Residents in Victor, New York are hoping for a victory over major sprawl developments in their small community. Local activists in Victor have filed the following report: “Victor Neighbors United is a grass roots organization that is dedicated to the preserving the quality of life in our town and protecting it from runaway development. Our current project is to defeat a mega-development that is bordered by three residential neighborhoods. The proposed “Victor Commerce Park” development includes a 204,000 sq.ft. Wal-Mart Superstore, three strip plazas, three restaurants, five office buildings, one hotel, one out parcel, for a total of 566,000 sq. ft. There will be parking for nearly 3000 cars and only one entrance/exit. It is proposed for a 95 acre parcel surrounded by residential property. The land includes both residential and commerical property. However, according to the town code, when property has two zoning districts, the most conservative zoning rules. The developers, Benderson Development Company, want to use a property swap to rezone the parcel in order to make this mini-city possible, instead of going before the zoning board to rezone the property. They plan to fill in two wetland areas and flatten the rolling hills and drumlins by moving over 500,000 cubic yards of soil during construction. We are mobilizing the community and have already managed to extend the public hearing to a second night. On March 25, 2003, Victor Neighbors United had over 300 people pack the town courthouse and more who were unable to get in the doors. More than 50 people were scheduled to speak, but by 11:00pm, only 25 had been to the microphone. We presented a petition opposing the property swap signed by nearly 600 people in just two days. Our next hearing is April 29th. The planning board wants to build all of this in an area that they have designated a planned historic district because of its historic cobblestone buildings and Valentown Hall, another historic building. The local newspaper ran an editorial agreeing with our position that the traffic and economic impacts will ruin our community. We have opposed the project based on traffic congestion, reduction of property values to neighboring homes and thus community, safety, noise, lighting, detrimental effect to village revitalization project, zoning, comprehensive plan, soil contamination and more. We will continue to fight for responsible development in our town.”
For further information, go to www.victorneighbors.com, or contact Heather M. Zollo/Theresa DeRycke. Phone: 585-924-3103. For more background on the adventures of Benderson Development, search this database by the developer’s name.
