|
|
|
|
Discussion |
The following article ran in the November 13, 2000, issue of the Democrat and Chronicle and is reprinted here with permission. Drumlins project resurfacesVictor planners to see new proposal for townhouses that neighbors oppose.BY STAFF WRITER VICTOR
- A coalition of Victor residents opposed to proposed rental townhouses
bordering their back yards will again make their presence known tomorrow, when
the developer is scheduled to present revised building plans to the town
Planning Board. The
dispute between the homeowners and developers began in late 1999, when Pioneer
Development Corp., based in Cortland, and landowner Jack Turner proposed 154
apartments in 22 buildings on 39 acres of land off Rawson Road. The
land is commonly referred to as the Drumlins so named for its hilly glacial
formations. In
response, homeowners from surrounding subdivisions - on Wellington Road, Silver
Hill Path, Rawson Road, Brookline Avenue and Cambridge Circle - banded together
to form Drumlins Concerned Citizens. The
group, with about 120 members, is opposed to the development primarily because
it does not clearly match what was approved in 1986. At
that time, the designation was changed from single-family to multiple-dwelling
zoning, said DCC member Bruce Trojan. "What
was being proposed now is not what was originally proposed," Trojan said. He
also said that he built his Wellington Road house 13 years ago with the
understanding that owner-occupied single-family townhouses - not rental units -
were going to be constructed on the contested Drumlins plot. DCC
members want to make sure that whatever is eventually built nearby echoes the
careful environmental matching of their own $150,000 to $300,000 homes. "Nobody's
against development, we just want to see it blend with what is already
here," said Marsha Senges of Wellington Road. Most
of the homes in the area are constructed to blend with the hilly terrain. They
have walk-out basements and minimal lawns and many are surrounded by old-growth
trees and brush teeming with wildlife. "The
area is not just open, said Jeff Morehouse of Silver Hill Drive. "It's
natural - it takes a long time to grow a tree." Pioneer's
previous plans did not call for similar landscaping and construction. The
company's 1999 application was put on hold in March by the Planning Board
because the village of Victor said that it could not provide sewer service to
the area as it had agreed to do in 1986. Pioneer
and Turner filed suit, but reached a settlement with the village in September. The
village agreed to provide the service for a $1,500 hookup fee for each proposed
building, repairs to a Rawson Road manhole and $10,000. Now
that the sewer question has been resolved, Pioneer and Turner will present their
proposal - now for 154 rental townhouses in clusters of six, seven or eight - to
the Victor Town Planning Board tomorrow evening. And,
DCC members are certain to be there to make their feelings known. "We
feel we have a valid argument here," said Morehouse. "We really feel
it is not what was planned."
Meeting A
controversial proposal to build rental townhouses in Victor will be presented to
the town Planning Board at 7 p.m.
tomorrow at Town Hall, 85 E. Main St., Victor, Ontario County. For more information on the opposition to the proposal, go to: www.oaknut.com/drumlins |
|
[Home] [News] [Issues] [Action] [Calendar] [DCC] [Photos] [Discussion] Please mail comments about this web site to TheDrumlins@netzero.net. The opinions expressed in this website do not necessarily reflect those of Acorn Technology or the website maintainers. Site
hosting donated by |
