Rensch Road rezonings approved
Jones says vote was illegal
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The Amherst Town Board voted on Monday to rezone 14 parcels on Rensch Road from RD-Research Development to MFR-6 Multi Family Residential to make way for the proposed GMH Communities student housing project.

(See editorial on page four)

But Town Attorney Tom Jones said the vote was illegal because of the recommendations of the adopted master plan.

"You have a matter before you now ... where the application is not consistent with that adopted master plan, which you are legally bound to follow," Jones said. "You have to have a public hearing in order to conform the master plan to the proposal before you. This is an illegal rezoning."

Although advised by Jones prior to the vote, five of the board members voted for the rezoning. Council members Bill Kindel and Deborah Bruch Bucki cast the no votes.

Supervisor Satish Mohan disagreed with Jones' advice, saying that the Planning Board recommended the rezonings. According to the minutes from the Jan. 18 Planning Board meeting, the recommendation was approved by a vote of 4-3.

"The Planning Board said the proposed zoning plan meets the intents of the master plan," Mohan said.

Earlier in the meeting, Council Member Dan Ward proposed a resolution to address amendments to the master plan. The board voted unanimously to send the request to the Planning Department to format a process.

Mohan said during the afternoon work session he had drafted a flow chart on addressing such issues, and Planning Director Rick Gillert said his department had also recently completed a draft.

As of Monday, a finalized process had not been approved by the Town Board.

Jones recommended that the Town Board not approve these rezonings without further review from the boards and departments involved - especially since there will be similar situations needing Town Board approval.

"This is not the only project requiring an amendment to the master plan. I don't think it's consistent, it's not fair, and it's definitely not legal," he said about the Rensch Road parcels.

In response, Mohan said, "I don't know what you are talking about here. The Planning Board said it is consistent with the master plan."

In regard to rezonings, the Town Board holds the authority, and the Planning Board acts only as an advisory board.

Recognizing Jones' advice, Council Member William A. O'Loughlin Jr. said he thought the Town Board should move forward with the rezonings because he supported the housing project.

"If someone is going to sue us ... who is going to sue us?" he said, adding that the residents and students would both be in support of the project.

He added that the University at Buffalo has been negligent in its plans to provide additional on-campus residences.

"This will be excellent for the town; there is nothing else that could be built there. The land virtually has no purpose," he said.

Kindel and Bucki voted against the rezonings because of concerns with amending the master plan. Kindel said he wanted to wait for the process to be finalized, while Bucki said she could not ignore the legal inconsistencies.

"We should hold on for right now. Sue? Somebody might. I tend to err on the side of caution. I want the vote taken in a legally proper way," she said.

During the Feb. 26 public hearing on the rezonings, a group of 11 families told the Town Board they have been unable to sell their homes because they are living in RD zoning, which makes their homes nonconforming. They were in favor of selling their land to GMH Communities.

Also during the public hearing, residents living adjacent to the parcels were against the proposal, citing noise and safety concerns.

With the rezonings approved, the next step will be the Planning Board's decision on the site plan. A $5 million, 858-bed student housing, project near Sweet Home Road is proposed.

Mohan created a list of amendments to the site plan, that he said GMH Communities has agreed to: using all brick or stone on the exterior; installing a 6-foot sidewalk; creating one drainage pond; providing the town with a security assurance letter and having a deed which allows for only students to reside in the building.

A pedestrian bridge over Sweet Home Road was removed from the recommendation, with the suggestion of putting money in escrow should a bridge be deemed necessary in the future.

At the Feb. 26 meeting, it was determined that a complex cannot be exclusive to students according to the federal Fair Housing Act.

"We will face the consequences. All projects have their own consequences; this one will have its own," Mohan said.

The next Planning Board meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19 at Town Hall, 5583 Main St.