Board Remains Divided on Community Life Center Zone

Just over a month ago, leaders with the First Baptist Church held a prayer vigil in hopes that town leaders would vote to hold a public hearing on a proposal which would permit its Family Community Life Center to take shape.

But Thursday, the town board still appeared split, with a couple of councilmen OK with the thought of holding a public hearing to gather input, and another two board members unsettled with the fact that major questions – namely related to tax revenue – remain unanswered.

Councilman George Gabrielsen appeared to hold the swing vote on whether the community benefit zoning district proposal would move forward, and Gabrielsen said this week that he will be meeting with members of the Long Island Farm Bureau and Planning Director Rick Hanley to hash out the outstanding issue of transfer of development rights. TDRs, as they are commonly called, require the purchase of farmland preservation rights in exchange for increased density.

The 68,000-square foot complex proposed on Northville Turnpike would include buildings that would encompass a media center/theater, a 24-hour childcare facility, a senior citizen wellness and day care center, and a sports and recreational compound. In addition, the plan calls for 132 one- and two-bedroom apartment units to frame the center complex, that would be used for workforce housing.

In order to permit those uses, the proposed community benefit zone would have to be implemented as an overlay district on property currently zoned residential. 

Cleveland Johnson, Jr. of Strategic Fundraising, Inc., which is advising First Baptist on the proposal, said at a January meeting with the town board that its various components “responded to needs the church has determined are not currently being served.”

No representatives of First Baptist Church were present at Thursday's meeting.

Questions remain if the property, owned by a nonprofit, would be exempt of any property taxes.

"I want to have answers at the public hearing," said Councilman John Dunleavy. "If someone says, 'Are they completely tax exempt,?' I want to be able to say 'Yes they are,' or 'No, they aren’t.'" 

However Supervisor Sean Walter and Councilman Jim Wooten said that a public hearing on the proposed zone would be able to get the public's answers on the official record, so any concerns could be addressed moving forward.

"We haven't even got to the start yet," said Walter, tried to move forward with scheduling a public hearing on the proposal last October. "That's all I'm asking. Let's get to the start."

Tuesday's meeting "should get some kind of agreement in place" in relation to TDRs, Gabrielsen said. And while his support for the zone as a whole remains uncertain, he said he would likely support a public hearing to get the ball rolling.

Lisa Finn contributed to this report.