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Proposal to rezone land is incompatible with Town's Master Plan (Part 2)
Someone asked me what I would say if someone told me that they believed that pages 1-9 and 5-4 supported the out-of-town developer’s claim that the Master Plan recommends the properties in question be rezoned to General Business. And that these passages also support the development of the proposed Mall on Paul in general.
I would respond as follows:
Lets examine the rezoning claim first.
The second paragraph of the Master Plan Update, on page 1-9 talks about commercial development in the General Business and Restricted business area. It is significant that this paragraph does not reference any rezoning recommendation. That is because the Restricted Business and General Business areas it is referring to already existed when this was written! It is important to point out that when this passage was written (as it was originally a part of the 1991 Master Plan; Page 1-6 approved in 1991), there was a large undeveloped area already zoned for General Business. That area eventually became Wegman’s Plaza!
Here is that passage directly from the 1991 Master Plan:
1-6
This paragraph is revised in the Master Plan Update of 2002. Here is what that passage was revised to:
1-9
It is interesting to note that both versions refer to the Plan Update Map Figure 1-1. No mention is made of recommending a change to the Restricted Business or Residential zoning that remains, to this day on the properties in question (underlying the PNOD designation in the case of the RB zone).
It is also significant that this passage was authored before Wegmans was built.
Note that the
language contained in 2002 Update paragraph is identical to what is
in the 1991 plan with one exception. The 1991 passage ended with the
following sentence:
“The
plan also shows a generic alignment for a new road to serve this
area”
The overall
vision for developing this area was tied to the creation of a new
road that would reconfigure this area. This road can be seen in the
Future Land Use Map that was a part of the 1991 Update Plan. It is
represented by a series of dots running from Chili Avenue to Paul
Road within the red circle:
The decision to eliminate this recommendation for an access road is well documented in the 2002 Master Plan Update Transportation Subcommittee Minutes:
One can see
that the vision or concept for development that this language was
intended for was significantly modified due to the building of
Wegmans. Further proof of this point is highlighted by sections of
the 1991 Master Plan Update that were deleted from the 2002 Update;
5-4
It is significant that the two paragraphs above were deleted from the 2002 Update.
In trying to ascertain whether or not the Master Plan 2002 is recommending rezoning of the properties in question to General Business, I believe that it is only common sense to give greater weight to the specific language in the Master Plan that was added in 2002 over language that is, at best, vague on this issue and was written in 1991 as part of a different vision for how this land would be utilized. The language added to the Master Plan in 2002 and the minutes of all related meetings very specifically recommend PNOD for this area!
I do not see how anyone can claim that Page 1-9 provides proof that the 2002 Master Plan Update is recommending the rezoning of the Restricted Business and Residential properties on Paul Road to General Business. In the Master Plan Update of 2002, language is added to the Update which emphasizes that PNOD is recommended for this area, not a rezoning to General Business.
A question was raised about the terms “commercial core” and “core area”. These terms are used to refer to a wide range of areas throughout the center of town. Even the Old Town Hall Campus is referred to in the 1991 Master Plan in this way:
The terms “core area” and “commercial core” are not specifically defined anywhere in the plan, but common usage would indicate that they are basically synonymous and refer to the town center in general and not Paul Road specifically.
But even if someone wants to say that the term “core area” refers specifically to the properties in question on Paul Road, this still does not provide any compelling evidence that these properties are being recommended for rezoning to General Business. PNOD, as a mixed use zoning, is also a form of commercial development as it includes commercial entities in its definition. Restricted Business is also a form of commercial zoning. So even making such a claim does not provide any meaningful proof that the Master Plan recommends a rezoning to GB.
If the out-of-town developer wants further proof that this proposed project is incompatible with the Town’s Master Plan, many other passages in the plan can be provided.
For example on
Page 5-4 the Master Plan states:
From Page 4-1:
From Page 4-15
What these three passages have in common is the emphasis on “neighborhood’ and “community” scale commercial development. Not “regional” scale.
The out-of-town developer may try to claim that their proposal fits this description, but the proposed Mall on Paul Road is actually a “regional” shopping center. Consider the following:
The developer plans 1,755 parking spots for the Mall on Paul according to the Project Description signed by Bruce Bonke on May 12, 2006 on behalf of North American Properties. Chili has approximately 10,000 households. This means that the Mall on Paul will have enough parking for over 17% of all the households in Chili at all times.
Does this sound like a shopping center for the Chili “community” or for this “neighborhood?” Of course not! This is a “regional” outdoor shopping mall which will depend very heavily on shoppers from the city and the surrounding towns and villages for customers.
Need more proof?
In the developer’s Project Description section B, 1.g, they claim that the Mall on Paul will generate maximum vehicular trips of 1,044 per hour! Again, there are only 10,000 households in Chili.This sure sounds like a ‘regional” outdoor shopping mall.
On the developer’s web site they reference the fact that according to their traffic counts, 8,367 vehicles per day already travel on Paul Road near the proposed Mall on Paul and 13,783 vehicles per day already travel on Chili Ave near the proposed Mall on Paul. Add to this number the 1,044 trips per hour that the Mall is predicted to generate and it sounds like on huge traffic mess! And in the midst of a densely populated residential area!
And finally, on this topic, the developer’s web site is promoting this location to potential occupants as being located within a 7 mile radius of over 170,000 people. Once again, Chili has 10,000 households and a population of less than 28,000 people.
With the city and so many other neighboring towns falling within this radius, this is not the profile of a “neighborhood” or “community” shopping area. So many of the people who currently travel to Walmart who are looking for additional shopping options will be drawn here. I would guess that the vast majority of shoppers would be from other neighborhoods and other communities.
This is not a proposal for a "neighborhood" shopping mall to serve the Chili community. This is most certainly a proposal for a "regional " outdoor shopping mall.
All this, right smack in the middle of a densely populated residential area!
Consider these additional excerpts from our Master Plan as further proof of the proposals incompatibility with or plan:
(Page 4-4)
4-6
4-6
4-9
4-16
4-21
4-23
A-24
A-25
A-23
In closing, I will share what I believe is one of the most direct, accurate and concise responses anyone has made to North American Properties. It is from the minutes of the Planning Board’s December 12, 2005 meeting:
DENNIS SCHULMERICH: “If rezoning is not consistent with the Master Plan, we have to revise the Master Plan before we can consider rezoning. If you consider Chapter 1 from the Master Plan, a recommendation to rezone the targeted area as a Planned Neighborhood Overlay District so as to buffer adjacent single-family neighborhoods will compliment the more intense uses such as in Wegmans Plaza. Chapter 5 notes the Chili Center sub area includes an area where a Mixed Plan Overlay District and General Business District would be used using the wetland area and single-family residence towards Archer Road. So I concur with the other two members of the Planning Board that mentioned it is not obvious how this is aligned with the Master Plan and by my definition it is not obvious how we can take an action on it tonight since it seems in direct contrast with our current Master Plan.”
Written by
Jordon Brown
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