The East Williston Planning Board voted 4-1 on Tuesday night to deny an application to subdivide property at 8 Sumter Ave. that is currently the site of an uninhabited home which has drawn frequent complaints from residents.
The decision puts an end to plans BNL construction partners Bruno and Luigi Calleo had to purchase the property from owner John Muzio and build two houses on it, the prospective buyers said.
“It’s dead at this point,” Luigi Calleo said. “The value of the single lot is not the value of the double lot.”
Calleo said to make a profit on the deal, a single house constructed on the property would have to be sold for $1.5 million. He said he didn’t think anyone would buy a house at that price in that section of East Williston.
He also said Muzio was adamant about not selling the property unless the subdivision was granted.
In a ruling issued last year, a Nassau Supreme Court judge gave the village permission to either demolish the house at the village’s cost or renovate it at the expense of Muzio.
Village trustees had agreed to delay a decision pending the outcome of the planning board’s review, which offered a third option – the sale of the property. The cost of demolishing the house was estimated at $60,000.
The planning board vote’s followed public hearings on the proposed subdivision in May and July, where residents expressed conflicting views on granting it.
“I’m in favor of maintaining a conservative approach to our zoning board requirements,” said village Planning Board Chairman John Lekstukis before the board voted.
Under the proposal, the builder, BNL Construction, would have divided the property into two lots with 55 feet of frontage rather than 60 feet under the property’s current zoning and have 5,500 square feet instead of 6,000 square feet, according to village Building Inspector Robert Campagna.
“We’re not the zoning board of appeals. The code is what the code is,” said planning board member Roger Cocchi. “I think we should adhere to what the code is.”
Planning board member Robert Shannon cast the lone vote in favor of the proposal to subdivide the property.
“I think the houses would fit very nicely on this block,” Shannon said before the vote, adding that he thought the subdivision “works well” with the aesthetics of the community.
A dilapidated house on the property that has been uninhabited for years – except for raccoons – has been a frequent source of complaints from neighbors.
“I feel the neighbors need some relief from living next to a house that hasn’t been maintained,” Shannon said after the vote.
During the public hearings, some residents expressed support for the subdivision as a solution to the problems associated with the existing home. Others objected to the subdivision because they said it would reward Muzio for failing to maintain the property.
Luigi Calleo declined to say what price BNL had agreed to pay Muzio for the property if approval for subdividing had been granted.
“Now it’s up to the current owner whether he wants to sell it for one plot,” Calleo said. “But the value of the land is not there.”
Bruno Calleo had said the two houses BNL proposed to build on the property would have been approximately 2,200 to 2,400 square feet each and would each have been put on the market for approximately $950,000.
“There’s nothing we can do at this point,” he said.
On Wednesday morning, lawyer Kevin Walsh who represented the Calleos in the subdivision application said he had not yet informed Muzio of the planning board’s decision.
“I have no idea what he’ll do,” Walsh said. “My client’s not looking to buy this as one lot.”
Walsh has said there are 16 liens on the 8 Sumter Street property totaling approximately $200,000 as of two months ago that BNL would have paid to purchase the property.
Efforts to reach Muzio were unavailing.
East Williston Deputy Mayor Bonnie Parente said she was pleased the planning board reached a decision and that it wasn’t a unanimous one.
“It shows there was support for both sides and a lot of thought went into this,” Parente said. “I’m thrilled that we can finally move forward as a board and a village.”
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow
