Lysander — Submitted by William Penn and Dorothy Alessio
Doyle Road residents
As many local residents already know, a real estate developer, Marden Associates, has applied to the town of Lysander for approval of their plan to build 447 homes on 280 acres on property located on the “peninsula” along Hayes Road, close to the northwest end of that road. This is known as the “Melvin Farm Zoning Change Application.”
Marden wants to use Lysander’s recently formulated option for “incentive zoning” so that the target area can accommodate this large number of new single family homes.
This project would be adjacent to the Melia Park area, and also would also be close to the Brickwalk area, the homes along Route 370 and the west section of Doyle Road. “Incentive zoning” provides some set-aside land to be available for farming or public use (trails, etc.).
The developer wants to make a five-fold increase in the number of homes allowed per acre. This would allow approximately as much as five building sites per acre. (The present R-40 zoning implies a minimum building site area of approximately one site per acre). We believe that a very large majority of homeowners in this neighborhood solidly oppose this plan.
We think that most residents of the Cold Springs peninsula selected this area as their home at least partly because of the “openness” and un-crowded atmosphere that they saw here. This asset has existed here for a half-century. Thus we believe that this change to high-density housing is a betrayal of the present Lysander town government against their constituents.
The present town government appears to favor the approval of this project. It would set a serious precedent. Why are they so anxious to create this high-density neighborhood? What is the motive?
The town sent the proposal from Marden Associates to the Onondaga County Planning Agency in early November of 2015. This body considered the application for their approval on their meeting on Dec. 2. They disapproved the plan. According to their report, some of the reasons for this disapproval are:
continued — • “Given the scale and design of the proposed project, the peninsula wastewater strategy facilitated in part by this project, and lack of fiscal information as required in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Incentive Zoning projects, the board does not have adequate information to assess the impacts and merits of the project at this time.”
• “The board continues to advocate for a more robust community discussion regarding support for the development being proposed on this site and other proposed development sites on the peninsula, as well as regarding the peninsula sewerage strategy. Community discussion would optimally include identification and notification of potentially affected property owners.”
• “The board also advocates for additional preliminary discussion of proposed project site planning prior to town approval of the Incentive Zoning application and during future subdivision review.”
We have additional questions:
The Lysander governing staff makes the argument that a high-density design is essential for a developer to be able to afford the infrastructure that serves the residents. How is it that Melia Park, Brickwalk, Whitetail, much of Dutchman Park and the recent expansion of the Cold Springs housing along Olive Drive all were successfully built while abiding by the present AR-40 zoning?
Why does the government seem to ration information about planned projects until irrevocable decisions have been made or are very soon to be made without a reasonable consideration of their constituents’ opinions?
Why did the town engineer (whose salary is paid by the property taxes levied on the residents) attend the meeting of the Onondaga County Planning Agency on Dec. 2 and there provide assurance to the board that any shortcomings in the developer’s application would be corrected as quickly as possible? It is not the duty of any town official to provide such application improvements. That is the duty of the developer and his (or their) staff.
continued — When a developer bases his proposal and insists on a re-zoning to high density (approximately “R-8” in this case), why can’t the town of Lysander invite said developer to seek his real estate fortune elsewhere?
The town board has canceled the public hearing originally scheduled for the town board meeting to be held Monday, Dec. 28, at Lysander Town Hall, 8220 Loop Road, Baldwinsville. The public hearing will thus be postponed until 2016.
We will try to keep everyone informed. Anyone with an opinion of the desirability of this plan and the precedent that it sets should make a very serious effort to attend this public hearing, whenever it does happen.
