Clarence Board gives green light to St. Mary's expansion
by KIMBERLY M. KARCHER Clarence Editor

Members of St. Mary's Church had their faith in the Clarence Town Board restored last Wednesday as its members voted unanimously to approve a special exception use permit for a 17,000 square-foot expansion to the church.

The action followed a public hearing at Town Hall.

"We are very pleased that the Clarence Town Board has voted in favor of St. Mary's new church," stated the Rev. Robert Yetter in a release to The Clarence Bee following the meeting.

"We will move quickly to the design phase and look forward to building a new church which will serve our growing community for many years to come," he said. "St. Mary's will continue to work with the town and our neighbors to ensure that all concerns are addressed."

The neighbors' concerns included a possible influx of traffic that could lead to safety issues for those living on Stahley Road, where many of the them reside.

But the project's naysayers may have left Town Hall feeling somewhat vindicated as members of the Town Board included a condition to the permit that will require St. Mary's to produce a traffic plan prior to final development plan approval.

"There is still more work that needs to be done," said Councilman Scott Bylewski in a follow-up interview. "The traffic and safety of the Stahley Road residents is definitely a concern of the town, and we took steps to help address those concerns by asking St. Mary's to have a traffic plan ready prior to the project's final approval."

Following the meeting, Councilman Bernard Kolber said addressing the traffic issue has been somewhat complicated.

"We are dealing with state and county roads, and, in fact, the road site isn't even under our jurisdiction - it's the state and county," he said, adding that he doesn't believe the traffic will change drastically once the expansion is complete. "But we will work with the neighbors to make sure the impact is minimized as much as possible. Their concerns are our concerns."

Councilman Patrick Casilio agreed that the traffic should not increase that much with the expansion.

"I don't believe the church population is going to change overnight," Casilio said. "But we are looking into the concerns of the neighbors, and they will be addressed as this project moves forward.

"We also added a condition for a berm and additional landscaping to the area to help shield the church from its closest neighbors," he continued. "As we move forward, we look forward to the church working with the neighbors, the town working with the neighbors ... the town working with the church ... everyone that wants to will be involved and will be heard on this project."

During the meeting, some neighbors said they were "cautiously optimistic" with the recent increase in communication between the church and the neighbors.

"We would ask the town to continue to consider the impact of the traffic on Stahley Road," said a Stahley Road resident. "We hope this Town Board continues to monitor this project."

Many Stahley Road residents made it clear they were "not against the church expansion," as one resident said, but felt the town and the church were not taking into consideration the impact it would have on the surrounding Swormville community.

"I need some assurances from the town that they are going to live up to the proposals they have said," said Kathy Daigler of Stahley Road. "All we are asking for is that the town recognize that we are concerned for the safety of the children, the seniors, the children that go to church, the parishioners that go to church. We haven't asked for anything - what we are asking for now is one thing - safety."

Supporters of the church came forth representing several different groups who attend the church, including the handicapped, families with small children and the youth community.

"The facilities are not adequate," said a mother representing the "families with young children." "(We) sit in the back of church and can't hear the priest. The pews are too narrow to support an infant car seat, and the restroom facilities are located in an inconvenient place."

Many parishioners have to go outside the church to reach the entrance for the restroom facilities, according to numerous statements during the hearing.

"The new church would allow more teens to be together at once," said the "youth representative." "Teens would see the new comfort level … there would be new pride in the church. A new larger church will allow a sense of family ... it would help the youth ministry and grow pride in teens in the community."

St. Mary's Church will now begin its design process and begin working with the various town committees needed for final development plan approval.

The Town Board will hold its next meeting at 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, Sept. 26 at Town Hall, One Town Place. A 6 p.m. work session will precede the meeting.