Majority oppose Town Centre

Many Amherst residents have spoken before our Town Board against the proposed general business spot zoning at the former Gun Club site. Talking during suspension of rules over the course of the last several meetings, they have shown themselves to be well-informed about our Comprehensive Plan and knowledgeable in various technical areas relevant to the project and its mitigation. Residents are grateful to the Amherst Town Board for their patience. This has been the only public opportunity to comment before the board, since no public hearing has ever been held, at any level, to present and address the new revised plan.

For weeks, individuals in support of the proposed development have been telling our Town Board members there is a "silent majority" of Amherst residents who support the plan. An unbiased, online Amherst Bee poll, up for a week and not preceded by any opinions making a case for or against the proposal, simply asked the question, "Do you favor the Town Centre project on Maple Road?" In spite of an expensive townwide mailing by the developer self-promoting the project and full-page color ads in The Amherst Bee of questionable content, paid for by the Amherst Chamber of Commerce, The Amherst Bee poll results were consistently 70 percent to 80 percent against the proposal.

Hopefully, all of our Town Board members will see the wisdom in voting against this project. It would send a strong message to our Amherst community that no matter what tactics are applied to strip residents of their rights, how much money is spent or outrageous hype used, developers will not be able to run roughshod over our Master Plan, neighborhoods and our quality of life.
The Fairways Group
Submitted by Judy Ferraro