Committee tackles community plan firstdraft
by ELIZABETH TAUFA Reporter

After presenting its progress to the public on April 24, the Village of Williamsville Community Plan Committee reconvened to discuss a first draft of the plan.

The meeting was held Oct. 2.

Two public hearings must be held before the plan can be set in motion: one by the Community Plan Committee and one by the Village Board.

As of now, the committee will continue to meet and revise the plan through October and November and will hold the first public hearing in early December.

The draft of the plan, which contains the work of the committee and public comments from the April 24 public meeting, will be available to the public prior to the hearing.

While several issues pertaining to the first sections of the plan were discussed on Oct. 2, one matter, raised by committee member David Brody, was the importance of the Williamsville Mill in the plan.

"There are rumors that the village can't afford to save the mill and that will leave a pretty big hole in the plan," Brody said, referencing the "Mill Village" concept. "I think we should focus on the location and the history rather than the building itself."

"I think there are enough layers in the plan to ensure success regardless of the mill outcome," said Lawrence Bice of the consulting firm Behan Planning Associate LLC. "The whole concept is important, and if the context is successful, the mill will benefit, too."

Amid reassurances that the mill project will succeed, other members of the committee noted that the committee and the plan should focus on the mill because the village is currently focusing on the mill.

"Who knows what's going to happen in 20 years?" said committee member Carolyn Schlifke. "We have to focus on what's happening now and have the village committed to the mill now."

Committee Chair Walter Pacer agreed.

"The mill deserves our focus, and there's enough here that if the mill fails, we still have a plan for the area."

Other points of discussion included areas of mixed residential and commercial use, dense shopping areas and the creation of future cul-de-sacs.

"The streets of the village are a great asset," said committee member Paul Iskalo. "The whole point of the grid system of streets is connectivity."

"There are few parcels remaining for development," Brody countered, noting that cul-de-sacs should be allowed when there are "no other means of connectivity available."

Iskalo said that residents who are given the option of living on a dead-end street or a connected street almost always choose the former.

"Most people will think of the individual instead of the greater good," he said.

The committee will meet again at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 at Village Hall, 5565 Main St.