Community Corner

Resident Suggests Building Eight New Homes in Central

Deputy mayor disagrees, says green space should be preserved.

Poplar Street resident Bill Bellmer wants the village to make use of a vacant triangular piece of land west of Franklin Avenue, between Third and Fourth streets, he says could bring in some much-needed revenue.

"The development of the property a few years ago between Second and Third streets with nine residences shows what can also be done with this parcel," Bellmer states in a letter to the village board of trustees.

If the village built eight more residences and sold them for $500,000 a piece, Bellmer said this would put $4 million in the village coffers.

Find out what's happening in Garden Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Deputy mayor Don Brudie, however, doesn't like the idea. "God isn't making more property in Garden City," he said. "This is green space ... It's nice to walk around and see green space."

Mayor Robert Rothschild said the board is "open to continued and appropriate development in the village," noting that decades ago a multiple dwelling project was proposed for the vacant parcel.

Find out what's happening in Garden Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Though the proposal was made before building superintendent Mike Filippon's time, he did recall how the idea didn't go over well 30 some odd years ago. "From what I was told, the reaction to that was not favorable and caused quite a stir at the time .... This is a different approach and it might receive a different reaction," he said.

Mayor Rothschild suggested sending the proposal to the Central Property Owners' Association (CPOA) for review. "They'd have first dibs on commenting on it," he said. "It's always good to get the POA's initial reaction."

No matter who reviews his proposal, Bellmer thinks it should be pursued. "A possible division in this R-8 district is shown on the map of the area, which shows a northward continuation of the 20-foot landscaped buffer on Franklin, dead-ending Cedar Place at the drainage area and addition of eight residential properties," he said.

Dead-ending Cedar Place is not required to make the project work. "It's a suggestion," Bellmer said. "If people on Cedar Place want to maintain the road through to Franklin that is also equally possible."

Bellmer told trustees that based on the average assessed valuation of the new properties between Second and Third, the expected total assessment on eight additional properties will be more than $122,000 with an annual tax revenue of $50,000.

"The village will not only initially gain the revenue on the sale of the property, but also benefit from the continued tax revenue, the attractiveness of the residences and the elimination of traffic to and from Franklin Avenue," Bellmer said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here