To the editor:
Here we go again. Despite widespread opposition in 2015 to the O’Brien & Gere/Morgan Management proposal to create a mega apartment complex on Route 5 near the Fayetteville Post Office, the village has invited yet another similar proposal from the very same group. The village board may hear this proposal as early as the Nov. 13 meeting.
Why do O’Brien & Gere/Morgan think that any of the outstanding questions have been answered to warrant another application? Who in the village hall thinks this really is a good idea?
The “new” proposal calls for 200 apartments, featuring five massive three-story buildings. This is a slight decrease from the original proposal, yet still big enough to create an overnight 15 percent increase in the village population. There is some provision for limited mixed use space, but this is a distraction from the core of the proposal.
Is such a dense settlement in line with the character of the village and its history? This gigantic development really is unprecedented and provides little benefit to existing residents.
What about the proposed 500 parking spots near the stressed intersection of Route 5 and F-M road and the effect on already clogged traffic? What about the potential effect on school enrollment and facilities, an important question posed in writing by the district’s leadership the last go-around?
Why does this proposal not stress individual ownership, which has been the cornerstone of the village culture? Should we even permit the building of homes or apartments on a site that will remain so environmentally contaminated that basements and gardens will be permanently banned under this proposal?
The questions go on and on. The village board needs to answer them. I, and others who have followed this issue closely, suspect that there are few good answers to be found.
Growth can be good, but smart growth is key. Jamming this many people into a small parcel near a stressed intersection, creating the village’s largest neighborhood almost purely with rentals, taxing our village services and school resources throughout, seems to create far more problems than benefits.
The Village of Fayetteville Municipal Code (187-7.M [3] [b]) permits the board to reject outright the zone change that the developer’s application seeks. No group or entity is entitled to zone change consideration. This proposal does not need to go to the planning board. It is not worthy of such an endorsement.
I implore the citizens of Fayetteville, who have demonstrated widespread and nearly universal opposition to this proposal in the past, to contact Mayor Olson and the other members of the village board this week and urge them to reject this proposed zone change at the onset.
This proposal should not make it past the village board, which should listen to the citizens and not give this ridiculous proposal credence by passing it to the planning board. Please call or email your representatives in the village, and join us on Nov. 13 to be heard in person.
