BY Jason Emerson
Editor
The Cazenovia Village Board last week unanimously voted to approve annexation of 10.7 acres of land on Route 20 into the village, making the potential annexation of the area half-completed, with the Cazenovia Town Board having yet to vote.
Both boards must approve annexation in order for the action to occur.
The land in question is the potential site of an Aldi grocery store and other proposed commercial and residential development that has generated controversy in the community. Numerous opponents and proponents have attended meetings of the joint village/town annexation board and the separate village and town boards, publicly voiced their opinions to those boards and written numerous letters to the editor in the Cazenovia Republican.
The village board’s approval occurred during a June 20 special meeting on the annexation request. The board went through the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) form to determine the potential environmental impact of the proposed annexation on the Route 20 acreage, and agreed that the annexation will have no significant adverse impact on the land, the aquifer, traffic or community character.
The board allowed public comments from the audience before its final vote, which was 5-0 to approve annexation.
“We all take our responsibilities very seriously and, after objectively looking at the annexation application, each one of us came to conclusion that this is in the overall public interest. We have tremendous confidence in our planning board to continue to guide this application to a favorable outcome for the community,” Mayor Kurt Wheeler said.
The Cazenovia Town Board will have a special meeting with a potential vote on annexation on Wednesday, June 29, at the town offices.
Supervisor Bill Zupan said he encourages all town residents to attend the town board’s special meeting on annexation on June 29 and voice their opinion. “I’d like to have as many people as possible there so we can hear opinions on both sides of the issue,” he said.
A joint village/town annexation board, comprising all members of both village and town boards, held public hearings on the issue on May 9 and 25. The hearing was officially closed at the end of the May 25 meeting, after which both boards had 90 days in which to vote to approve or reject the annexation proposal based on, according to statute, whether it is in the overall public interest.
