From Speakupwny.com

Development
Windsor Ridge South, Part I: Lancaster issues negdec for Phase I
By Lee Chowaniec
Aug 23, 2007, 01:17



The Town of Lancaster Municipal Review Committee (MRC), made up of town and planning board members, voted SEQR review approval to declare that all environmental impacts had been mitigated for Phase I of the six phase 303 subdivision Windsor Ridge South development.

Sean Hopkins, Windsor Ridge Partnership attorney, informed the MRC that until such time they render a negative declaration on the first phase of the project, they would be unable to attain the necessary permits (wetland disturbance, curb cuts, sanitary sewer hookups, etc.) from the regulatory agencies. Getting this negdec allows us to move the process along.

Town Attorney Richard Sherwood read a letter from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stating that partial waiver of placing sanitary sewers in wetlands was approved. He declared that the town had not received anything in writing from Erie County to ascertain approval, nor had the town received anything from the county on the traffic study being conducted by the town in conjunction with the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Committee (GBNRTC).

In the early stages of the one-hour SEQR review meeting, it appeared the town was of the mind to table the consideration until such time documents were received from the county asserting they (county) were comfortable sewer and traffic issues were mitigated to the extent practicable.

Planning Board member Rebecca Anderson made a motion to table the consideration until the next meeting until such information could be garnered. The motion was defeated by a six to three vote (Anderson and council members Donna Stempniak and Dan Amatura voting yes).

Second motion

Planning Board Chair Stanley J. Keysa then presented the following motion:

“I make a motion at this time to issue a negative declaration with a specific notation that if it’s determined there is a traffic impact, that traffic impact is to be mitigated per oral agreement with the developers present, and that such agreement be reduced to writing in the SEQR Findings.

Also note that there was an apparent violation of earlier EPA restrictions in regards to certain lots and that that has been mitigated by the letter from the EPA authorizing sanitary sewer tie-ins as had been applied for by the Erie County Sewer Management.

Developers would pay for the Supplemental Traffic Impact Study after Phase I was completed.”

The motion passed seven to two (Anderson and Stempniak voting no).

The SEQR review had nothing to do with site plan approval. It is confusing to others and myself exactly what this negative declaration had to do with building commencing or why this SEQR process should not be considered “segmentation”.

Nor should it explain why a bulldozer was on the Windsor Ridge South site today (two days after neg. deg.) tearing down trees in locations far from where Phase I development is proposed to occur. Were the necessary permits issued by the regulatory agencies and/or town to allow for such land clearing and the felling of hundreds of trees?

Hopefully, the federal wetlands in the northeast quadrant were not compromised.


















Part II: Meeting minutes (traffic impact implications)




© Copyright 2003 by Speakupwny.com