Letters to the Editor
City of North Tonawanda Caught Breaking Wetland and SEQR Laws
By Liz Kaszubski
May 31, 2005, 20:17

The NYS Attorney General's office, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the US Army Corps of Engineers recently responded to violations in wetlands in the City of North Tonawanda. Interestingly, had city officials allowed their own city environmental committee to review projects before they start digging, the wetlands situation would have been detailed for them in advance.

The City of North Tonawanda also failed to properly follow state regulations (SEQR) that require an environmental assessment and public input before projects of this magnitude are undertaken. Two recent articles detail the controversy (below).

Liz Kaszubski
NYS Wetlands Chair, Sierra Club
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"Late Discovery of Wetlands Dampens NT Development" by Angelica Morrison

Published in the Buffalo News, Niagara Edition - Sunday, May 29, 2005

NORTH TONAWANDA - Digging could get a little muddier for the Briarwood Estates project as contractors move to start the 38-unit development.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation told the city last week to stop construction on the water main and any other activities concerning the project, pending the issuance of a wetlands permit from the department.

Meaghan Boice-Green, a spokeswoman for the DEC, said the presence of wetlands in the development went undetected during the State Environmental Quality Review process.

The entire 200-acre development site is between Brentwood Drive and East Foundry and Sweeney streets in the southeast corner of the city. After the DEC sent staff members to examine the area, the agency determined that wetlands were "clearly present" on some of the property, Boice-Green said.

"As part of (the SEQR) process, they're supposed to look if there's wetlands," she said. "But for reasons that were not clear, the city never discovered that. The DEC looked at the SEQR review and we also looked at our own map and didn't see it as wetlands. Since that time, someone from the outside brought it to our attention."

She said the wetlands, near Sweeney Street, while not on a state map, are on a federal wetlands map.

That's why the US Army Corps of Engineers stepped in, asking that work stop on the project until wetland delineation was completed, said Dale W. Marshall, North Tonawanda City Engineer.

Marshall said city officials will work with the Army Corps and the DEC to determine how the wetlands discovery will impact the project.

"The project can still proceed," Marshall said. "It's just now after the fact we need to get a (wetlands) permit that we didn't think we needed."

The area in question is where the city agreed to install a water main and storm sewer for the developer.

Marshall said the land where 38 homes will be built is old farmland and not a wetland area. The cost of the water and sewer infrastructure is $700,000 and the city has an agreement with the developers, Schuster Construction of Depew and Ideal Property Management Service of Amherst, to get paid back as each lot is sold to a new family, Mayor David J. Burgio said.

Residents on Brentwood Drive who live adjacent to the property are concerned about flooding and sewer back-ups if the problem isn't solved.

They have formed a group called RAFT -- Residents Against Flooded Terrain. The group plans to take the city to court for what they say was a municipal law violation and conducting the SEQR review incorrectly.

Liz Kaszubski, a resident of Fairfield Drive and a geologist, isn't directly affected by the Briarwood Estates issue, but she decided to help RAFT because of her experience with flooding on her property. Kaszubski said the city published a public hearing notice about the environmental impact of the Briarwood Estates project, then canceled it.

"(The city) approved everything without public input," she said. "If we were there, we would have told them there were wetlands there."

According to City Clerk Thomas M. Jaccarino, a public hearing notice was published on September 21, 2004, with the hearing set for October 12, 2004. The city's attorney mistakenly pointed out that a public hearing wasn't needed, so the hearing was canceled. Jaccarino said a public hearing is now planned during one of the planning commission's meetings in July. No specific date was available last week.

Burgio said the city has been taken to court about a dozen times over similar issues. "If they'd like to continue on," he said, "then I hope they've got a lot of money because we're going to keep defending ourselves."

During the last three years, 75 homes have been built in North Tonawanda. Prior to that, two or three houses were built per year. Attracting families to the area is something that has been important to the mayor, he said.

"Right now we're a pretty hot commodity," he said. "We can't get started quick enough. But the problem is, we start and we get stopped.

"This is the center of a city, not country property," Burgio said. "You build schools, buildings, and lots of things in cities. They want progress, they want lower taxes, but not in my back yard."

RAFT members disagree.

"My husband and I have lived here for 20 years, so we're not anti-development," said Deborah Gondek, a resident of Brentwood Drive and member of RAFT. "We're just saying if you're going to develop it, build it to last."
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"NT residents to sue city on Briarwood Estates subdivision" by Jay Skurski and Jonah Bronstein

Published in the Tonawanda News - Friday, May 27, 2005

Debbie Gondek isn’t against development; she just believes it should be done legally.

In order to ensure North Tonawanda follows state and federal environmental guidelines at the Briarwood Estates subdivision, Gondek and fellow residents along Brentwood Drive are filing a lawsuit against the city.

“It’s unfortunate it’s had to come to this, but the city isn’t leaving us much choice,” Gondek said. “We have to get them to do the proper testing somehow.”

The lawsuit will be filed against the city and Schuster Development.

Gondek, whose home at 257 Brentwood Drive has been at the center of a controversy over the construction being done at the site, said the city has circumvented guidelines on wetlands regulations with the building.

“They’ve violated laws,” she said.

Work has been temporarily stopped at the site after the state Department of
Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers informed the city a wetlands delineation survey must be done.

City Engineer Dale Marshall said a consultant firm, Earth Dimensions Inc. of
Elma will survey the area beginning today.

Marshall said he will meet with the DEC and Army Corps of Engineers to obtain the necessary permits to continue the work.

Marshall said the true intent of residents planning to file the lawsuit was to avoid having homes built in an area that has been open space, not the protection of the environment.

“They’re using the environment to slow this development down and its costing taxpayers money,” he said. “They don’t want neighbors behind them, but it’s not their property.”

Marshall didn’t deny some of the areas where the subdivision is planned may be classified as wetlands, but said the reason for that is the vegetation found in the area, not because of visible wetness. Due to NT’s slight elevation change, vegetation typically found in wetlands can grow throughout the city because water is found underneath the surface.

“The whole city is on hydric soils,” Marshall said.

Marshall said building would begin again after the proper permits from are secured.

Not all residents in the area were against the development.

“This is progress, a little dust doesn’t hurt anything,” Meadow Drive South resident Don Koenig said.

City officials have admitted some mistakes have been made during the subdivision’s development. After the city’s planning board gave preliminary approval for the subdivision in October, a public hearing was supposed to be held.

That never happened, according to City Clerk Thomas Jaccarino.

“It was a mistake on the part of the City Attorney’s office,” he said.

The public hearing will be held at July’s planning board meeting.

Contact Jay Skurski at (716) 693-1000, Ext. 117.

URL Source: http://www.tonawanda-news.com/story.asp?id=2793




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