Residents voice opposition, support for Route 20 redevelopment proposal

By Jason Emerson

Editor

More than 100 Cazenovia residents turned out this week to hear information and to offer their input about the proposed annexation of 10.7 acres of land along Route 20 from the town into the village. The land, if annexed, will be the location of the proposed Route 20 redevelopment project that will include an Aldi grocery store, a free-standing Rite Aid with drive thru and a third commercial store, along with four, eight-unit apartment buildings anticipated to be used for senior housing.

If approved and brought to fruition, the redevelopment project is expected to generate up to $8 million in new investment in the village, bring in jobs, revenue and new residents, and grow the overall village tax base by millions of dollars.

The project is still in its very early stages of production, and the annexation request is something that needs to happen before the redevelopment plans even begin to be officially considered by the village panning board for approval.

“This is an involved, multi-step process, and we’re at stage two of probably 10,” said Mayor Kurt Wheeler. “Tonight is only about the annexation.”

All members of both the Cazenovia Village Board of Trustees and the Cazenovia Town Board were present and voted to form a joint board to consider the annexation request, with Wheeler voted in as the board chair and the village board to be the lead agency.

The purpose of the joint board is to determine if the proposed annexation is in the overall public interest and to either approve or reject the request based on that determination. As explained by attorney Kathleen Bennett, who is representing the petitioner, Sphere Development, LLC, the public interest is determined by the annexation’s impact on the land, the village and the town.

Bennett said the proposal is in the best interests of all three for various reasons, including that annexation of the land in question is supported in numerous village planning documents dating back to 1991, the Cazenovia Advisory Conservation Commission recently recommended annexation based on its determination that it was in the public interest, the current land and the dilapidated buildings currently on it (an old motel and café) are eyesores that will be removed and improved upon through annexation. The economic impact will also be substantial by bringing in increased local revenues, taxes and jobs, Bennett said.

Sphere partner Greg Widrick gave a brief presentation about the Aldi project his company is proposing to build on 3.5 acres of the annexed land. He said archeological impact and traffic impact studies of the site have been completed and both showed no adverse impact would be created by the project. The traffic study in particular determined that the business will “maintain acceptable levels of service,” Widrick said.

Local developer and owner of the 10.7 acres of land in question, Dave Muraco, was present at the meeting but did not speak about his portion of the proposed redevelopment projects — the Rite Aid, second commercial business and senior apartments.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, 19 community members stood up to speak. While a few people spoke in favor of annexation — saying it would be a good addition to Cazenovia and would remove the current blight of the defunct hotel and café — the majority of the comments were against the proposal. Some of the reasons stated for opposing the annexation included the need to focus on developing businesses in the downtown village and not “sprawl” outward; the development should be placed farther away from Route 20 than it is currently positioned; the project is not in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan; there is not enough local population to sustain a second grocery store, which could end up being just another empty store in the village; and that it will destroy the character of Cazenovia.

“This looks like Anywhere, USA — it does not look like Cazenovia,” said local business owner Amanda Bury.

Recent Cazenovia transplant Stefan Lutter said he is not opposed to development, but the project plans, as they stand now, are “lazy and out of date, and we can do better than that. … All over the country there are communities trying to reverse this.”

The joint board voted to continue the meeting and public hearing to a later date, and scheduled the next meeting for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, in the second floor auditorium of the village municipal building. No indication was given as to when a decision would be made to approve or reject the annexation proposal, and Wheeler said both the village and town boards must separately approve the annexation request in order for it to be completed.