Vote on Farmingdale Village Hotel Site Plan Postponed

Due to a possible land swap between the and the developer, the hotel site plan vote has been extended to the May 2 Board of Trustees meeting.

"Because the whole train station area is devoid of any green space at all, this would be a real advantage to have this public space," said Village of Farmingdale at the public hearing Monday night.

The Village currently owns a 4,000 foot lot that runs parallel to the back of the from Atlantic Ave. along Eastern Parkway, that the Village would exchange with the hotel developer, Anthony Bartone of Bartone Properties, for 5,300 feet of space in front of the hotel for green space.

Village Attorney Kevin Walsh explained that the land swap is currently "under review," meaning that the developer is re-visiting the Zoning Board to get the area variances he already received for the hotel extended to the new land he would be acquiring from the Village.

The land swap is contingent on that variance application, which is why the the Board chose to postpone site plan approval vote to the next board meeting. However, residents were invited to speak about the site plan at Monday's meeting.

Residents expressed concern about the hotel's presence in the village, in regards to drainage and increasing the density of the area.

Attorney Walsh and Mayor Starkie explained that as a result of the land swap, the developer would be given permission to use the Village's street for drainage, but would be required to make a perpetuity payment to the Village for the use and  would be responsible for maintaining the street. 

The Board of Trustees is currently in the process of examining Village Code as part of their revitalization plan. As discussed at previous meetings, hotels are already a permitted use in the Village code, so the trustees are not voting on the use of the property as a hotel, but on the specific site plan details.

"If the codes can be changed why can't a hotel code be changed to a no hotel zone?" commented resident Joanne Russo, to which the board responded that changing a code after an application has been brought can result in lawsuits.

Before this land swap possibility, the site plan already had approximately 800 square feet of green space in front of the property. The Village of Farmingdale was once home to six hotels within its borders.