By John Tozzi
More than a hundred people packed the basement of the Community Church of Douglaston for Tuesday's meeting-the latest in a series of city planning presentations hosted by civic groups to explain the proposal-where some shouted that they had not been properly informed of the plan.Among the crowd were staunch advocates and persistent opponents of rezoning, as well as many people who came to ask questions. But Avella said that some of the most vocal rezoning opponents were developers and architects, including some who do not live in the area of the proposed rezoning.”In previous meetings, I can tell you, there have been plants in the audience,” disingenuously claiming to represent neighborhood interests, he said.Eliott Socci, a rezoning advocate and president of the Douglaston Civic, said the proposed downzoning a response to concerns by homeowners dating back 10 years about two problems: oversized “McMansions” being built on small lots, and developers tearing down one-family homes to subdivide larger lots and build several houses.”The predominant feeling of members in Douglaston Civic Association is many, many people have said, 'Why doesn't somebody do something about it? Why can't we stop it?” Socci said.But some in the audience objected to the plan, saying it would restrict their ability to expand their homes.Jim Mehmet, a Douglaston resident who said the new zone being proposed, called R2A, would keep him from adding onto his house, argued that in the effort to stop developers from building McMansions, some homeowners would be unfairly kept from expanding.”I'm talking about renovation,” he told the meeting. “I'm not talking about McMansions. My point is under R2,” the existing zone, he said.But Avella and John Young, the city's director of City Planning for Queens, said the city is considering the first rezoning in the area in 45 years to preserve the existing scale and character of neighborhoods, not to limit homeowners' ability to expand.The pair also tried to clarify what the new R2A zone, already in place in Bayside, College Point, Whitestone and other areas, does and does not affect. The new zone has no effect on whether or not a house can have a deck, a dormer, a bay window or gables, Young said, nor does it change the city's definition of a basement or cellar.The new zone places additional restrictions on lot coverage and wall height and changes what space is counted toward living space for determining a building's bulk. In an R2 zone, an entire lower level containing a garage is not counted toward living space, while under R2A, only 300 square feet for the garage is exempt.Reach reporter John Tozzi by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext. 188.
