by Kristina Gabalski
Members of the Hamlin Zoning Board of Appeals have decided to hold off on a decision regarding a variance for the town’s proposed new library.
A crowd of more than 100 people gathered at the Hamlin Town Hall on Monday, February 18 for a public hearing on the matter.
Construction of the library hinges on the Zoning Board granting a variance of 22 ft. The library building would sit 48 ft. from Route 19, rather than the 70 ft. required by code. It would be situated on the Town Hall campus as a way to centralize its location.
Library trustees have more than $1 million in grant funds and donated funds to construct the library – meaning the library’s operating budget would remain the same and there would be no impact on taxes in the town, officials say.
“A lot of pressure has been put on us,” Zoning Board Chair Norman Baase said following comments by the public. “This will be looked at exactly the way anybody else would be looked at. We want to make the right decision.”
Zoning Board members will hold a special meeting February 27 at 7:30 p.m. to vote on the variance. Baase said that would give members time to consider comments made during the public hearing.
James Bonsignore, an attorney for the library trustees, told Zoning Board members that the library meets statutory criteria for the variance.
“The balance is in favor of the applicant,” he argued. The library would “enhance and consolidate town amenities in one location.”
Several members of the audience spoke out against the variance. One resident said he agrees that the town needs a library but the proposed placement of the building would spoil the aesthetics of the Town Hall and “open a Pandora’s box,” by setting a precedent regarding set-back codes.
Another resident said that he, too, was for the library, but not for putting “the library on top of the road – we will have to live with this (decision) for another hundred years,” he said.
One resident said the 70 ft. set-back is in place for the safety of children and therefore the variance should not be granted.
The library is currently located between a bar and a pizza parlor at the old IGA Plaza on the southern border of the town. Trustees say they have spent years searching for a suitable location to build a new library and the location chosen directly south of the Town Hall is the best spot.
Library Director Kay Hughes-Dennett told Zoning Board members that the state grant of $466,000 will not be available if the site of the library is changed.
“We would have to re-write the grant and would have to reapply,” she said. “I hope we would not lose the library over a 22 ft. variance.”
Many in the audience agreed, saying it would be a “terrible shame” to lose the opportunity to build the library with the grant funds.
“We can’t pass up an opportunity that will not come again,” one man said, adding that the benefits that a new library would provide the community outweigh any detriment from going 22 ft. beyond the code.
Two young mothers who recently moved with their families to the town said they use the library frequently and are excited about the new facility and its location.
“Don’t kick a gift horse in the mouth,” one young woman told the board. Her comments were met with applause.
Resident Ed Evans likened the new library to a “Star Trek dream – it can happen if Hamlin support boards will let it happen,” he said.
