Developer pitches Hilton-branded hotel on Mentoria Road; William Burgess overlay shapes design and utilities

A developer seeking to build a Hilton-branded hotel on Mentoria Road presented preliminary plans to the Nassau County Development Review Committee on Tuesday and was directed to address multiple overlay and infrastructure requirements in the William Burgess District blueprint.

David Schmidt of Alliant Engineering said the proposal had shifted from an earlier 76-room design to an 85-room hotel. He told the committee the site contains wetlands and that the overlay’s blueprint and grading standards mean the project may have to raise portions of the site by about 4 feet; those grade changes prompted questions about how to meet sidewalk and boulevard cross-section requirements at the property frontage.

Elizabeth Beck of the planning department said the site is zoned Commercial Highway Tourist (CHT) and reiterated that the William Burgess District applies. She summarized key constraints: jurisdictional wetlands require a 25-foot upland buffer (Code §37.03); lot coverage under CHT is not more than 50 percent; maximum height is 40 feet (with incremental side-yard increases required if the building exceeds 35 feet); and architectural and design requirements in the William Burgess blueprint must be satisfied.

Caleb Hurst of Development Services reviewed William Burgess District standards referenced by staff: required cross-access for vehicles and pedestrians (Section 4.9.3.c), stormwater low-impact design (Section 4.12), multiuse-trail integration and an 8-foot pedestrian walkway within parking areas (Section 4.5.2.7), a boulevard cross-section with limited curb cuts, and a traffic-study threshold for projects generating more than 250 daily trips.

Hurst added that utilities in front of new development must be underground (Section 4.5.0.2.8) and that the roadway frontage may require additional right-of-way to meet the boulevard cross-section. Ronnie Nestor noted the health department will require letters of availability for water and sewer; Hurst and staff said a swimming pool would need state permits. Amanda Baum of the fire department flagged potential hydrant and site-access requirements based on fire-flow needs.

Schmidt and the development team said they would resubmit revised plans that reflect overlay-zone requirements and asked to schedule follow-up meetings to resolve grading, sidewalk cross-section and trail integration concerns. The DRC reiterated it provides advisory technical review; project approvals will proceed through formal site-plan and permit processes.