Mineola Mayor Paul Pereira said the village hopes to move on potential overlay districts in the near future following a presentation last Wednesday to reimagine the village’s building districts.

On Sept. 21, Mineola’s Board of Trustees listened to a presentation by Paul Grygiel on creating an overlay district on the strip of Jericho between Willis Avenue and Marcellus Road and on Main Street, First Street and Second Street between Mineola Boulevard and Willis.

Grygiel is a city planning and development consultant with previous experience in Mineola, which included a helping hand in the creation of the master plan of Mineola in the mid-2000s.

“The board is still going over the report that Mr. Grygiel submitted and we hope to move on that in the near future,” Pereira said during the Sept. 28 board meeting. 

Overlay zones create special zoning districts on previously established districts that can allow for additional criteria. 

An overlay zone, as presented, would allow future development to possibly be residential-only and exceed the maximum height of 25 feet but not go above 40 feet. 

Grygiel noted that the master plan, enacted in 2005, labeled the Jericho Turnpike area as an appropriate place for pedestrian-oriented development, mentioning specifically that some outside-the-box methods of increasing development would be mixed-residential buildings, a conference space, hotel or movie theater, among other possibilities. 

Grygiel said the focus for the Main Street area was to preserve and enhance a traditional downtown area. He pointed out that buildings can only be two stories and allowing for a third could promote development.

For additional residential units to be developed, current regulations would require parking spaces to be put in place, but a potential remedy would be a payment in lieu of parking program that would set funds aside for specific parking developments in the village. 

Any specifics on a potential payment in lieu of parking program would be dictated by the village, Grygiel said.

“Developers could pay a one-time fee per parking spot and funds can go to a parking lot or parking structure if the opportunity presented itself,” Grygiel said at the previous meeting.

In unrelated village news, Mineola High School will have its homecoming football game against East Rockaway at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8.

Trustee Janine Sartori also reminded those in attendance to attend Night on The Town, taking place Monday, Oct. 24, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Jericho Terrace on 249 Jericho Turnpike. 

For nine years, Warriors for a Cause’s Night on the Town has raised over $1.2 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This year the event’s proceeds will benefit The Michael Magro Foundation, established in 2005 and named after Michael Magro, who died at 13 years old due to leukemia. 

Michael’s mother, Terrie, was a physician liaison at NYU Langone in Mineola.

The event showcases Long Island’s restaurants, bakeries and wineries and will feature live entertainment. 

Tickets are $125 per person. 

More information on the event can be found at Warriors for a Cause.