Eric Burrell, the owner of the office building at 4 Chenango St. which has been the center of attention for his request for a zone change in order to bring the restaurant Circa to his property, has suspended his zone change request in order to be a part of a larger village planning process later in the year, Burrell’s attorneys wrote in a letter to the mayor and the chair of the village planning board on Friday, May 9.
“I write on behalf of our client, Pro-Tel Properties II, LLC, to request that the board of trustees and the village planning board at this time suspend active consideration of our client’s request for re-zoning of the premises at 4 Chenango St.,” wrote Laurel J. Eveleigh, of Alario & Fischer, P.C., the attorney for Burrell. “As suggested by Trustee [David] Porter at the last village board meeting, we believe it would be beneficial to include our client’s property in the context of a broader examination of the Chittenango Creek corridor.”
Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler released a statement confirming the action.
“Based on public input, Pro-Tel has agreed to include their property at 4 Chenango St. as part of a broader planning process for the Riverside Drive/Chittenango Creek corridor from Albany Street to Mill/Chenango Street. Their separate request for a zone change to PD for their parcel has been tabled in favor of consideration as part of a larger PD zone including the village-owned parcel behind the library and others parcels to be determined during the process,” Wheeler stated. “The village had planned to undergo a separate review of its parcel later in the year to determine the best course of action for its redevelopment. In light of the opportunity to review the whole corridor more holistically, the board will consider options for a broader process at its June meeting.”
Wheeler said he has initiated consultations with the village’s professional planner and with the Madison County Planning Department in order to “optimize” the planning process. “The village will be reaching out to neighboring property owners and other stakeholders for input in the near future,” he said.
Burrell proposed the zone change for his office building in January in order to bring Circa to into a new building expansion. The Chenango and Mill street neighbors opposed the plan, and the proposal was given a negative recommendation by the village planning board in March. During a public hearing on the zone change request at the village board’s May 5 meeting, Burrell announced that he was amending his zone change request to eschew a restaurant but to instead add more office space into his existing office building.
Burrell, who was out of the country at press time, could not be reached for comment.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
