Bee Editorial
Notification procedure needs some work
Daisy Lane residents recently learned from a flier flapping on a pole that the lighting on their street would be discussed by the Amherst Town Board. No information was sent to their homes.

Homeowners showed up to refute the proposal and won. That means they won't be required to have lights installed, which carried an estimated annual cost of $260.

In the past, homeowners hadn't battled lighting installations, but for some Daisy Lane residents it was an important issue they wanted to address. Had they not noticed and spread the word among their neighbors, they would have missed the public hearing.

But at approximately $12,000 for a townwide mailing, the town can't afford to inform residents of every concern brought to the Town Board. A resolution passed at Monday's meeting requests that first class mail be sent to residents about any special district expansion or any "other kind of official notice for any other municipal purpose." An amendment stated that only "affected areas" be notified.

This is a shallow term that could open a sea of debate.

For example, Sanitary Sewer District 16 encompasses three-quarters of the town. Who is to say who is affected within that broad scope? The current law requires notices be mailed to residents within 600 feet of a zoning proposal, also when an item affecting said residents is on the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals agenda.

In its current language, the resolution requiring notification is far too vague and hasn't really addressed the issue. As an example, the Daisy Lane lighting district is now part of one lighting district. To say residents must be notified of the lighting district expansion public hearings would, in theory, require a townwide mailing at a cost of $12,000. Those 10 homeowners don't want lights, and no one else should have a say in it - or maybe they should, seeing as how they are part of "a special district expansion."

Neither fliers posted on trees nor astronomical mailing costs are the answer. Specific requirements need to be put in writing because Daisy Lane residents were not the first to appear before the Town Board, upset that they weren't notified of a proposal they felt concerned them.

Each week The Amherst Bee, official newspaper for the town, publishes public notices of the town. They are printed in the back of the paper, explaining the same information that appears on a tree or in a mailbox. Until the town can figure out what the guidelines will be, check The Bee for the information you need.