Town of Manlius puts an end to proposal in off-schedule decision

By Jason Klaiber

Staff Writer

At their April 10 meeting, the Manlius Town Board decided to deny the Wellington Commons zone change request as presented two weeks prior.

The proposal called for the 11-acre property containing the Wellington House, a home listed on the National Register of Historic Places, to be rezoned from a Residential District 1 (R-1) to a Neighborhood Shopping District (N-S).

The out-of-operation mansion at 7262 E. Genesee St. in Fayetteville has served as a gathering spot for weddings, banquets and other events.

The development plan would have potentially involved demolition or relocation of the building.

Townspeople previously expressed uneasiness over the zone change through an outpouring of letters and emails to the board.

“What came out of this was so much concern over a historic building,” Town Supervisor Ed Theobald said. “I’m hoping that it woke up some developer or some people to rescue this Wellington House that hasn’t been used in over a year.”

In addition, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and County Legislator Kevin Holmquist urged town officials to turn down the proposal at an April 5 press conference outside Towne Center in Fayetteville.

“To knock down that property for some sort of retail commercial usage is not smart short-term or long-term planning,” McMahon said. “Before you could even get to the rest of the plan, you had a strikeout in my opinion with knocking down the historical asset.”

McMahon said the wetlands on the property as well as the encroachment on the nearby neighborhood presented a problem in laying out a plan.

Applicant and property owner Thomas Thomas was not present at the April 10 meeting, nor was developer Devin Dal Pos or representing attorney Paul Curtin. The request to postpone any discussion or decisions until a later date was originally accepted and posted to the board’s agenda.

“There is an established and long process that goes with any rezoning,” Trustee John Loeffler, who made the motion to reject the proposal, said. “We didn’t even start the process last time. We just gave them feedback.”

Regularly the town board would seek an advisory opinion from the planning board, review the application with the county and hold public hearings as well as open discussion. A site plan would go through this process as well.

“This board had no obligation to consider the zone change,” Tim Frateschi, the attorney for the town, said.