Developers experienced a setback for their Lumber Road housing complex on Tuesday when they sought an unexpected height variance from the Village of Roslyn Board of Trustees.
Plans for the retail and housing project, on the site of a former lumber facility, were initially approved for a maximum building height of 35 feet by the board members, but when the Lumber Earth Realty contractors, John Santos and Kevin Dursun, applied for a total height to 49 feet, the trustees denied the request until further review.
Trustee Marta Genovese said, first and foremost, it was a decision made in consideration of the village’s vista.
The issue with the apartment complex began with a proposal to include an elevator and stairwell to a rooftop area. The rooftop plan was approved with the discussed height of 35 feet at a previous meeting, but when architectural drafts were created, the contractors found it to exceed that maximum by 14 feet.
Santos said they were unaware the increase would occur and they did not intend to surprise the board with such a change. For the plans to continue, trustees said, they will charge a $25,000 fee to further review the impact on the village.
The board members said they have generally been in favor of the project since its conception in August 2013, but the unexpected change to the building’s profile will have to be addressed before the project moves forward.
“I think it’s a great looking building, and a great addition to the town,” Mayor John Durkin said.
The concept of the building is a “work-live environment,” Durkin said, with retail stores on the ground floor and apartments above. This project is in conjunction with the village’s waterside development plan, to convert the mostly industrial Lumber Road into an extension of Roslyn’s harborside downtown area, Durkin said.
“It’s called upzoning. We just tried to improve the area. We have a beautiful harbor that we haven’t taken advantage of for so long,” Durkin said. “We brought in urban planners to take a look at our village and make recommendations about how to do smart growth, to keep it alive, keep it vibrant, but not have it overrun with lots of development.”
One resident voiced her disapproval for the project, saying it will disrupt the village vista.
“I think it’s an incredible amount of overbuilding. Everybody’s talking about this, and we’re unhappy about it,” she said.
The housing complex by Lumber Earth Realty is the first project for the waterfront upgrade plan, and currently there are no other applicants looking to redevelop on Lumber Road.
Landscaping plans for the building were also presented at the meeting, following village guidelines for proper screening of the property. The board approved the landscaping proposal and other amenities, not including the changes to the building height.
