VILLAGE OF MANLIUS — On Jan. 9, the Village of Manlius Board of Trustees approved a zone change request submitted for the former fire station property at 2-4 Stickley Dr. by a vote of three to two.

Hospitality Restaurant Group applied to change the property’s zone from Municipal to Commercial 1 (C1) to accommodate its proposed Taco Bell Cantina restaurant, which would incorporate both sit-down dining and a drive-through. The proposal calls for upgrading the interior and exterior of the existing building, which is located behind the Chase Bank and in front of the Village of Manlius Recreation Building on Stickley Drive. The property abuts a C1-zoned property, the Manlius Mart Plaza, to the south.

The board initially voted on the application during its Dec. 12 meeting. Mayor Paul Whorrall and Trustee Tom Pilewski voted to approve the application, while Deputy Mayor/Trustee Hank Chapman and Trustee Rob Oley voted against it. Because the vote was a tie, the motion did not pass. However, because Trustee Janice Abdo-Rott was not present for the vote, the board had the option of re-entertaining the application once all members were present.

The two-story fire station building has been vacant since 2017. For many years, the property was owned and operated by the village and zoned Municipal.

After it was sold to David and Louis Muraco, of Empire Management of CNY, Inc., no formal process was carried out to change its zoning. Therefore, the village board was required to take legal action to establish a zone for the now-private property. The board was tasked with determining whether the property would be more appropriately zoned as C1 or Commercial (C).

As the village law currently stands, C does not allow drive-through service at restaurants. In a C1 zone, drive-throughs are allowed upon the issuance of a special use permit.

Before the full board voted on the application, Whorrall read aloud a statement he prepared.

He began by acknowledging that certain members of the board have had concerns about granting the zone change, mainly because it would enable the applicant to seek a special use permit for a drive-through.

Whorrall expressed that he believes the applicant and the other involved parties have gone out of their way to make the property in question a viable and safe location for their proposed project.

He highlighted that the applicant’s current proposal calls for “renovating the fire station while maintaining its history within the community; making it a destination for both young and old to enjoy; improving the drive-through by providing a barrier between the restaurant and recreation areas; adding a much-needed sidewalk from Fayette Street to the ball fields; [and including] outdoor seating and a drive-through, a sign of the times, [as well as] indoor seating with room for entertainment and community activities.”

The mayor also stated that Taco Bell is a big supporter of school and community activities, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars towards education, projects and events.

“I know some of you speak about setting a precedent with a drive-through, but we have the right as a board to review each proposal on its own merits and location,” he said.

He added that he thinks denying the request would set a precedent that would deter future development in the Village of Manlius.

“Business draws business, and if we continue down the path we’re going, it will get harder and harder to bring businesses to our village,” he said. “I know some of the board doesn’t believe this, but I don’t see you out there working to bring restaurants and businesses to the village. If you are, then why haven’t we seen anything brought to the board? The village has been fortunate to have an organization like Taco Bell be so persistent. This village needs another restaurant, and this one will be located off the main street where a drive-through will not affect the traffic or safety of our community. It will help the economic development and growth of our village.”

Whorrall’s statement also noted that the Village of Manlius Planning Board reviewed the latest plans and voted in favor — three to one — of the proposed zone change.

“Please don’t let your personal agendas or political motivations steer your decisions, and if you’re living in the past, that’s not helping this village grow,” he concluded. “Please consider the benefits this project will bring to the village.”

During a pre-vote board discussion, Oley voiced some of the reasons he was hesitant to vote in favor of the zone change, despite the applicant’s “spectacular” proposal.

In response to Oley’s assertion that the fire station property would be the first single, standalone property to be zoned C1, Mike McCracken, director of asset development with Hospitality Restaurant Group, explained that the village’s C1-zoned plazas are, in fact, single properties with multiple uses. McCracken added that the old fire station has the potential to also serve as a multi-use property.

Oley and Abdo-Rott both commented that granting the request would open the door for other properties that are adjacent to a C1 district to apply for C1 zoning and then seek a special use permit for a drive-through.

Whorrall responded that he doesn’t envision a future where every C1-adjacent property is requesting a drive-through, especially since most of the properties are too small or are otherwise unsuitable for drive-throughs.

“This isn’t about one piece of property,” said Abdo-Rott. “It’s about our code and what we do moving forward, so I think it’s a very big vote.”

