But he hasn't received a lot of direct contact from opponents at Town Hall. 

"We do hear the concerns," Schneider said after Thursday's board meeting. "One thing is the zoning has been in place since 1991. We've been working under the same zoning. I know it's sometimes hard for people to be informed, but if you don't know what's in your zoning, you can't be shocked when something comes in that's allowed in the zoning with a special use permit or buy right."

Based on feedback from the community, the engineer and property owner planning an apartment complex at 8900 Alleghany Road, Pembroke, have scaled back the project, the Pembroke Planning Board learned on Wednesday night before voting 6-1 to let the development move forward.

A month ago, when the plan was last publicly discussed, developer Michael Schmidt and engineer Michael Metzger were planning six buildings in the complex and a total of 144 apartments with 326 parking spaces.

The new site plan calls for four buildings -- plus garages -- with 96 apartments and 168 parking spaces.

The Town of Pembroke Planning Board approved a proposal for a new travel plaza off Exit 48a of the Thruway on Wednesday, clearing the way for construction to begin in the spring.

When completed, the as-yet-unnamed travel plaza will join Flying J, TA, and Speedway as locations on Route 77 where travelers and truckers can rest, get a bite to eat, refuel and perhaps get a wash.

The vote to approve the environmental review and site plan passed 6-1, with board member Thomas Marshall casting the lone "nay."

The Town of Darien Planning Board this week approved a special use permit for a new indoor play center and café, which will cater to parents and their young children.

This new establishment, Nutty’s Playden, will likely open sometime between mid-August to early September of this year at 1415 Broadway Road in Darien, said Crystal Nutty.

A long-discussed plan to build a biogas plant in the Genesee Valley Agri-business Park in the Town of Batavia is again moving forward with the recommended approval on Thursday of a height variance for a storage tank on the property.

CH4 Biogas of Covington, operating the business name Genesee Biogas for the project,  first proposed the plant in 2014. 

Sara Gilbert, of Pinewood Engineering, asked the board to Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday to recommend approval for the company to build a digester storage tank taller than allowed by zoning code.  The biogas plant seeks approval for an 83.5-foot tall digester tank.

A Grand Island-based developer has submitted an application to the Town of Batavia to build an 80-unit apartment complex on 9.47 acres of land next to the MedTech Center, part of the MedTech Park, along Assemblyman R. Stephen Hawley Drive.