Letter: Collington Pointe vote raises concerns

To the editor:

Last Thursday evening, the Lysander Town Board unanimously approved the Collington Pointe incentive zoning application 5-0. All town board members spoke in favor of allowing 90 residential lots to be built where conventional zoning would have only allowed 45 lots. Each member gave their individual reasons why they felt this proposal met the requirements of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and the spirit of the incentive zoning idea.

To date, there have been two developments built in the area of the incentive zoning overlay. One development, Cabbage Patch off Emerick Road and the Whispering Oaks development, initially proposed 37 lots on roughly 25 acres. This development met considerable roadblocks at the town board level by Councilor Geraci. After going through two town boards and eight months of discussion, Cabbage Patch was approved with 35 lots. The Cabbage Patch development is less than half a mile from access to Route 690.

Collington Pointe, off Patchett Road, has now been approved at the town board level with 89 lots on roughly 40 acres. This development is over 3.5 miles from any two-lane highway, and has a much higher housing density ratio than the Cabbage Patch development. The town board also decided to take ownership of roughly 36 acres on the north end of the property to make sure it remains “forever wild.” This caveat was surprisingly left out of the revised plan, even though the entire town board knew of it. Roughly a third of those 36 acres were already deemed a wetland, so it would not have been developed anyway. The town board touted that they and the developer listened to residents’ concerns about the original project asking for 120 lots, and lowered it to 89 lots.

Councilors Geraci and Diamond had grave concerns about the Cabbage Patch development and its’ effects on the surrounding area, because of the rural area it was in. Councilor Geraci initially asked the town board to change the incentive zoning overlay map to remove the overlays surrounding Whispering Oaks. After discussion, the overlay map change was limited to the property north of Cabbage Patch on Emerick Road. Even though the Town of Lysander Planning Board voted unanimously, 7-0, to not change the overlay map, our town board disregarded their advice and voted for the map change 5-0.

I have considerable concerns that our town board is no longer listening to its residents. While I understand that each incentive zoning plan will be different, I cannot comprehend the Lysander Town Board allowing over two months of public comment on the first plan for Collington Pointe, but only one public hearing and less than three weeks between the public having an opportunity to review the revised plan and approving it. I again urge the residents of Lysander to attend our town board meetings before voting to make an informed decision this fall. The town of Lysander deserves a board that is concerned about the entire town, not just the part of it they live in.