After unanimously rejecting the special-permit application of Willy Parkers’ owners to create an outdoor dining space behind the restaurant at a May 21 meeting, the Village of Williston Park trustees last week issued a detailed decision enumerating their reasons for nixing the proposal.
In the written decision approved at a June 4 workshop session, the village board cited concerns on the impact of the outdoor cafe on the restaurant’s Sheridan Avenue neighbors.
“Petitioners failed to establish that the proposed expansion into their rear yard would not produce noise that would be unreasonably annoying to the nearby residents,” the decision stated. “In this regard, several residents testified that annoying noise is already generated from the restaurant operation on the premises.”
The board acknowledged that the restaurant’s owners, Rino and Louis DiMaria, had proposed erecting a 12-foot wall comprised of panels to buffer noise emanating from the restaurant’s outdoor diners. But the board said a technical sheet describing the noise panels to be affixed to the wall was the only evidence presented on their effectiveness and they were not convinced.
“No expert testimony was offered to establish that these noise panels could properly be placed in the rear yard of the premises so as to totally contain the noise on the premises,” the decision said.
The board’s written decision also said that erection of a 12-foot wall would require a variance from the village board of appeals, and would have “an adverse aesthetic impact on the abutting residents by creating a wall out of character with the residential neighborhood and also cut off light to the nearby residences on Sheridan Avenue, further adversely impacting the neighborhood.”
The board said the Willy Parkers applicants also failed to show that there would no negative impact on traffic and parking in the area with the planned extension into the restaurant’s rear yard.
“Moreover, it is not unreasonable to assume that at some point in the future, if their business should grow as a result of the expansion in the rear yard, the petitioners would seek to increase the seating capacity of the restaurant,” the decision said.
The board said the application also violates an existing prohibition in the village code against a facility that serves food or beverages on premises outside of a building, and no “substantial evidence” was presented to show why the code should be modified.
The decision went on to say that the special-permit application by Willy Parkers would have “undesirable impacts on the surrounding community.”
The DiMarias repeated statements during the public hearing that they would comply with any conditions set by the village board didn’t help their cause, according to the board’s decision.
“This offer puts the board of trustees in an inappropriate position,” the decision stated. “It is not the board’s responsibility to craft a proposal for the petitioners to use the rear yard of their premises.”
Efforts to reach the DiMarias for comment on the board’s decision were unavailing.
After the board voted to reject the application last month, Louis DiMaria said he and his brother intended to appeal the board’s decision.
“I’m not just going to give up on it,” DiMaria said.
