A local businessman is planning a housing development on 100 acres of vacant farm land just off Route 5 and Seven Springs Road in the Town of Batavia, and the town's planning board has scheduled a public hearing on the subdivision application.
Peter Zeliff, an executive EIF Renewable Energy Holdings and a Batavia resident, has filed the application to convert the farmland into 76 lots for 120 single family and town home units.
The public hearing is set for 7:30 p.m., April 16 at Batavia's Town Hall, 3833 W. Main Street Road.
The location of the proposed development is north of Route 5, across from the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
Zeliff is best known locally as an aviation buff, so much so that he built a large house near the west end of the Genesee County Airport runway. He owns small planes and a helicopter.
Among his charitable work is the annual WNY Aviation Camp for youngsters throughout the region.
He's also a member of the Genesee County Economic Development Center Board of Directors. CORRECTION: Zeliff is a member of the Genesee Gateway local Development Corporation, which is affiliated with GCEDC.
The owner of the parcel is listed as Oakwood Hills, LLC. It's currently assessed at $128,200.
I was excited to read about
I was excited to read about this potential development.
Until I read the part about Mr. Zeliff's involvement with GCEDC. Can anyone possibly believe that A.) his application will undergo the same scrutiny as if submitted by anyone not so "connected", and B.) his involvement in the Agri-business Park didn't give him an insiders knowledge to probe the viability of such a project and enable him to begin planning such a project before any other developer?
This stinks of the "good old boy's club" mentality that adds to the overwhelming distrust of government as it is today.
The planning board should place a 1 year moratorium on the development of this site in order to allow other developers to study and submit alternatives.
I challenge those that will vote negative on this comment to explain their views,
Looks like the land is being
Looks like the land is being used agriculturally. I wonder when we're going to stop bulldozing agricultural land in the name of GROWTH.
Bob i agree...once i read
Bob i agree...once i read .....He's also a member of the Genesee County Economic Development Center Board of Directors..That i knew this deal didn't sound right.....Is he planning on getting a tax abatement for development of this land..
Just for the record, posted
Just for the record, posted this correction in the story:
CORRECTION: Zeliff is a member of the Genesee Gateway local Development Corporation, which is affiliated with GCEDC.
Using Realtor.com there are
Using Realtor.com there are currently over 400 housing opportunities for sale within a 10 mile radius of Batavia. That does not include units for rent, just sales. They range from $14,000 to over $600,000. It would seem to me that housing availability is not an issue in this area. If this were completed, we would potentially bring new residents into the area, but presumably, some existing residents would relocate leaving a non-offset empty property. I am only posing the question, do we need to further saturate the market with more inventory and what affect would it have on current pricing and demand for existing properties? Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should...food for thought.
I don't think we have to
I don't think we have to worry about running out of farm land around western NY.