Pittsford village board votes 'yes' to moratorium on construction

The Pittsford village board unanimously approved a long-delayed and heavily debated construction moratorium Tuesday night.

The newly approved yearlong moratorium is on village construction and can be extended an additional six months by the board.

While the vote was last scheduled to take place during a meeting on Oct. 24, it was pushed back when the volume of community members to offer public comment surpassed the allotted meeting time.

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The timing of the proposal, and the writing in the law hasn't been void of controversy. The halt in development will prevent the construction of a proposed hotel, spa and restaurant on Schoen Place, a commercial hub on the north side of the Erie Canal.

Over the past few months, village officials have maintained that a pause is necessary in order to allow time for the board to update the village zoning code and comprehensive plan, which was last drafted in 2002, but the developer of the proposed project, and the Powers family who it is in contract with to purchase the land, has expressed dissatisfaction with the board's handling of the matter, suggesting that personal motives are involved.

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Whether that assertion is or isn't the reality (the board has reiterated that it is not), the vote Tuesday determined the future of development in the village — there won't be much, at least not during the next 12 months.

"There's a lot of moving parts, alluding to the code, which is really outdated," said trustee David Ferris, who stressed that board had put a lot of thought into the proposal, and that the decision was not one made on the whim.

"Everybody on this board wants to make the right decision, to do the right thing. This is not to block any project," Ferris said.

Dennis Wilmot, senior vice president of Wilmorite, the developer on the project of interest at 25 Schoen Place, countered that sentiment. He said that he suspects that the moratorium will not only delay development, but will block the 25 Schoen Place proposal entirely.

"We have done everything as required by the village for submissions of a project for approval and today, short of one meeting with the (development review committee), our application has had zero consideration," said Wilmot. "What is troubling for us in, respects to what has happened (Tuesday). is our feeling is this moratorium gives the village the opportunity to essentially change the rules so that what we are proposing at Schoen Place cannot happen."

Wilmot went on to say that Wilmorite and the Powers family have made efforts to maintain open dialogue with the board from the beginning, but that it hasn't been reciprocated.

"We're operating in a vacuum, now the door's been slammed in our face," he said.

Wilmot said that he can't say definitively what path Wilmorite and the Powers family will take going forward, but that taking legal action is not off the table.

Perhaps the sole glimmer of hope for those looking to develop in the village over the next year came in the form of a question posed to the board by Mayor Robert Corby, who pondered whether or not it would be possible to move certain projects ahead as sections of the code are updated. No definitive answer was given, but it could very well be the subject of future meetings.

LPEACE@Gannett.com