What's Happening in Huntington, NY…

Huntington officials are considering a change to the town code that would allow restaurants located in industrial parks or office buildings to ask for parking variances.

When restaurants are located in these buildings, there must be parking available in addition to that already mandated for the industrial or office spaces. For instance, if the code specifies that a certain number of spaces is required for an office, and another certain number is required for the restaurant, the total of the two must be provided by the site.

However, restaurants may need to have most of their parking available on weekends or at night, when few industrial or office workers are present. At present, the code makes no provision for restaurants in these circumstances to request a variance to provide fewer spaces.

Tony Aloisio, Huntington's planning director, noted that on one hand, the city wants to provide for mixed-use projects, but on the other, the issue makes them less attractive for those who have to provide parking.

The code change would simply develop a mechanism by which restaurants could ask the zoning board to grant them a parking variance.

The matter will be discussed at a hearing at 7:00 pm tomorrow, February 10, at Town Hall on Main Street. City officials could consider working with a flyer printing company to create a handout about the issue to distribute at the upcoming meeting.