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Rivers Performance

County planners to consider permit, variance for 20-unit addition at DePaul Apartments; cell phone tower in Byron

By Mike Pettinella

A referral for a special use permit and area variance for an addition of 20 housing units at DePaul Apartments, 555 E. Main St., Batavia, is on the agenda for Thursday’s Genesee County Planning Board meeting via Zoom videoconferencing.

Paul Schreiner of Parrone Engineering of East Rochester, acting on behalf of DePaul Properties, filed building permit, special use permit and Zoning Board of Appeals area variance applications for the construction of a 20,100-square-foot, two-story, 20-dwelling unit addition to the existing 42-unit development.

The current 49,786-square-foot multifamily complex on the north side of Route 5, west of Eastown Plaza, was built in 2009. Applicants for the one- and two-bedroom apartments must meet eligibility requirements of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

The project also will include the expansion of the existing parking area, adjustment of the existing storm drainage system and site grading. Whitney East of Rochester has been selected as the general contractor.

Following a review and recommendation by county planners, the proposal is scheduled to go before the Batavia City Planning & Development Committee on June 16 for a site plan review and then to the City ZBA on June 25 to review and act on required variances.

Variances required are as follows:

-- The maximum permitted number of dwelling units per building is 16 for large-scale multifamily developments. Currently, there are 42 units and 20 more are proposed for a total of 62.

-- Buildings in large-scale multifamily developments are required to be set back from interior roads, driveways and parking lots by at least 20 feet; eight feet is proposed.

-- Off-street parking is required at a rate of 1.5 spaces for each dwelling unit. The proposal calls for a total of 56 parking spaces at a rate of .90 spaces per dwelling unit. Currently, there are 32 spaces for the 42 units.

Other items on the agenda include:

-- A referral of the “final plat” of the Clinton Gardens Subdivision filed by Batavia Homes & Development on property behind 387 Garden Drive.

The proposal outlines the division of a portion of the property’s 11 acres into six separate parcels, with five of them dimensioned for development and the remaining portion to be set aside for future development.

The application was approved by the City Planning & Development Committee last June 18, contingent upon the owner submitting a “final plat” with one year.

Documents filed in 2019 by Robert Padanick, senior project manager for Nussbaumer & Clarke Inc., of Buffalo, indicate the owner is seeking to extend existing Carolwood Drive and Harrold Square – connecting two public dead-end streets – and allowing development of five new lots.

Additionally, about 460 feet of new pavement will be constructed, along with sanitary sewer, water and drainage utilities that previously were approved by city and county officials.

-- A referral for a special use permit submitted by Martin Rivers for a motor vehicle repair shop within a commercial district at 5278 Clinton Street Road (on the property of R&D Electronics).

The permit is required per Article III of the Town of Stafford zoning code.

Documents for the business, Rivers Performance, indicate that the shop will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with one to five cars on site and no outside storage.

Rivers is no longer operating a shop at his former location on Liberty Street.

-- A referral from Brickhouse Commons LLC, for a special use permit to operate a drive-thru business on Route 77, across from Pembroke Central High School.

According to submitted documents, the plan is to build a three-story, 32,000-square-foot multiuse building featuring 8,200 square feet of space for retail businesses as well as indoor parking and fitness area for tenants on the first floor and 17 apartments on the second and third floors.

J&R Fancher Property Holdings LLC, previously proposed the $3 million project at the Buffalo East Technology Park, located in the Town of Pembroke’s Interchange District.

-- A referral for a special use permit from Nixon Peabody law firm of Rochester on behalf of Blue Sky Towers III LLC, and Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems LLC (Verizon Wireless) to construct and operate a 155-foot cell phone communications tower (plus 4-foot lightning rod) on the property of Jeff and Patricia Jarosinski near 6811 Batavia Byron Road in the Town of Byron.

According to a letter to the Town of Byron Planning Board, Blue Sky will construct and own the tower and associated components for the benefit of Verizon Wireless (and potential subsequent users of the tower), with Verizon leasing a 100- by 100-foot area from the property owners.

Since the site is located in an Agricultural-Residential zone, a special use permit and site plan approval from the Town of Byron Planning Board are required.

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For more information about Thursday’s meeting, contact the Genesee County Planning Department at (585) 815-7901. County planners generally make recommendations of referrals, which then are moved on to municipal planning boards and zoning boards of appeals.

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