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The following article ran in the September 19, 2000, issue of the Daily Messenger and is reprinted here with permission.

Victor settles Drumlins lawsuit

A developer will obtain sewer access to its proposed apartment complex, as part of a settlement.

By KRIS DREESSEN
Messenger Post Staff

VICTOR - Village officials have settled the Drumlins lawsuit against them out of court.

In exchange for agreeing to provide sewer service to a developer's proposed apartment complex, the village will receive about $41,500 in settlement and sewer hook-up fees.

The settlement, which board members approved last night, removes one of several obstacles The Pioneer Corp. must overcome to build 154 upscale apartments off Rawson Road in the Drumlins subdivision. With sewer capabilities, Pioneer can return to the town Planning Board and seek project approvals. The Planning Board had deemed Pioneer's application incomplete because there was no sewer service.

"They are pleased to have this issue resolved so they can move forward with other proceedings they are going to have with the town," said attorney Karl Essler, who represents Pioneer and John G. Turner, president of Ontario Heights Development and owner of the land.

Mayor Tom Walker said he was unable to comment on the settlement. Board members approved the settlement 4 to 0 at last night's meeting. Walker was absent.

Reasons why Victor settled out of court are outlined in the agreement. If the case moved to court next month for summary judgment as planned, and the judge ruled in the village's favor, Pioneer and Turner have said they would continue the lawsuit - and seek monetary damages from the village.

"(The Village Board) didn't want to put the taxpayers in a position where they would have to pay a judgment" if the village lost, said William Kocher, village attorney.

A Sept. 12 hearing for summary judgment was delayed while attorneys negotiated for a settlement. It had been rescheduled for October.

Also, residents in the Drumlins subdivision already have village sewer service. And, despite ongoing problems with the village's sewer system, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said the additional waste water from Pioneer's development would not increase problems or affect Victor's ability to correct problems, according to the agreement.

For sewer service, Pioneer has agreed to: pay the village a $1,500 hook-up fee for each of the 21 proposed apartment buildings, equaling $31,500; pay Victor $10,000 to settle outstanding issues about the work Turner previously had done to correct village sewer problems based on a 1980's agreement; and repair a manhole on Rawson Road and correct current groundwater problems.

Now, Pioneer must go back to the town to get approval to build the complex from the Planning Board.

Pioneer's plans have been met with opposition from members of the Drumlins Concerned Citizens, who believe the land should be developed with owner-occupied homes or town homes as originally proposed, and that development should blend with the existing neighborhood. The complex would be built between single-family homes and town homes.

Group member Marsha Senges said the group will review the agreement, but "the fact that the developer has obtained sewers is not what the citizens have been concerned about. The concern is that the land be developed in a way that would be complementary to the total character of the neighborhood."

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