On Tuesday, February 23rd, the Town of Oyster Bay unanimously approved a new zoning code for the train station area in downtown Hicksville that will allow for mixed use development after nearly a decade of work by the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce, the Hicksville Community Council, Vision Long Island and local civics, businesses and government.
The goal is to achieve a walkable, vibrant downtown with a mix of uses that benefit from its location proximate to transit, to transform Hicksville into a destination anchored by the LIRR station.
Hicksville’s central business district emits from the intersection of the LIRR station and state Routes 106 and 107. The rezoning divides the existing Hicksville Downtown Central Business District into three new zoning districts, designated as Hicksville Downtown I, II and III.
“The Hicksville Downtown Core District would allow for development of retail and office uses and apartments with building heights up to 50 feet; the Hicksville Downtown Gateway Transition District would be zoned for a mix of uses with buildings as high as three stories or 40 feet; and the Hicksville Downtown Residential Subdistrict is targeted for single-family and two-family homes and townhomes, as well as owner-occupied next-generation and senior housing up to two stories or 30 feet,” Long Island Business News summarizes.
The new zoning opens the door to buildings ranging from two to four stories, less than the existing allowable height of 60-feet high or six stories. It also requires setbacks for new buildings to create broader sidewalks and will ensure complete streets recommendations, such as pedestrian and bike safety, traffic calming measures and streetscaping.
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino stated, “With the help of Vision Long Island and Hicksville community and business leaders, we received a great deal of feedback from community stakeholders and developed a new zoning district for Hicksville that paves the way for a vibrant and walkable downtown area with new housing opportunities, restaurants, shops and office space.”
Supervisor Saladino added, “We also set forth design guidelines to produce the right aesthetics and create a cohesive feel in the downtown with specific details to items such as storefronts, signage, street lights, awnings and more. Together, these new policies are an important step in the process for Hicksville’s renaissance, and it complements the recently completed traffic study performed by Nassau County.”
Eric Alexander, Director of Vision Long Island and the Long Island Main Street Alliance, stated, “Kudos to the Town for making this happen after years of community input. The new code focuses redevelopment by the train station and not on every commercial property in Hicksville and sets up design guidelines to improve the look of new projects as well.”
Mr. Alexander further stated, Vision Long Island would like to thank longstanding and active members of the Hicksville Downtown Revitalization committee: Joel Berse; Lionel Chitty; Ray Givargis; Irene Guarasci; Phil Heckler; Diane Hoeberlein; Stan Kobin; Elissa Kyle; Harry Malhotra; Paul Molinari; Paul Munoz; Susan Petrosillo; Mary Piccolomini; Linda Ruggiero; Eric Alexander.
Vision also sends special thanks to Harry Single from Hicksville Community Council for his support, as well as early members of the Committee: Charles Montana; Nicholas Brigandi; Henry Goessmann; Val Pakaluk; Tom Pfeifer; Philbert Robertson; Wendy Slavsky
Thank you also to Supervisor Saladino and members of the Town Board for making these important changes; Economic Development Director James McCaffrey for carrying the plan through the Town’s process internally; and the decades of leadership by former Hicksville Chamber President Lionel Chitty.
You can see the PowerPoint presentation of the new code that was presented at the public hearing in December 2020 here.
You can see the LIBN coverage by David Winzelberg, February 26, 2021 here.