By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
On Aug. 26 the Town of Manlius Planning Board resumed the public hearing opened the month prior on the proposed Woodland Hills Subdivision housing development.
The site plan details the building of 21 new homes in Fayetteville near Shiraz and Hoag lanes.
The board requested for members of the public to try to avoid repeating subject matter heard at the first installment of the public hearing, which had been held at the Manlius Fire Station on Cazenovia Road on July 22.
Fayetteville resident Mary Ellen Branson said the town should ensure proper irrigation and maintenance of the site’s planned retention pond.
She also said a separate sewer district should be created for the Hoag Lane development.
Alice Massa, who lives in Fayetteville, said the retention basin’s stagnant water would form a breeding ground for mosquitoes, thus leading to increased presence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and the West Nile virus.
Local resident Jamie Pomilio-Mulcahy asked the board what constituted the “professional” homeowners’ association mentioned in the project’s documentation, a question Planning Board Chairman Fred Gilbert said he was “not prepared” to answer.
“You’re not informed on many issues about this project,” Pomilio-Mulcahy said, addressing the board. “That’s concerning.”
Faye Dannick of Fayetteville said the area does not need the addition of a housing development.
“I love my neighborhood,” Dannick said. “The children grow up happy. We know our neighbors. We have a good thing. Why mess it up? Take your new houses and put them somewhere else.”
Matt Mulcahy, a local resident and news anchor, said he felt too large a section of the project documentation has been brought forth by an engineering company, attorney or other individual paid directly by lead developer Tom Douglas.
Other concerns raised by community members at the public hearing pertained to water runoff from the retention basin, the boost in traffic as a result of the higher number of homeowners, the disruption of natural habitats caused by the planned construction and whether or not older homes in the area could be renovated and sold instead.
The board closed the public hearing after about an hour and a half.
Gilbert said environmental concerns would be addressed in future SEQR meetings.
The planning board’s previously scheduled Sept. 9 meeting has been cancelled.
