The Amityville School District has joined local civic associations in their opposition to a proposal to build more than 200 residential condominiums on a 16-acre parcel in East Massapequa. The property is within the boundaries of the Amityville Schools, and the groups intend to take their concerns to the Oyster Bay Town Board when it holds a public hearing on the plan at 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 24.

At a pre-board meeting on January 4, the Amityville Board of Education said it intended to hire the law firm of Guercio & Guercio to oppose the proposal to rezone the property, and that an expert will be hired to conduct a demographic study to determine exactly how many school-aged children the complex will generate.

The district is concerned because, they said, the plan calls for offering tax reductions to the property owners, significantly reducing the amount of revenue going to the school and other taxing districts, they said.

"At the present time, our school district believes that the units will generate more than the 30 projected students," said Dr. Brian De Sorbe, Superintendent for Amityville Schools, adding that every student has a financial impact on the district. For example, he said, if all the students entering the district from the proposed complex are in grades one or two, the district anticipates that it would have to hire additional teachers to meet that enrollment change.

In addition, all other taxpayers in the district will have to pick up the financial gap between what the property will generate in school tax revenue, and what costs the district will incur as a result of providing an education to the children who will live there. Since property owners are already burdened with high taxes, this will have a serious financial impact on the district, its taxpayers and students, said school officials.

Oyster Bay Town officials said however, that this is not the case because all of the proposed units, including the second generation housing, will pay taxes on the full value of the property.

"There are no tax breaks, no abatements, no PILOTS (payments in lieu of taxes), said Oyster Bay Town spokeswoman Phyllis Barry. "The only exemptions will be the usual ones that the town offers for veterans, firefighters, etc.," she said.

Amityville School district is due to vote on the issue this week.

The property was formerly part of the South Oaks complex on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa, just east of the entrance to the Sunrise Mall. Developers are asking that the property be rezoned to permit multi-family residential use. It is currently zoned single family.

This hearing is a continuation of a December 20, 2005 meeting in which the applicant, the Engel Burman Group, outlined their plan for the site to build 130-multi-family residences, 54 townhouse units and 30 next generation dwelling units—214 total.

The property, bounded on the southeast on Sunrise Highway, on the south by Louden Avenue and the west on Carmans Road, was the subject of a 2003 application for a Lowe’s Home Improvement Center which was denied by the board.

The 16.619 acre parcel is only part of the entire 30+ acres that Lowe’s had sold when their application was turned down, according to local civic leaders. Although the blueprints show housing planned for the additional land, it will not be addressed at this hearing.

The hearing is being continued because local civic associations were worried that the daytime hearing in December could not be attended by many residents who work during the day and who would be impacted by the change, if approved.

"This proposal is just about how many homes the builder can cram onto his property," said Phil Healy, president of the Biltmore Shores Civic Association. "Combined with Sunrise Mall, the new senior housing and additional townhouses being built right up the street, the traffic impact will be incredible. All the local leaders want is to sit down with the builder and have a discussion."