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The following article ran in the December 26, 1999, issue of the Daily Messenger and is reprinted here with permission.

Victor apartment plan draws opposition

Residents and environmentalists object to the plan.

By KRIS DREESSEN
Messenger Post Staff

VICTOR -- Plans to build nearly 200 upscale apartments in an environmentally sensitive area off Rawson Road are being met with opposition from residents and concerns from the town Conservation Board.

The Pioneer Corp. wants to build 22 apartment buildings housing, up to eight apartments each with garages on 49 acres in The Drumlins subdivision, just outside of the village. A club house and pool are also planned.

The 172 apartments - renting. from $800 to $1,000 per month would be located in an existing subdivision between two tracts of single-family homes. About @ 55 clustered town homes are also in the subdivision.

The area is rich in drumlins - rolling knolls containing silt and rocks deposited from giant ice sheets that moved through the area thousands of years ago.

This has conservationists and neighbors concerned the natural character will be irrecoverably lost. "It changes the nature of the community," said Jennifer McKinley, a Wellington Road homeowner. "...This is a huge development and it will have a huge impact on our lives.

A Drumlins developer agrees." ... (The apartments don't fit the character of the neighborhood, and I really think that is going to be a problem," said Bob Orioli, managing partner of Orioli-DeFelice developers. The company is not involved in the Pioneer Corporation project.

Residents' main concern is that the proposed apartments are not saleable townhomes as was originally planned. Existing homes blend into the wooded surroundings, said McKinley and Drumlins homeowner Marsha Senges.

Increased noise and traffic would be out of character with the rest of the neighborhood and drive down property values, opponents say. The average values range from $211,000 to $221,000 for homes - and $126,000 to $149,000 for townhomes, depending on the street.

Drumlins residents are circulating a petition against the project.

About 65 people met Wednesday night and formed the Drumlins Concerned Citizens committee, made up of representatives from the Drumlins, nearby roads such as Cork Road and Rawson Road, and Orioli, Senges said.

Bernard McCarthy, chairman of the Conservation Board, said developers would probably need to alter the hill significantly to construct the apartments.

"In order to destroy the drumlins, the developer would have to secure a variance. We do not support a variance on that, " McCarthy said.

Planning Board members are just beginning to review plans, said Chairman Christie Hart.

The board intends to hold a public hearing in late January.

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