After years of work, the town of Clay is finally ready to move forward with its waterfront revitalization.
At its regular board meeting Monday night, the Clay Town Board voted unanimously to accept a draft of the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP) as written by Plumley Engineering. Steve Darcangelo of Plumley presented the draft at Monday’s meeting.
The draft plan includes planning goals for future development along the waterfront, including redevelopment of Three Rivers Point into a multi-use center; redevelopment of the former industrial sites along Maider Road into a mixed residential/retail community; construction of pedestrian walkways connecting Three Rivers Point with Maider Road; construction of new or improved public boat launch and docking facilities; development of public shoreline fishing locations; and development of the town-owned land on Black Creek Road.
That last one, we kept deliberately vague, because it’s so close to the state canal park, Darcangelo said. We want to develop it in a way that’s complementary to what the state’s doing.
The town has 26 linear miles of waterfront along the Seneca and Oneida rivers.
The board expressed excitement about the plan finally coming to fruition.
This shows incredible vision, said Supervisor Damian Ulatowski. The waterfront is the gateway to the northern part of the town. I think this could be a unique showcase property.
The plan was drafted with the help of a stakeholders committee, made up of two town board members – Naomi Bray and former Supervisor James Rowley – and eight community members – Robert Carter, John Carter, Tom Kraft, Richard Lobevero, James Palumbo, Christine Rahrle, Howard Snow and Paul White.
Ulatowski and several members of the stakeholders committee acknowledged Bray’s role in the process.
We would not have been able to do this without Naomi, Lobevero said. She really spearheaded this.
A full copy of the draft is available for review at Clay Town Hall. It can also be found on the town’s website (townofclay.org).
In other business:
‘ ‘The board closed three public hearings dealing with development along Route 31 near Caughdenoy Road.
Three separate applicants had approached the board with zone change applications last April for adjoining properties. Richard J. Alt, Donald W. Alt and Marilyn Alt sought a change from RA-100 to HC-1 at 5236 Route 31 and vacant land on Route 31; John E. Davis and Davis Ventures sought a change from RA-100 to HC-1 at 5064, 5154 and 5170 Route 31; and Clay Park LLC sought a change from RA-100 to HC-1 at the southwest corner of Route 31 and Caughdenoy Road and from RA-100 to R-TH on part of the same property. The proposals also included the construction of a road from Caughdenoy to Stearns to run parallel to Route 31.
Since that time, the developers have been working together to come up with a plan for the development of the parcels.
The town board held a joint meeting with the planning board and the developers on Nov. 19 to discuss the development. Ulatowski said the meeting went well and the town was especially interested in the concept of a parallel road.
It’s an attractive option that I think will help mitigate any of the traffic issues from that new development, he said. This is a unique project with a unique scope.
The town still has not received word back from the state regarding a traffic study on the area, something Bray said is not on the town’s shoulders or those of the developer.
There has been some reluctance on the part of the state, she said. They seem to be changing not just the way they respond to projects but their processes with municipalities on development issues.
The board will make a decision on the zone changes after it receives a recommendation from the planning board.
‘ ‘Ulatowski also addressed the situation on Waterhouse Road. The road closed in June for repairs and just reopened last month. Already, potholes have appeared in portions of the road.
We are aware of the problem, he said. What happened is this: they put in a binder, a level three binder, which is very coarse and because of that, very porous, which lets water in. As that water freezes, it expands, causing the road to sink in places.
Ulatowski said the highway department is already at work fixing the existing holes and looking for any more.
We knew this could happen, he said. The problem is, we can’t seal the road until the spring. So we’re going to keep addressing the problems as they arise, and then once the spring comes, we’ll seal it and that should take care of everything.
