Residents of Lancaster, NY turned out in an overflow crowd to protest the construction of a 300,000 s.f big box plaza that will reportedly include a Wal-Mart as an anchor store. The mall plans were opposed by residents of Northwood Village, a 124 unit townhouse development abutting the proposed mall. The town of Lancaster is in the middle of completing a new Master Plan, and residents argued that any rezoning for one developer should be postponed until the larger picture was settled. Enough residents showed up at a hearing in early June that the meeting was forced to move out of the Board room and into the upstairs opera hall. But very few residents were singing the praises of Wal-Mart upstairs either. According to a report of the meeting in The Buffalo New, the “mood wasn’t exactly compromise-friendly” in the opera hall. Neighbors are worried because the developer of the property happens to sit on the Lancaster-Depew master plan committee. One nearby homeowner testified: “Average people get short shrift, while developers dream of paving over the whole town and then sitting back and counting their money.” Town officials seem to be uninterested in conducting an environmental impact report on the project, but the county has called for traffic studies to be done. The Northwood Village residents have told town officials that they are prepared to sue the town if it goes along with the rezoning.
Fred Hammer, a Republican running for Town Supervisor, told officials “We need a master plan before we allow all these rezonings. Otherwise, we’ll have others in the situation of fighting to save the value of their homes.” For more details on the Lancaster battle, contact [email protected]
