Attorney General's office involved
in Fairfield Place development issues

The Fairfield Place project proposed for a parcel of land on Manitou Road north of Route 104 in Parma that led to the creation of the NO RIP organization, has now drawn the attention of the New York State Attorney General's Office.

In a letter dated May 4, 2004, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Feiner called for the Army Corps of Engineers to reopen its 2002 non-jurisdiction determination and assert the Clean Water Act - in effect making a portion of the land to be developed national wetlands.

Feiner contends that important information concerning the wetlands located on the property was not submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers. According to the letter, "ten of 12 wetlands on the subject site are hydrologically connected, and otherwise adjacent to a tributary of Northrup Creek."

Parma Supervisor Rick Lemcke said the involvement of the Attorney General's Office is highly unusual.

"This is just part of the NO RIP group's relentless pursuit of opposing the project," said Lemcke. He added that the latest developments will not affect the work of the Parma Town Board. The town board recently accepted the final Environmental Impact Statement and will next have to determine whether or not it will approve rezoning the property to medium density.

After this determination, the project will be handed over to the Parma Planning Board which will focus on issues surrounding development of the project. At this time, the public hearing phase is over and the town board is accepting only written comments from interested and involved agencies. The town board could choose to address the Fairfield Place issue at the next town board meeting May 18 at 7 p.m.

In the meantime, the developer has obtained fill permits and is preparing the land. Mike Brown, a member of NO RIP, said someone in the town should step in sooner than later. "If nothing else, a moratorium should be put on all filling," said Brown.

The Fairfield Place development calls for building apartments, town homes, patio homes, senior housing and single family homes on a site located on the west side of Manitou Road, just north of Ridge Road West. In total, it would be 599 units on a 140-acre lot. It has drawn a lot of fire from residents of the area.