Residents protest potential
multi-family project in Clarendon

It wasn’t a public hearing and residents didn’t have the opportunity to participate but they gathered in the Clarendon Firemen’s Rec Hall to listen and to get information on a proposed building project on Thursday, February 7.

Town of Clarendon Planning Board members moved their meeting from the town hall to the larger venue in anticipation of the crowd that turned out to show their disapproval of the potential 20-unit housing complex.

“If I wanted to live in the city, I would have moved there,” resident Frank Yacono said. “We don’t need Rochester Urban League’s housing project here.”

Yacono’s property is adjacent to the proposed building site.

Project Engineer Christopher Karelus explained the project, that is sited for Bennett’s Corners Road, would be a 3.9 acre development and would involve 20-units total. The plans call for townhouse style homes suitable for young families.

John Oster, president of Edgemere Development, said the proposed Aekley Manor site would be subsidized housing. “There won’t be much senior citizen occupancy,” he said. “This type of project is more for younger families.”

The anticipated rent for the units would be in the $500-600 range, they said, and would require a one year lease.

Kevin Johnson, planning board chair, questioned why a project of this type was sited for Clarendon. Oster explained that a market study conducted concluded there was a demand for it.

Dawn McElwain said they should keep the city in the city. “I moved out here to raise my kids in the country,” she said. “I don’t want my kids to be around kids from the city.” Crime, lower property values and overcrowding in the Holley Central School district were cited as other reasons residents objected to the project.

There are presently 407 students in the Holley High School, 357 in the middle school and 635 in the elementary school. The elementary school building also houses pre-kindergarten and special education classes. According to Superintendent Vernon Hobbs, the average class size is about 20 students and enrollment has been stable. “We’re at capacity but our class sizes are very reasonable,” he said. “We certainly don’t have an overabundance of space,” in response to a question posed prior to the meeting by Westside News Inc. regarding enrollment statistics.

Town Supervisor Richard Moy said there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered and government tests that need to be completed. “We just need to get all of the data before we make any decisions,” he said.

Fire Chief John Totter requested the addition of a second fire hydrant to the site and the reconfiguration of the slope of the roofs. With the height of roofs planned on the structures, he said, a ladder truck would be necessary to battle any blaze. “I also just don’t see that there is adequate room to maneuver a ladder truck in the parking area,” he said. “We would need a ladder truck to fight a fire with the type roofs proposed.”

Architect Daniel Glasow said the roof pitch could be modified to address Totter’s concerns.

Johnson explained to angry residents that the developers are well within their rights to propose a project of this scope on the land they have chosen. “They are o.k. within the town’s master plan and that site is zoned for multi-family dwellings,” he said.

Jack Jost’s property would also border the potential Aekley Manor site. He expressed concerns with the amount of traffic that would be traveling down a “dangerous stretch of road.” … “Visibility to the west of their proposed driveway is just awful,” he said. He also said there is a lot of standing water on the property.

Following the meeting of the board’s requirements, Johnson said, a public hearing would be scheduled and residents would have the opportunity to voice their concerns.