Some object to rezoning at Colby and Union; zoning board rejects variance

Some Colby Street residents are not happy with the Ogden Town Board's decision to rezone a parcel of land in the northwest corner of the intersection of Colby Street and South Union Street from Residential to Restricted Business and have recently filed a lawsuit with the town as a result. "We don't object to the rezoning itself, but to the way in which it was done," said Dorraine Laudisi of Colby Street. "The town didn't look at the potential impact of the rezoning and those associated with it."

The request for the rezoning came about after Keith Ryan, president of Westside News Inc., publisher of Suburban News and the Hamlin-Clarkson Herald, made an offer to purchase the property from Paul and Eleanor Humphrey as a possible future location for the Westside News Inc. offices and distribution center. "My intent was for insurance, someplace to build should I ever need to," he said in an interview. "I have no intention of building there anytime soon." Ryan is currently in the process of negotiating a long-term lease at 1835 North Union Street, where the business has been located for nearly 15 years. The current lease expires in May 2002.

According to Laudisi, 16 Colby Street residents contributed money to retain an attorney so that the law suit could be filed. Their concerns include the impact of additional traffic and noise to the area, the visual impact, and the cumulative impact of rezoning from residential to business that is taking place in the area. "The rezoning is not consistent with the town's master plan, which calls for development along Union Street, not Colby," she said.

Ryan's plans have been hampered further by the Ogden Zoning Board of Appeals' recent decision not to grant a variance for the property that would permit 240 feet of road frontage instead of the 300 feet required in a Restricted Business zone. "It's hard to set a precedence with the first piece of property rezoned in that area because before you know it, someone will come along asking for 220 feet of frontage," said Chairperson Duane Fregoe. He, along with board members Tom Hall, Joyce Lobene and John Rider, voted against the variance. "The perception of squeezing a business between two residential lots was also a concern for some," he added.

Paul Humphrey, whose family has lived on the property for 175 years, has no plans to move from his and his wife's present home there. "Paul and I have had a good relationship for many years and he was interested in selling me the property because he knew that it would be in good hands. Others would have developed it right away," said Ryan.

But Colby Street residents aren't happy about any business being located on the property, whether it's now or later. "There are more appropriate areas in the town for businesses to develop. They don't have to encroach on residential areas," said James Sutton, another Colby Street resident.

Supervisor Gay Lenhard said the town plans to fight the lawsuit. "The town board is comfortable with the rezoning," she said. "We spent six months looking at, talking about and researching the issue and, in our view, it conforms to the master plan. That's why we did it and we plan to stand by that decision."