Transit adjacent rezoning planned for Lawrence, Inwood

A proposal to rezone areas north of the Lawrence and Inwood stations in the Town of Hempstead could bring more transit adjacent development to properties along Lawrence Avenue and Doughty Boulevard in these communities.  The proposal to rezone these areas to permit buildings of up to five stories and 60 units per acre next to the train stations (decreasing to three stories and 14 units per acre further away from the stations) would help strengthen these downtowns, which are about a 50 minute train ride from NY-Penn Station.  The effort is being led by Town of Hempstead Councilman Bruce Blakeman, whose district covers Franklin Square, Valley Stream, and portions of the Five Towns area.

The present zoning in the immediate areas of the train station is a hodgepodge of commercial (red in the below map) and industrial uses (purple), with a mix of single- and mutli-family residential further out.  Rezoning for more multi-family residential development would help bring more people within walking distance of these train stations. The map below from the Long Island Index shows the predominant land uses in the areas around these two train stations now:

Predominate land uses in Lawrence and Inwood (map: Long Island Index)

The Town of Hempstead has engaged Woodbury-based Cameron Engineering to draft the new section of the zoning code, which Councilman Blakeman hopes will go before the town board this summer.  If passed, Lawrence and Inwood would join other communities in the Five Towns area supporting further growth near train stations in recent years.