Muir Woods ready for development
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The majority of the Amherst Town Board basically said enough is enough when it voted to accept the final environmental impact statement for Muir Woods.

Required by the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the statement addresses land near Interstate 990 that has undergone years of changes and reviews.

Council Member Bill Kindel said he thinks the project is a good deal.

"We accepted the findings, the final FEIS and voted on the rezoning," he said, adding that the vote was actually for land use, which is equivalent to a rezoning.

In the most basic terms, Muir Woods is ready for development. Site plans are submitted on an individual basis and must go through a process.

The plan has undergone several changes since first submitted in April 2002. The final plan is 60 percent smaller than the original. Commercial space was reduced from 1.8 million square feet to 700,000, on 110 acres. The original proposal was for 144 acres of development. Residential units were reduced from 200 units to 136.

Residents who sat through the meeting waiting for the board's vote were upset with the outcome.

Judi Colton said another SEQR should be required because the proposal changed.

"The issues were not addressed properly. We are only asking for due process," she said.

Joe Grifasi agreed, saying the FEIS accepted did not address all the concerns, especially since the project has changed. Even though the final project is smaller, there are still concerns, he added.

Several residents gathered in the hall after the vote, expressing a feeling of betrayal by some board members. The FEIS was accepted by a vote of 5-2, with council members Dan Ward and Deborah Bruch Bucki voting no.

The residents said Muir Woods was now in its "third perfect" phase, and that the first and second plans were also once "perfect," but had to undergo changes.

Attorney Sean Hopkins, of Hopkins, Garas & Sorgi, PLLC, representative for the developer, Ciminelli, said the board had fulfilled its obligations and it was time to vote on the FEIS.

He said the length of time since the proposal to Monday's vote was possibly unprecedented in Western New York.

According to Kindel, an agreement has been made between the town and Ciminelli for a donation of wetlands to the town. He estimated that the area amounts to a couple of hundred acres.