Vernon Avenue

Press release:

The City Of Batavia Water Department will be making a repair on a broken water service line on Vernon Avenue Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock.

Water service should not be interrupted to make this repair. Vernon Avenue will be closed from Main Street to Richmond Avenue so repairs can be made.

Batavia PD is asked to check on a loud rooster on Vernon Avenue, Batavia.

The caller wishes to remain anonymous at this time.

The rooster is believed to belong to a resident on Vernon Avenue.

Residents of Vernon Avenue are organizing opposition to a proposed new Arby's Restaurant on West Main Street, at the end of Vernon.

In a petition presented to City Council Monday night, residents say the proposed development -- which would replace three existing residential buildings -- would create more noise, result in 24-hour lighting, destroy trees, increase traffic congestion at the intersection and on Vernon, and decrease property values.

Residents David Steele and John McCauley spoke up during public comments at Monday's meeting and Steele presented the Council with a petition signed by almost every resident of Vernon Avenue (City Manager Jason Molino lives there but didn't sign it, Steele said, citing a conflict of interest).

"Many residents, especially those at the southern end of Vernon Avenue, have said if this development goes through as presented to the Planning and Development Committee, they will list their homes for sale," Steele said. If many residents do that, there will be a housing glut on that street with supply and demand decreasing property values."

McCauley (top photo) said he purchased his home about a year ago, moving here with his wife from Buffalo, expecting to live on a quiet street. If the Arby's is built, he said, then he'd likely move.

"We were sad to hear that (an Arby's was going in)," McCauley said. "If they were going to do something like that, it would probably force us to put our house up for sale."

The proposed development will be on Thursday's agenda for the County Planning Board and at a future meeting of the city's Planning and Development Committee. Steele said residents plan to be at both of those meetings.

The planning committee operates independently and the Council has no real input on what development gets approved or denied.