By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
The owners of a local real estate company recently filed a lawsuit against the Town of Manlius Town Board, citing the denial of a zone change request as the basis for the legal action.
John and Stella Penizotto of J.S. Penizotto Real Estate Inc. submitted the application in question in April 2017, seeking to rezone their property located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Route 92 and Enders Road from a Residential Multiple-Use (R-M) district to a Commercial B (CB) district.
On May 22 of this year, the town board denied that zone change application.
The decision followed a series of grievances related to the request over the years, according to John Penizotto.
The lawsuit filed in September states that the town board relied on the “outdated and irrelevant” Route 92 study released in February 2001 for the determination.
As a result, the lawsuit states that the town board refused to acknowledge the pattern of development designated CB sprouting up in the immediate vicinity of the Penizottos’ property at 4581 Enders Road.
Commercially zoned businesses adjacent to the Penizottos’ property include Stingers Pizza Pub, a True Value Hardware Retail Store and a Circle K establishment occupying the space formerly belonging to a Nice N’ Easy Grocery Shop.
The suit makes the claim that the town board’s denial of the zone change request was rooted in motivation to suppress competition with the Nice N’ Easy-turned-Circle K, which serves the area as a convenience store with gas services—a purpose similar to that of the proposed Stewarts Shop sought by the petitioners that would have sat at the vacant corner of Enders Road and Route 92.
“We haven’t asked to put anything intrusive there like a nightclub or bar,” John Penizotto, who lives with his wife Stella in Salina, said. “Everything I’ve proposed wouldn’t cause more traffic.”
A portion of the Penizottos’ land represents the only property zoned R-M in the intersection aside from the Village of Manlius fire station on Cazenovia Road.
Additionally, the suit states that the town board scheduled discussions pertaining to the desired zone change but later removed them from the meeting agendas on two occasions.
The lawsuit states that “the Town Board has repeatedly refused, without reasons or justification, to work with the Penizottos with respect to its zone change request, but rather delayed considering or taking action on the request for years, placing the Penizottos in financial limbo.”
The Penizottos have owned and operated the Shining Stars Day Care Center at the intersection since late 2001, going on to also acquire five nearby residential homes, which were later torn down.
According to the suit, the plaintiff’s plan to construct a $2 million, 16,000-square-foot facility was in the spring of 2017 “arbitrarily” made conditional upon the simultaneous demolition of the already existing child care facility.
The suit further states that after this demolition, the development prospects for the vacant space remain “meager” until the zone change request is granted.
Previous proposals included the idea to put batting cages and a basketball/volleyball court on the corner.
“We’re not money-hungry,” John Penizotto said. “We’re not sue-happy people. We’re not multi-millionaire developers. We feel like we’ve been wronged, and this was our only choice.”
