The Town of Oyster Bay Zoning Board of Appeals on Dec. 14, was the forum for residents to air their views of the results of development on their quality of life. Adjacent property owners of the new Bermingham Estates are not happy with what has been happening to their area. Used to living in homes that backed onto the wooded Bermingham school property they are facing a new reality.

As the developer's attorney Anthony LaMarca expressed it: the community objected to cluster housing which would have left the topography as it was, and instead, the homes are being built in all areas of the site. To make some of the land workable, developer Stanley Gross has filled in land and built houses into hills resulting in what appears to homeowners living below them, as "monster sized houses." In the words of a homeowner "Privacy has been taken away. From their bedroom and bathroom they can see directly into our house as I can see into theirs."

A 30-year resident of Huckleberry Lane, Ilaha Limahi read a prepared statement she wrote to crystalize her thoughts. "Less than two years ago, we remodeled the kitchen and put a glass wall along it, to bring nature inside our home. For the same reason, we also spent a fortune in landscaping the back. Our property is our main retirement asset."

When the Bermingham Estates were to be built, she said, "The neighbor's fears were assuaged by promises that they will not even see the new houses in the valley below."

Instead they heard earth moving machines, starting at 7 a.m. and "Thus, the builder thumbed his nose at statutes and citizens. The new houses adjacent to our properties are not in the valley anymore. The builder had filled in the land to the height of the surrounding hills, thus doubled or tripled the available land, enabling him to charge a million dollars instead of $600,000 a unit."

She said the adjacent house is so high, it begins at the level of their second floor window.

"The crimes continued, when the forest was ripped out of the hills. Bulldozers chained and felled each tree, like in a slaughterhouse. Thus the builder thumbed his nose at Mother Nature."

The result, said Ms. Limahi is, "Now, our privacy is totally gone, a bare landscape, with towering houses instead."

She said, "By raising the floor of the valley to the hills, the builder turned dirt into gold; and the neighbors' losses into his profits."

The builder was at the ZBA to ask for variances where the height of the buildings are higher than allowed. Mr. Gross explained that the houses were measured from the exposed basement level to the top of the house, which made the figures higher.

"Why didn't they adhere to variances, before the houses went up?" asked Ms. Limahi. "Where were the surveyors and the inspectors, for whom we pay a fortune in taxes, when all this was going on?"

She asked that the valley be restored to restore the confidence of the residents.

Another resident said a fence that had bordered his property for 16 years was removed. He planted 6 ft. arborvites to block the view, but can still look into their house from his second story.

Fred Vogelman, a resident of Sherwood Gates, whose property borders on the Bermingham Estates said three of the houses are contiguous with his property. He said his trees are being felled by flooding because of the method of construction being used to create the walk-out basement areas.

"Someone's oversight is our poor-sight," he said.

He asked the board to get rid of the walk-out basements.

Another resident said the buildings are so high: "I look into their kitchen. We pull the curtains since we can see these towering houses, 20 ft. above our horizon level."

Speaker after speaker reiterated the complaints.

Another resident complained that a pool was three feet from them, but a ZBA member pointed out that the pool is bordered 100 percent by Nassau County property.

ZBA Chair Wayne Brown said some of the problems with water may be temporary during the construction process.

Developer Stanley Gross said he took down trees as a result of the wishes of the new homeowners. "They didn't want woods. They want backyards," he said. If he hadn't done as they wished, he said they would sue him. "Nothing would stop these people once they get their Certificate of Occupancy." He said the owners of the $600,000 to $700,000 homes would do their own planting and that in the summer it will be green.

He said the town allowed setting the houses into the hill and that he had put in more drainage as a result. "I feel like a villain. How can I keep everyone happy?" he asked.

Mr. Gross said the houses were two story houses with basements that naturally open up as a result of being built into a hill. The variances are needed because, he said, while the houses are not too tall on the short side, they are too high on the open side. The town takes an average of all the sides, which leaves them too tall, he explained.

One resident said, "We know the houses are here to stay." He said if the trees are replanted to make a buffer, that would be better.

Other comments included: "We bought our house because of the trees. I thought it was a buffer." "We thought there would be a park-like view but there's not. "If they were in the valley it wouldn't be so egregious."

Attorney Anthony LaMarca said, in the beginning the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Board of Education called in a land consultant who recommended cluster development for the property which saves the existing topography of a parcel. "The community lobbied against it so we went to a conventional development plan," he said.

ZBA member Scott Guardino asked if they said in the proposal that they would backfill the land with an artificially created grade. Now, what people saw previously as a valley, is higher than their own parcels.

Mr. LaMarca said the reason for the exposed basements is the grade of the land, which has not changed.

There were moans from the residents as they shook their heads in disagreement.

Mr. LaMarca said the homeowners want to use the basement areas for recreation rooms and play rooms and to do that, following town regulations, you must be able to exit the basement at floor level to use the space: therefore the current plan.

Board member Fanny Corsentino asked if the fence that was taken down could be replaced and Mr. Gross said the new residents would put one up.

Mr. LaMarca said they would put up a safety fence at the construction site. He added that houses selling in the $620,000 to $900,000 wouldn't devalue the area, as some had suggested.

Presently six families want to move in. They are selling their houses so delaying the process of creating the new homes would be a problem for them, said Mr. LaMarca, as he asked the ZBA for the variances.

Mr. Gross said two of the homeowners are landscapers, Mr. Vigliatta and Mr. Woodstock, and that they wish to do their own landscaping. Landscaping is an option in the cost of the homes, said Mr. Gross.

As for the flooding problems, Mr. Gross said when the project is complete, trees will help with the drainage from the site.

Chairman Brown gave Bermingham Estates two weeks to submit plans about what they will do to mitigate the problems. He suggested that those attending, who would like to comment further, send letters to both the board and a copy to Mr. LaMarca. There will be no further public hearings on the plan.

Outside Town Hall, resident Lawrence Matarese, who had attended the hearing said, he appreciated the fact that the ZBA worked as a public forum to allow residents to express their opinions. "I think it all can be worked out," he said. His home is not contiguous to Bermingham Estates, but is in the same area.