LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 Letter to the Editor T h r e e a c o m m e n t s regardinga theaproposed zoning change to the East Ave./Poplar Ln. area. Note: I have not been able to attend any of the public meetings. My information comes from articles in this publication and residents well-versed on the topic. 1. Zoning - This, in my opinion, is the most important topic and the one most rarely discussed. What is the purpose of zoning? Ask most municipal board (Planning, Zoning, Village, Town) members and the response is either all over the spectrum or met with a blank stare. Paraphrasing from NYS officials and land use expert attorneys, zoning is “a set of standards, within a defined area, designed to protect existing property owners’ interests.” If one subscribes to this “definition”, there should be more weight given to the opinions of the residents of East Ave/Poplar Lane than, for example, mine. Presumably, they made their decision to build/buy their home based on the existing zoning (character- R-1) of the neighborhood. It will be their properties enhanced, unaffected, or detracted by this proposal, not someone living elsewhere in the village. Changing the zoning of a neighborhood after 60 years is a big deal! 2. Planned Unit Development (PUD) - The antithesis of zoning. It allows a municipal board, in effect, to say, “Yes, we have a zoning code but, in this area, we are going to ignore it, allow for any use we determine, create any new setback requirements, and individualize the code, project by project as they come to us.” If the desire is to rezone the area, why not look to do so within the seven districts contained in the current zone? Or why bother having zoning districts? 3. Economics - I will use numbers I have read and current tax data. If the project, once completed, will generate $8 million in assessed value, that would actually add $85,600 to the village budget (assuming my math is correct and using the current $10.70 tax rate). We also know from economic studies that residential property requires significantly more budget dollars (DPW, fire, police, ambulance, school) than commercial or agricultural property ($85,600 doesn’t go that far when adding equipment or personnel). Further, with the village contributing $1 million toward this development (contrary to current code requiring the developer who will be making the profit to be responsible for infrastructure development), it will take almost twelve (12) years to break even on the investment (again, using the $8 million figure at project completion). Should taxpayers support private residential development? If so, which ones win and which ones lose? Again, I have no personal interests affected directly. However, I do feel the issue of zoning/PUD is too often ignored and I do think, when handing out substantial taxpayer dollars to benefit private development interests (especially when reviewing recent census data), we should consider the true economic impact. Respectfully, Steve Barbeau