Following a public hearing Tuesday, July 11, members of the Sweden Town Board unanimously approved a zoning change for the proposed Townhomes at Stonebriar Glen project. Town officials say the project will now go to the Planning Board.
The project is proposed on slightly more than 31 acres on the south side of Fourth Section Road just east of the Brockport Free Methodist Church. The zoning will now change from single family residence to multiple residence. The developer is proposing to construct a residential townhome community with both single story ranch units and two-story buildings with a total of 148 units.
An initial public hearing on the zoning change from single family to multiple residence drew a large crowd in February. The attendance at the second public hearing, called because the entrance to the project has been re-located to the west of its original location, was roughly one dozen people.
Those who spoke continued to express concerns over traffic volume on Fourth Section Road between Route 19 and Redman Road and the impact of additional vehicles in the area.
“I don’t believe the numbers … I don’t agree with your figures … your analysis is way off,” residents told developers regarding a traffic study commissioned by the developer and found to be satisfactory by the New York State Department of Transportation. They noted the road is not wide enough to accommodate current traffic volumes, which often back up in the east bound lane to Redman Road.
The traffic impact study found no additional turning lanes are necessary. The new entrance for the project is directly across Fourth Section Road from Hartshorn Drive.
Traffic studies have reported that 16,000 cars pass through the area each day and the development would add 65 vehicles during morning peak times and 77 vehicles during evening peak times.
Residents told the Town Board and developers that events at the College at Brockport and Brockport Central School District as well as Brockport Blizzard soccer frequently add to traffic woes and safety concerns, and were not taken into account in the study.
“If you go west, you take your life in your hands,” one resident said of pulling out of his driveway.
Sweden Supervisor Rob Carges agreed, “there is no question, there are some issues with Fourth Section Road,” he said, and suggested a forum with the New York State DOT might be in order to address concerns. Fourth Section Road/Route 31 is a State road.
Supervisor Carges added conditions along Route 31 to the east in the town are expected to only get worse once modifications to the Route 531 terminus are complete.
Council member Lori Skoog observed that traffic has been an issue for a long time in the area and, “as the years go by, the traffic increases. The problem is not the development – the width of the road, the number of cars and the number of lights is the real problem.”
Developers and town leaders discussed the possibility of eventually providing access to the development from Route 19/Lake Road past the Aldi store.
