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The following article ran in the April 26, 2000, issue of the Daily Messenger and is reprinted here with permission.

Drumlins developer sues village of Victor

The developer is suing for sewer service for a proposed apartment complex.

By KRIS DREESSEN
Messenger Post Staff

VICTOR - Rebuffed on one front when its apartment complex plan was put on hold by the town, the developer of The Drumlins is taking the offense on another front by suing the village of Victor to try and get sewer service to the project.

The village was served with a summons and complaint on Monday, said Village Attorney William Kocher, adding that he's still reviewing the summons and complaint and cannot comment. Mayor Tom Walker also said he can't comment on the suit.

According to documents filed in state Supreme Court, The Pioneer Corp. and John G. Turner, president of Ontario Heights Development and owner of the land, argue that the village is denying the existence of, and therefore violating, an official agreement to provide sewer service to new Drumlins development.

The 10-page document outlines that 14-year-old agreement, and to back up claims includes transcripts from two 1986 Village Board meetings that approve such an agreement, and a letter written by Walker.

According to court documents, the lawsuit alleges that the Village Board approved in July 1986 an agreement that the village would provide sewer service for 192 residential units in a portion of The Drumlins, in exchange for Turner paying for cleanup of an oxidation pond that forms part of the village sewer system. According to the lawsuit, Turner honored the agreement, and 20 residences in The Drumlins have been linked to the village sewer system, "but the village is required to allow the connection of up to 172 residential units from the property to the village sewer system."

Pioneer co-owners Dana Hoffman and Chris Calabro, and their attorney, Jerry Goldman, also declined comment.

The village has 20 days to respond to the lawsuit, Kocher said.

Lack of sewer service has stalled Pioneer's plans to build what it calls 154 upscale apartments in the existing Drumlins subdivision off of Rawson Road. The Victor Town Planning Board, which ultimately must either approve or reject the project, ruled last night that the application is incomplete because the village has said it cannot provide sewer service to the complex.

Residents of the existing single-family homes in The Drumlins have fought the apartment complex plan, saying they moved into the development with the understanding that privately owned residences, not apartments, would be built on the property.

The Planning Board won't consider the project again until the sewer issue is resolved, said Chairman Christie Hart.

While Walker said he couldn't discuss the suit, he did say that any addition to the village sewer system from any large project would need State Department of Environmental Conservation approval. The DEC would examine whether a system can accept the wastewater, he said.

Walker outlined the village's inability to accept the wastewater to its sewer system in a letter sent to Pioneer's attorney and the town last month. In it, he said the village is operating under a consent order by the DEC and has until fall to meet sewer standards. The letter also said Walker, who was a trustee in 1986, recalls discussions about a possible agreement with Turner in 1986 but doesn't recall an agreement being executed.

Walker's letter is included in lawsuit documents. The two transcripts also included in the lawsuit documents are meeting minutes from the July 1986 meetings in which Village Board members are said to have approved such an agreement.

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