A joint village/town public hearing this week was filled with concerned residents who oppose an application to annex town land into the village — the first step towards a potential new low-cost senior apartment development on Burton Street.
Opponents of the plans said the apartment project, if it comes to fruition, would change the character of their neighborhood, lower their property values, increase traffic and parking issues and thereby endanger the children at the nearby Burton Street Elementary School and Cazenovia Community Preschool.
Some residents also questioned the current trend of annexing town land into the village to promote development projects, saying the actions are destroying the quaintness of Cazenovia.
Proponents say the potential project would fill a serious residential need in the community.
The application from the James M. Burke living trust seeks to annex 11.6 acres of vacant town land on Burton Street into the village. This plot, plus an adjoining three acres of land already in the village, also owned by Burke, is being eyed by a non-profit group called Housing Visions for the potential construction of low-cost senior apartment housing.
While the proposed land annexation is currently the only official issue before the village board, the Housing Visions project and desire for the Burton Street location is no secret.
“We are greatly stressed and deeply concerned about the proposed annexation,” said Bruce Kaiser, neighbor to the land in question, during the joint public hearing on Feb. 5. “We are seeing a quiet village grow with an increase in businesses, housing and traffic. Many of us moved into the village over past years for the quiet village it was, not what it is becoming.”
Kaiser said allowing development for anything other than single-family homes on the land in question would negatively affect the surrounding neighborhoods and bring increased traffic to an area that has an elementary school and a preschool down the street.
Walter Benthal, another Burton Street neighbor, agreed with Kaiser, and said projects such as this should be built on the industrial Route 20 corridor and not in the village. He also said that Housing Visions, which describes itself as an organization that transforms and revitalizes neighborhoods, is off base in Cazenovia. “We do not need to be transformed,” he said.
Proponents of the annexation and Housing Visions projects who spoke at the meeting, all of whom serve on the board of directors for CRIS — Community Resources for Independent Seniors — said they have been working with Housing Visions on the proposal, and there is a need for low-cost senior apartment housing in Cazenovia. “We must address the fact there is an aging population … we are going to hit a housing crisis in this village very soon,” said Theo Gilmore, CRIS board member.
Jean Shirley, also a CRIS board member, said the Burton Street location is ideal because it is “in the heart of the village,” which is a better location for seniors, and they do not want to put seniors on the “outskirts” of Cazenovia or on Route 20.
Karisha Solomon, CRIS executive director, said if there is no affordable senior housing in Cazenovia then seniors will have to move to Manlius or Syracuse. If that happens, their caregivers — typically their children who also live in Cazenovia — may also leave this community to be near their parents.
Ken Craig, vice president and founder of Housing Visions, said his company is currently undertaking a market survey to see if their project is even feasible in Cazenovia — if not, they may not build here after all. He said he and members of CRIS looked at 17 other properties throughout the village of Cazenovia, and the Burton Street land was the best in terms of affordability, pleasant environment and safety for seniors.
Both Mayor Kurt Wheeler and town Supervisor Bill Zupan said their respective boards would continue to accept public comment on the proposed annexation until their respective meetings in March.
They both also emphasized that the current issue before the boards is solely about the land annexation application, it is not about the potential Housing Visions development. If the annexation is approved and Housing Visions moves forward with its project proposal, they will be more public hearings and a separate approval process for that.
