Planned Gun Creek path hits wall of opposition

By Karen Carr Keefe

Senior Contributing Writer

In the Gun Creek community, there are very few fans of a plan to put a wooden walking path in their neighborhood. In fact, the tally is: two residents “for” and 115 “against” the path, according to Tony Weisel of Limestone Court.

Developer Ryan Homes’ site plan for the subdivision calls for a wooden path and benches.

Weisel said there were many residents from Gun Creek’s town homes and the single-family homes opposing the path, a number of whom attended Monday’s Town Board meeting with Weisel.

“In addition to that, the wooden path is not ADA-compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act) for wheelchairs, crutches, strollers and walkers. That’s not OK for me. We have a resident three houses from me who’s about 15 and severely disabled – will not be able to use this path,” Weisel said.

“But for us, behind me (gesturing to fellow residents in attendance), we are just more for safety. I have a 12-year-old daughter. I don’t want any strangers walking behind our property. It feels – I don’t know – not ideal.”

Weisel said in a submission to the board that “many concerned residents continue to respectfully request the cancellation of the planned wooden path and benches due to privacy, safety and environmental concerns.”

“I know what the site plan says. When we moved there, we were told by Ryan Homes that wouldn’t be the case,” Weisel said.

He claimed sidewalks in the development are in rough shape, with a 4-foot overgrowth of weeds. Weisel said he feared the path that’s being planned could end up in a similar situation.

Weisel said homeowners would prefer the developer to put in a handful of trees such as the eastern pine, rather than a wooden path with benches.

Supervisor Peter Marston told Weisel, “I did recently speak to the property manager there regarding the multiple violations, (such as) mud in the road and other things, and we had a pretty strong conversation.”

“Hopefully, they're improving at that in the past week or two. We tend to continue to patrol that area, frequently looking for (any) issues,” Marston said.

The supervisor said the town will be diligent in keeping an eye on things in the Gun Creek subdivision: “My statement to them (property management) is, ‘This isn’t a construction site. This is a neighborhood.’ So, treat it as such.”

Rendering courtesy of EDR

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Councilman Dan Kilmer said he put the Gun Creek topic on Monday night’s Town Board agenda so the residents could discuss the issue and the Town Board could hear their input.

“I don't know if we're at the point where we can vote to change the site plan yet,” Kilmer said.

Councilman Tom Digati said he didn’t think the Town Board knew enough details to take action. He expressed concerns that, if Gun Creek’s homeowners association (HOA) wasn’t keeping up with grass cutting, it may not be wise to count on the HOA to handle planting or maintaining trees.

Digati suggested “the equivalent of recreation fees that would be a one-time issue that wouldn't result in ongoing maintenance costs to the HOA.”

He agreed with Kilmer about amending the site plan and suggested tabling the issue “so it keeps coming up on the agenda until we get a resolution.”

The Town Board voted unanimously to table the issue.

In other action, the Town Board:

•Approved a motion to have the town engineer forward correspondence from the town’s Traffic Safety Advisory Board regarding proposed changes to the intersection of Stony Point and Ransom roads. The Traffic Safety Board requests that a roundabout be considered an option for traffic control at the intersection. The analysis would be done by the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council.

•Approved new procedures for selecting advisory board members from the pool of applicants. New provisions include a requirement that, for the Zoning and Planning boards, a minimum of three council members be present during the interview process for applicants. The timeline for posting vacancies on the town’s advisory boards is from the third week of August to the third week of September.

•Kilmer introduced a resolution to adopt the so-called “warehouse law” that would amend the town’s zoning code. It would set at 350,000 square feet the maximum size of warehouses and other large buildings allowable by special permit in M-1 and M-2 districts. The proposed law also would rule out distribution centers in the town’s commercially zoned districts.

Kilmer did not have the votes to pass the law, so it was tabled until the next Town Board meeting on July 21. The rest of the council members wanted to await the pertinent advice of the town’s Planning Board, which had canceled its June meeting.

In public comments on non-agenda items, two speakers took the floor.

•Staley Road resident Alice Carlson said she had heard a number of the crossovers for Staley Road were going to be completed by the end of July. Marston confirmed that was the case. Residents have, for years, brought to the Town Board their safety concerns about Staley Road, including its narrow width, crumbling shoulders, and the volume and speed of traffic.

•Grand Island resident Michael Smietana claimed to have been the victim of voter intimidation during last month’s primary election.

In closing remarks from the board:

•Kilmer said that "30 days remain to file an 'Article 7' if you don't like your (property) assessment." Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law outlines how to challenge your assessment in State Supreme Court.

"After that, you don't have any other reprieve," Kilmer said. "So, if you want to fight your assessment, give me a call.” His contact information is: phone: 716-574-8850; email: dkilmer@grand-island.ny.us.

•Councilman Jose Garcia reminded residents about the National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 5, in the Town Commons.

“We’re going to have a lot of law enforcement showing up. … We're going to have mounted patrols and marine patrols and maybe even a helicopter is going to land,” he said. “It's going to be pretty exciting. So, bring your friends and families and kids and enjoy it. It’s going to be a really great event.”