A new 936-unit self-storage facility may be coming to Hicksville as some residents call for the application to include more landscaping around the property.
Erik Snipas of the Greenberg Traurig law firm spoke on behalf of the applicant, Nicholas Girardi, to the Oyster Bay Town Board on Tuesday, Aug. 12, about the facility.
According to Snipas, the 1.6-acre property at 350 Broadway is on the west side of the main road and is divided into two different zones. The application would have the storage facility entirely built within the business zone and the parking for the facility in the residential zone, which would require a variance from the town zoning board.
The three-story facility will cover over 108,000 square feet of space and feature 936 self-storage units. The facility will have 29 parking spots, one more than the minimum number required.
Snipas said the property has been used as an unimproved parking area since 1971 to store trucks and landscaping vehicles.
Snipas said the applicant has spoken to several residents in the area, although he noted Girardi had not spoken with the local civic association.
Each person with a storage unit will be given an individual code that will grant them access to the facility, according to Girardi. He said that this procedure, along with regular sweeps from attendants, will allow them to know who is inside the facility and when.
According to Girardi, the building will be temperature-controlled, but not the individual units.
Snipas said the plan is to plant roughly 400 plants along the outside of the facility to create a buffer, including 15-foot “green giants” where the property borders residents.
Town Councilwoman Vicki Walsh asked how the facility would affect traffic. Snipas reassured that the entrance to the facility will be in the back of the property and away from Broadway.
Marybeth LeVerso Kacprzycki spoke on behalf of Nancy Haley, who can see the site of the prospective facility from her home, during the public comment period. Kacprzycki said the plan to add the tall plants where the facility borders homes put Haley in favor of the plan.
Former Hicksville Board of Education President Phil Heckler said residents seem happy with the landscaping proposal for the back of the property, but would also like to see more landscaping proposed for the front of the property facing Broadway. Walsh said she agreed with that idea.
The traffic report, presented to the board by Wayne Muller of R&M Engineering, found the facility would be a “net positive,” as it would create less of an impact on traffic than other possible businesses had they operated on the property.
The facility is looking to be open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The storage gate will be usable from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
The board left the public record open for 30 days after the hearing closed.
Snipas said the facility’s future depends on the approval of the application. He said construction is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete once started.
