Three parcels of land situated west and north of the NYS Thruway are keys to the Town of Batavia's future development, Town Planning Board members said Tuesday night as they forwarded a recommendation to the Town Board to place them in the "priority" category of Genesee County's Smart Growth Plan.
Town planners unanimously voted in a favor of a motion by Paul Marchese to move these parcels which had been "reserved for development" -- 500 acres behind the current Town Hall on West Main Street Road, 100 acres near Wal-Mart on Veterans Memorial Drive, and 600 acres owned by Gordon Offhaus west of Route 98 and north of Federal Drive -- to "priority development area" status for Smart Growth.
"These areas meet the comprehensive plan and our outlook on development, and being part of the Smart Growth Plan eliminates obstacles (to potential developers) and streamlines the process," said Town Building Inspector Daniel Lang.
Lang provided details about the three parcels as follows:
-- Called "Townville" by the planning board as they work through their meetings, the parcel behind the Town Hall is earmarked for a "Town Center" -- a mixed-use, high-density development featuring commercial and residential structures, including town houses. Form-based building codes are being used and a design is already in place.
-- The area near Wal-Mart already has generated a "high volume" of interest from commercial developers, and is enhanced by the fact that a portion of that site is part of the Smart Growth Plan.
-- The Offhaus property has been designated as a Planned Business Development (PBD) area reserved for a large-scale project.
In other aciton, planners:
-- Approved a site plan review for a 3,000-square-foot addition to the transfer station operated by the Genesee ARC at 3785 West Main Street Road.
According to Paul Saskowski, ARC director of operations, the facility -- to be called The One-Stop -- will be modified to feature drive-thru service and will offer trash drop-off, recycling and a redemption center, as well as secure shredding. He said the work will be done by D.A. Tufts Construction of Batavia.
-- Set a public hearing for Aug. 16 for a proposed Fairfield Inn on Federal Drive. The public hearing is needed since the developer, Oakfield Hospitality, LLC, is seeking to build the hotel in an industrial park. The final determination will be made by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals.
-- Approved a 42-inch wide by 60-foot long backlit sign for the new hotel at Batavia Downs Gaming. The sign will read "Hotel at Batavia Downs."
