NEW YORK CITY-A plan to redevelop nine city-owned sites onManhattan’s Lower East Side won conditional approval from CommunityBoard 3 earlier this week, marking a successful first stop on thelengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure route. It’s a beginningthat’s been a long time coming: the impetus to develop the areaknown as Seward Park began 47 years and seven mayors ago.

The Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project would bring about1.65 million square feet of housing, retail and other commercialspace to a site just south of the Williamsburg Bridge. If CB 3 hasits way, though, that retail space will not include big-box stores;the board has maintained that position since voting in favor ofguidelines for the project last year.

“We firmly believe that such stores will threaten existing smallbusinesses and will generally disrupt the community’s character,”according to CB 3’s resolution Tuesday in favor of the Seward Parkproject. “Our guidelines passed in January 2011 said very directly:‘With the exception of a possible supermarket, no single retailtenant should exceed 30,000 square feet in size.’ ”