Park, as recommended by the Town’s Environmental Open space and Park Fund Review Advisory Committee.
-- approved entering into a contract of sale for the purchase with Suffolk County of the development rights to the Tilden Farm in Greenlawn. The 13.69-acre farm, at the end of Wyckoff Street, has been in continuous agricultural use for more than 200 years. The Town’s Open Space and Park Improvement Fund will cover half of the $3.1 million cost.
-- authorized executing a contract of sale to purchase the Peter Crippen House on Creek Road in Huntington for use as an additional parking area for the Huntington Wastewater Treatment Plant. Earlier this year, the Town removed the structure’s historic designation because of its deteriorated condition. The price is $75,000.
-- rezoned property on Hauppauge Road in Commack to allow construction of The Manors at Commack, a proposed 86-unit independent senior living development on what is now the baseball field at the Suffolk Y JCC.
-- approved the request for a zone change to allow construction of the 24-unit Creekside Apartments II complex on Creek Road in Huntington.
-- approved an extra-fee expedited review process for building permit applications.
-- scheduled an August 15 public hearing on an amendment to Town Code regarding pool fences. Under the proposal, a pool owner could count a neighbor’s fence as the required pool fencing. If a pool owner installs a fence even though a neighbor’s exists, the amendment would require the fence to be the same height as the neighbor’s.
-- authorized, in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the donation of Heckscher Park, applying for $163,750 in state grants to help fund the installation of steel estate fencing to replace existing chain link fencing and for drainage improvements, sidewalks and landscaping along the Prime Avenue boundary. A separate resolution endorsed an application by the Heckscher Museum to apply for a grant from the Long Island Regional Development Council to fund planning for the museum’s building improvements and restoration.
-- approved accepting $75,000 from the Northport-East Northport School District as the district’s share of a comprehensive engineering study and valuation of the Northport Power Plant. The study is needed in the legal proceedings involving the assessment challenge filed by National Grid and the Long Island Power Authority.
-- approved a $152,028 contract to replace the railings and guardrails for the stairwells at the South Parking Garage at the Huntington Long Island Rail Road Station. The work will not begin until after completion of the project to replace the elevator at the garage.
-- dedicated Depot Road Park in memory of Richard W. Holst, chaplain to the Huntington Manor Fire Department, who died in the line of duty in 2009.