By Jason Emerson
The Cazenovia Village Board this week approved an annexation request for land on Burton Street that is being eyed for the location of a new low-cost senior apartment development.
The annexation will not be approved unless and until the Cazenovia Town Board also gives its approval, the vote for which is expected to occur at the board’s next meeting on March 12.
The application from the James M. Burke living trust seeks to annex 11.6 acres of vacant town land on Burton Street at Michigan Road 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.
The village board approval states that the land will be zoned R-10 residential, it will have public sewer and water access, village police protection will cover the annexed land and the annexation was “in the overall public interest.”
While the approval by the village board solely concerned the annexation request, the proposed residential construction on the land brought out both opponents and proponents of the potential senior housing plan to the board’s February meeting.
Proponents said the community is in dire need of low-cost senior apartment housing, while opponents said it would change the character of their neighborhood, lower neighboring property values, increase traffic and parking issues and thereby endanger the children at the nearby Burton Street Elementary School and Cazenovia Community Preschool.
Also at the meeting, the board:
• Stated it will be reviewing and clarifying its position on Air B&Bs in the village. Mayor Kurt Wheeler said the village is considering treating Air B&Bs the same as regular Bed and Breakfasts in terms of application procedures and operating rules and regulations. “Allow it but regulate it, make sure no one is disturbed by it,” Wheeler said.
• Scheduled a public hearing and budget work session for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the village board room. The public hearing concerns a proposed local law to allow the village to exceed the state tax levy cap for the village’s 2018-19 budget and fiscal year, which is an action the board takes every year. The budget work session, which is open to the public, is the second meeting for the board as it works to create next year’s village budget.
• Announced there will be a boater safety course offered from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 22, and Sunday, April 29, in the village board meeting room in village hall on Albany Street. The course can accommodate up to 30 people and will be offered at no charge.
• Approved Zach Young as an alternate member for the village planning board.
