{"id":54237,"date":"2024-06-19T12:17:50","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T16:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=54237"},"modified":"2024-06-19T12:17:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T16:17:50","slug":"batavia-sidewalks-or-no-sidewalks-city-planners-split-over-the-issue-for-north-pointe-subdivision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/06\/19\/batavia-sidewalks-or-no-sidewalks-city-planners-split-over-the-issue-for-north-pointe-subdivision\/","title":{"rendered":"BATAVIA\/Sidewalks or no sidewalks? City planners split over the issue for North Pointe Subdivision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo of John Harrower at Tuesday night’s City Planning & Development Committee meeting at City Centre Council Board Room\/photo by Mike Pettinella<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Mike Pettinella
For Video News Service<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Batavia Planning & Development Committee on Tuesday night asked the developer of the North Pointe Patio Homes Subdivision in the city\u2019s northeast sector to resubmit his plans, including sidewalks, for review at its next meeting on July 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PDC and John Harrower, president of Batavia Homes and Development, Inc., have been going back and forth for three months about the issue of having sidewalks as part of a proposal to divide a 10-acre parcel at the northwest end of Garden Drive for the construction of 30 single-family patio homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although a 2009 revision of the city\u2019s municipal code calls for the inclusion of sidewalks in new subdivisions, Harrower contends that the North Pointe plan is a continuation of previous development on Carolwood Drive and Harold Square, where no sidewalks were required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy proposal is to not have sidewalks,\u201d Harrower said. \u201cI sent a letter, requesting a waiver \u2026 I did not put that (sidewalks) in my proposal because there are none within a half-mile, except on North Street Extension on one side of the street. They lead to nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrower mentioned the code change of 15 years ago but noted that his company has put housing on three other sections since 2009 and the issue of sidewalks \u201cnever came up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that when he put his plan together, he left sidewalks out \u201cbecause it is a significant cost \u2026 and a precedence has been set.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey won\u2019t lead anywhere, and no one is going to use them, I don\u2019t think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrower said he\u2019s worried \u201cabout the marketability\u201d of the North Pointe subdivision — a \u201chigh rent project\u201d where homes are expected to start around $300,000. He said sidewalks would add $10,000 to $15,000 per lot to the homeowner\u2019s cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s that important, you can say, \u2018Yes.\u2019 But that doesn\u2019t mean it happens, the project. It\u2019s not a threat, it\u2019s just that I\u2019m saying why now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that it was a matter of \u201ccommon sense \u2013 having to put 2,400 feet of sidewalk, 1,200 per side \u2026 when there\u2019s 24,000 feet worth of sidewalks needed to be put in before we even get to those sidewalks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrower said having sidewalks \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem to make sense to me\u201d and said having to install them is \u201ca waste of money.\u201d He said such a requirement could affect future plans of developing 10 to 12 acres on Carolwood Drive and Harold Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PDC member Ed Flynn responded by stating that the city\u2019s comprehensive plan requires sidewalks on all building in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though that area doesn\u2019t have sidewalks \u2026 they should have been put in,\u201d he said. \u201cNinety percent of the city has sidewalks \u2026 and sidewalks where I live, people walk on them. They use them a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Code Enforcement Officer Doug Randall seemed to agree with Harrower, calling the installation of sidewalks \u201ca practical difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randall said that sidewalks in the proposed development would be \u201cat the end of a development, so they won\u2019t ever continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe city has no long-term plans to pay to put sidewalks in throughout that community,\u201d he said, adding that it would be a different story on large, self-contained tracts with multiple streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PDC Chair Duane Preston said he doesn\u2019t see the need for sidewalks since \u201cwe\u2019re connecting to older sections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Committee member Jim Krencik said it was important for the PDC to protect the city code, adding that Harrower\u2019s plan is a \u201cmajor subdivision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randall said the board has the flexibility to decide if requiring sidewalks is \u201can unnecessary hardship\u201d and not \u201cforce someone to fit into the cookie cutter that the code says you should have this and you should have that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe board is allowed to \u2026 vary that and do whatever they can do to make it cohesive, to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other PDC members present weighed in briefly, with John Ognibene stating he didn\u2019t see the need for sidewalks and Elizabeth Thompson saying she is for sidewalks \u201cthat add a measure of safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the sidewalk discussion, Flynn and Randall expressed their views about Harrower\u2019s tree plan, seeking clarification on the type and placement in the development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrower said that he would plant two trees per unit, possibly red maples or crab apples, with at least one in the front yard \u2013 and the PDC seemed to agree to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going forward, the PDC is unable to proceed with its State Environmental Quality Review and, ultimately, voting on the site plan until the State Historic Preservation Office approves the archeological study of the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSHPO has to sign off on that,\u201d Preston said. \u201cWe need that office\u2019s report.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrower said his firm spent $27,000 to have a company dig 156 holes, 18 inches deep and 50 feet apart, continuously through the entire 10 acres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey dumped the dirt, sifted it all and there\u2019s nothing, just like the whole rest of the area all around it,\u201d he said, adding that his report is being sent to SHPO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Graham Mfg. Plan Moves Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other action, the PDC approved, with one abstention, a site plan submitted by Graham Manufacturing for the construction of a 28,895 square-foot production facility on the southeast portion of its property on Florence Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Bock, civil engineer at CPL, Rochester, said the new building, to be designated as Building 14, will expedite expansion of production for U.S. Navy purposes by primarily moving equipment currently housed on Harvester Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The committee said it was satisfied with plans to remove an existing asphalt parking lot as well as the corporation\u2019s commitment to having the required fire apparatus access, satisfactory landscaping and stormwater management facilities to manage and treat runoff from potential additions to the structure (Buildings 15 and 16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction (by Montante Construction, Kenmore) will begin next month, Bock said, and continue for about a year. Estimated cost of the initial work is $6.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krencik, who also is the senior director of Marketing & Communications for the Genesee County Economic Development Center, abstained since Graham Manufacturing is seeking $404,226 in sales and property tax abatements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham also is requesting an area variance because the proposed height of the building is 47 feet \u2013 7 feet higher than the permitted height of 40 feet. That is scheduled to be heard by the city\u2019s Zoning Board of Appeals on June 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo of John Harrower at Tuesday night’s City Planning & Development Committee meeting at City Centre Council Board Room\/photo by Mike Pettinella By Mike PettinellaFor Video News Service The City of Batavia Planning & Development Committee on Tuesday night asked the developer of the North Pointe Patio Homes Subdivision in \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[4412,3900,4411],"class_list":["post-54237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia","tag-city-planning-board-meeting","tag-graham-manufacturing","tag-north-pointe-subdivision-expansion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-e6N","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":77392,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/21\/batavia-taco-bell-changes-their-plans-a-bit-during-a-concept-review-at-the-planning-and-development-committee-meeting\/","url_meta":{"origin":54237,"position":0},"title":"BATAVIA\/Taco Bell changes their plans a bit during a concept review at the Planning and Development Committee meeting","author":"aka","date":"July 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Stephanie Albright, Project Engineer from APD Engineering Architecture in Victor, presented a new sketch plan for the Taco Bell Project at West Main and Montclair Avenue at Tuesday evening's City of Batavia Planning and Development Committee meeting. 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