Village of Farmingdale Community Visioning Project Final Visioning Report Prepared For: County of Nassau Submitted By: Village of Farmingdale 361 Main Street Farmingdale, NY 11735 December 2009 Acknowledgements INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF FARMINGDALE, NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK HON. GEORGE STARKIE, MAYOR Hon. Patricia Christiansen, Deputy Mayor Hon. Cheryl Parisi, Trustee Hon. Ralph Ekstrand, Trustee Hon. William Barrett, Trustee DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE Deborah Podolski, Chairperson Kevin Bagnasco John Capobianco Joe Carosella Dylan Cruthers Tim Dillon Joe Diurno Tom Lavin Jim Orobona Seymour Weinstein Hon. Patricia Christiansen, Deputy Mayor Hon. Ralph Ekstrand, Village Board of Trustees Participating Consultants Project Management/Land Use/Urban Design: Saccardi & Schiff, Inc. 445 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 John Saccardi, AICP; Jonathan Martin, Ph. D.; Eric Zamft, AICP Traffic Engineering: Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates Two Penn Plaza, Suite 2630 New York, NY 10121 Marty Taub, PE Civil Engineering: Paulus, Sokolowski, & Sartor 1305 Franklin Avenue, Suite 302 Garden City, NY 11530 Keith Samaroo; Mary Grace Caneja; Trey Wehrum, PE Socioeconomics/Real Estate Markets: Economics Research Associates 11 E. 26th Street New York, NY 10010 Kate Coburn Table of Contents Acknowledgements Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. i List of Figures .................................................................................................................. iv I. Introduction and Overview .................................................................................. I-1 A. Introduction ................................................................................................... I-1 B. Location......................................................................................................... I-2 C. Settlement and Development History ............................................................ I-2 D. Farmingdale 2010: The Downtown Today................................................... I-11 E. Visioning Project Description and Anticipated Accomplishments ................ I-12 1. Visioning Project Development Process ................................................ I-12 2. Background ............................................................................................ I-12 3. Project Description ................................................................................. I-14 4. Anticipated Accomplishments ................................................................ I-19 F. Stakeholders Involved ................................................................................. I-19 G. Specific Visioning Processes Employed ..................................................... I-20 H. Performance Measures and Final Product .................................................. I-21 1. Performance Measures .......................................................................... I-21 2. Final Product .......................................................................................... I-22 I. Frequently Asked Questions About the Final Visioning Report ................... I-23 II. Farmingdale 2010: The Downtown Today ......................................................... II-1 A. Socio-Economic Context .............................................................................. II-1 1. Demographic Characteristics .................................................................. II-1 2. Economic and Market Factors ................................................................ II-3 3. Key Issues and Opportunities ................................................................. II-4 B. Traffic, Parking, and Transportation ............................................................. II-4 1. Traffic ...................................................................................................... II-4 2. Parking .................................................................................................... II-5 3. Public Transportation .............................................................................. II-6 4. Key Issues and Opportunities ................................................................. II-6 C. Infrastructure ................................................................................................ II-7 1. Water Supply System and Capacity ....................................................... II-7 2. Sanitary Sewer System and Capacity ..................................................... II-7 3. Storm Drainage ....................................................................................... II-7 4. Electricity and Natural Gas ..................................................................... II-8 5. Key Issues and Opportunities ................................................................. II-8 D. Urban Design and Community Character .................................................... II-8 1. Architecture/Urban Character and Form ................................................. II-8 2. Signage ................................................................................................. II-10 3. Parking Fields ....................................................................................... II-11 4. Open Space .......................................................................................... II-11 Page i 5. Key Issues and Opportunities ............................................................... II-11 E. Land Use, Zoning, and Public Policy .......................................................... II-12 1. Land Use .............................................................................................. II-12 2. Zoning ................................................................................................... II-14 3. Key Issues and Opportunities ............................................................... II-16 F. Other Existing and Emerging Conditions ................................................... II-17 1. CDBG-Eligibility and Housing Affordability ............................................ II-17 2. Cultural and Historical Properties ......................................................... II-18 3. Open Space and Recreation ................................................................. II-18 4. Key Issues and Opportunities ............................................................... II-19 III. Foundations of the Report ................................................................................ III-1 A. Community Values and Vision .................................................................... III-1 B. Existing and Emerging Conditions in Downtown Farmingdale .................... III-2 C. Sites Subject to Change .............................................................................. III-3 D. Possible Choices for Future Downtown Farmingdale .................................. III-4 E. Final Visioning Report Goals and Priorities ................................................. III-6 F. Selection of Preferred Future Farmingdale Scenario .................................. III-6 IV. Downtown Farmingdale 2035 ........................................................................... IV-1 A. Downtown Concept ..................................................................................... IV-1 B. Downtown Land Use and Zoning ............................................................... IV-5 1. Land Use ............................................................................................... IV-5 2. Zoning .................................................................................................... IV-8 C. Downtown Design Concept Strategies/Proposals ..................................... IV-10 1. Urban Design ....................................................................................... IV-10 2. Signage ................................................................................................ IV-22 3. Parking Fields ...................................................................................... IV-25 4. Open Space ......................................................................................... IV-28 D. Downtown Economic Development Strategies/Proposals ......................... IV-31 1. Final Visioning Report Integration ........................................................ IV-31 2. Other Economic Development Strategies/Proposals ........................... IV-34 E. Downtown Traffic, Parking and Transportation Strategies/Proposals ....... IV-35 1. Trip/Parking Generation ....................................................................... IV-36 2. Recommended Access, Circulation, and Parking Improvements ........ IV-37 F. Downtown Infrastructure Strategies/Proposals ......................................... IV-45 1. Water Supply System .......................................................................... IV-45 2. Sanitary Sewer System and Storm Drainage ....................................... IV-46 3. Site-Specific Reviews .......................................................................... IV-46 G. Other Downtown Strategies/Proposals ..................................................... IV-47 1. Housing Affordability ............................................................................ IV-47 2. Cultural and Historic Properties ........................................................... IV-47 3. Open Space and