Kings Park revitalization plan: Monday deadline nears for written public input 

Monday is the last day that the public can submit written comments on Kings Park's downtown revitalization master plan, which has a focus on development and has been met with mixed reviews from local residents. 

The plan calls for several measures, including the creation of a downtown zoning district; land-use recommendations that suggest increasing the maximum height of buildings to 3 stories and 40 feet; and mixed-use buildings such as apartments over stores in the downtown area.

It also identifies four “opportunity sites,” including the municipal lot on East Main Street, two areas on Meadow Road West and the Kings Park Plaza that could potentially expand retail and housing choices.

Scott Ehl, of Smithtown, said at a recent public hearing on the plans that he was in favor of revitalizing Kings Park, which he said would help him and others to “be able to start a family of their own in the town that they grew up in.”

“It makes for an ideal place for somebody in my shoes to live,” Ehl said.

Written comments on the master plan can be submitted to the Smithtown Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall until 5 p.m. Monday.

Town officials say that after the public comment period closes, they may need one or two months of review before they are ready to vote on the plan. They, along with planning and environmental experts, will review “all comments ... before a recommendation for adoption of the proposed plan can take place,” Town Hall said in a statement Wednesday.

Opinions on the future of downtown Kings Park were mixed at the Jan. 23 public hearing, which was held at the Smithtown Senior Center. For almost two hours, the Smithtown Town Board listened to comments from a crowd of more than 100.

One project that drew several comments was Cornerstone Kings Park, a proposed three-story apartment complex with an underground parking garage that developers Tanzi Properties LLC and Terwilliger & Bartone Properties have planned for the corner of Meadow Road and Indian Head Road. The developers filed their plans with the town last July.

Tony Tanzi, of Tanzi Properties LLC, said at the hearing the complex is necessary to open up housing opportunities for people who prefer to rent and not buy homes.

Tanzi, a member of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, added that the project — originally four stories — had been reduced in size, units and setbacks after hearing residents’ concerns “so that it will comply with every one of the recommendations that the Planning Department has made.”

Others spoke in favor of amending zoning to allow for building more apartments.

John Flynn, a business owner in Kings Park, said he supports the plan, stating that more apartments are needed in the area to retain young people.

“These young professionals should be coming back to our town, and maybe they’ll rent for a few years, save some money and then they’ll buy a house,” Flynn said.

However, some residents opposed adding more apartments downtown.

Lynn Trupiano O'Keefe, of Kings Park, said while she welcomed the plan, she did not want downtown to become overcrowded.

“If we set a precedent and change zoning laws, it could be the demise of all little small towns on Long Island,” O’Keefe said. “I’m not against apartments, but we don’t want zoning changes and we don’t want overbuilding.”

An “exact board meeting date” has not been set for the plan's adoption, the statement from Town Hall said.