Height variance approved
for milling towers in Churchville

The Village of Churchville Zoning Board of Appeals granted The Star of the West Milling Co. the necessary height variance to build eight, 110-foot grain silos, in a 4 to 1 vote March 13.

An area variance was required because the mill, located at 35 South Main Street, is in an industrial area with a 50-foot height restriction. In considering the variance, one question Zoning Board of Appeals members had to decide was whether the construction would create an undesirable change to the neighborhood, or be a detriment to nearby properties.

"I don’t think so," said board member Mary Ann McElligott. "The silos are already there. The newer ones are not going to add any more than we already have." She said she felt most people don’t even notice the existing 85-foot silos.

Board member Tom Fitzsimmons voted against the variance. "I am not sure about the ‘nearby properties.’ I am not sure what it will do to property values." He suggested granting a variance that would allow new silos the same height as existing ones, saying that would not create an undesirable change.

"I think there is a compromise that could be reached," Fitzsimmons said. "I can’t grant the variance as written," he said, casting the lone "no" vote.

Zoning Board Chair Lynn Baker, members McElligott and Dave Hinsdale, and alternate Peg Steffan voted for the variance. Elmer MacIntyre was absent.

The issue was carried over from a public hearing February 27, attended by more than 30 residents both for and against the project, which was tabled because a required state environmental assessment form has not been submitted to the board for review.

Only one Churchville resident, attorney Pamela Moore, of East Buffalo Street, spoke at the latest meeting. She said she was against the proposal, and warned board members that a concerned neighbor would have grounds to have the variance overturned, or to challenge the short environmental assessment form’s negative declaration.

"The (environmental assessment form) was so deficient it made it impossible for (the zoning board) to move as far forward as they did," she said. Moore said because several questions on the form were left blank or answered incompletely, the board should have requested a full environmental impact statement.

Moore also said granting the variance goes against the official development policy of the Village of Churchville as outlined in the village’s Master Plan.

She quoted the first statement in the Master Plan’s overall community objectives, " 'Require high standards in quality and appearance for all future development both public and private…’ This is going to cause a visual impact," she said.

Moore also quoted from the area of the master plan governing industrial areas which states the goal is "Protecting the community’s existing industrial areas and restricting the growth of new, larger scale industries which would compromise the community’s basic character."

"(My husband and I) believe this is a quaint village setting and allowing towers at the height being proposed by the applicant is going to change the character of the village," Moore said. "Strict adherence to the zoning code is a policy … the zoning law protects all property owners, not just the applicant who bought into a problem."

Board member McElligott asked Star of the West Manager Francois Lachance to demonstrate the height difference. He said it would be about 25 feet, or the width of the village meeting room. "When I’m out walking in the village with the grandkids… I don’t even notice how high they are," she said.

"People driving down the road shouldn’t be looking up," agreed Hinsdale. "There’s nobody in Churchville that bought a house that didn’t have a mill there already."

Fitzsimmons said the board understood the mill’s need for additional storage to remain competitive, and the fact that building higher, narrower silos is more cost efficient.

"Our goal is to keep you in the village and keep you competitive, but also to satisfy the community," he said. "I understand running a business and optimizing profits… but it is not within the code. So your optimization is not necessarily our optimization."

The board voted after almost two-and-a-half hours of discussion. With the height variance granted, the project will move on to the Churchville Planning Board and, if approved, construction could take place this summer.