Whorrall disagreed with her assertion that the decision before the board that evening wasn’t just about a single property. He emphasized that any future C1 zoning applications and special use permit applications for drive-throughs would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Abdo-Rott also remarked that 16 of the village’s 17 restaurants do not have drive-throughs and “seem to be doing pretty well.”

“I don’t know that you have to have a drive-through to have a successful restaurant,” she said.

Additionally, she commented that, based on her conversations with community members, she thinks that while there are a lot of people who are for the proposed Taco Bell Cantina, there are also a lot of people against it.

Oley voiced his concern that if the applicant was granted a special use permit for a drive-through, they would be able to gradually abandon the sit-down component of their restaurant in favor of pushing customers to the drive-through.

Village Attorney Brad Hunt explained that the village board has the authority to impose reasonable conditions on a special use permit that could potentially address Oley’s concern, as well as other valid concerns the board might have.

“Do bear in mind, procedurally speaking, if the board were to vote to approve a change to C1, all that does is give them the opportunity to apply for the special use permit for the drive-through,” Hunt said. “So, they would be back before us for that. [If] they came back before this board for the special permit, at that point I would be happy to look at what sorts of conditions would be permissible or not and [then] discuss that with the board. The vote tonight is just for the zone change.”

To address any concerns that the restaurant operators might not take care of the building once it has been developed, McCracken stated that Taco Bell is one of the best operators he has seen in fast food.

“They do take great pride in their buildings and their establishments,” he said. “You’re not going to see a broken sign for more than a day or two. You’re not going to see anything left around; they have very clean sites, all of them.”

Pilewski commented that he does not think the village board has ever voted against a planning board recommendation in his nearly 11 years as a trustee.

“I don’t think now is the time to start,” he said. “And I just believe in progress, and this is progress. These guys have done everything we’ve asked them to do, and I don’t think this is going to open up any floodgates, because an application is an application; each application is treated one by one.”

Chapman, who explained his stance on the zone change request at the Dec. 12 meeting, did not comment during the board’s discussion.

“This decision for me, as a lifelong resident, is not an easy decision,” said Oley to conclude the conversation. “That’s why I went to visit some people to get some reassurances on my views. . . . I’ve thought about this decision, whether I made the right or wrong one, from that day that I made it, and I hate to be wishy-washy, but I’m ready to vote if we all are.”

During the final vote, Oley, Pilewski, and Whorrall voted to approve the requested zone change, and Chapman and Abdo-Rott voted to deny it.

Before the vote, multiple community members in attendance spoke in favor of the proposed Taco Bell Cantina.

Mute Swan permit application

At the beginning of the meeting, Whorrall announced that he had submitted the village’s invasive species permit application to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for four adult mute swans.

“Our intent in this permit that I submitted to the DEC is that we will keep four birds, possessed as of July 2023, plus annual cygnet production to be disposed of via transfer to Michael Bean, who is our biologist, under his permit,” said Whorrall.

The mayor explained that the application includes several conditions, some that have been in place for years and others that he just added.

One of the listed conditions states that the four cygnet offspring of Faye and Manny will remain the property of the Village of Manlius and will remain on the pond for another 12 to 14 months. At that time, if breeding occurs, the village will keep one pair of breeding swans and remove the other pair.

“Any future cygnet production, if any occurs, will be handled accordingly,” the application states. “Per DEC requirements, any further offspring would be surgically sterilized prior to transport out of state with proof of sterilization from a qualified biologist.”

The application also includes conditions requiring the permittee to prevent any swans from leaving the licensed premises by rendering them unable to fly and by maintaining a completely enclosed fence or covered area; mark all swans with leg bands, collars, or wing tags; report all mute swan deaths and escapes to the DEC within 72 hours; construct an educational, training, and exhibit area illustrating the Swan Pond habitat and associated wildlife; and dispose of any cygnets held on the premises after the current four from Faye and Manny.

The permit application also regulates what happens to mute swans that are removed from the swan pond. The condition specifies that the mute swans may not be used for shooting sport purposes, hunting purposes, or food consumption purposes.

“[The application] was submitted to the DEC about three weeks ago, almost four weeks, and I have not heard back from them,” said Whorrall. “Hopefully, that’s a good thing.”

In other news

The board appointed Marla E. Raus to the position of village justice.

The mayor will deliver his State of the Village address on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.

Manlius Village Board meetings begin at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month in the Manlius Village Centre Board Room, 1 Arkie Albanese Avenue, Manlius.