Manitou Parma Land Company has proposed a housing project in Parma that has neighbors upset about a possible re-zoning in the area. The project, to be known as Fairfield Place, will house 599 units which include apartments, condominiums, single adult units and single family homes.

The area of the proposal borders Ridge Road West, Manitou Road and Peck Road, behind Braemar Golf Course and borders the towns of Greece and Parma. The plan, covering more than 140 acres of land, proposes 36 apartment buildings with 8 units per floor, 100 single adult units, 66 condominiums, and 147 single-family units.

The area is currently zoned as rural residential which requires a minimum of two acres per dwelling. The request is to have the property re-zoned to medium density, which allows for apartment and condominium buildings with 4.3 units per acre.

Les Carr, who resides in the area, is against the re-zoning, as a part of a group of citizens called "NORIP"- No Rezoning in Parma. He feels that the approval for the plan is moving forward without community voices being heard. "This is the beginning to the end of Parma as we know it. This is the largest development in Parma's history and would involve the tax rate going up while the value of homes goes down." Carr has sent out letters to the citizens of Parma asking to keep the Master Plan, the original zoning ordinances, in effect.

Michael Brown of Parma has also sent out letters to his neighbors. He collected over 200 signatures petitioning the re-zoning, and has been involved in having legal counsel represent current homeowners who oppose the re-zoning. "We are not against developing the area, we are against rezoning the area. We don't want to look out our back door and see apartment buildings. We want to keep the re-zoning to one house per two acre dwelling," Brown said.

The proposal was unveiled at a Parma Town Board meeting on March 4. John Caruso of Passero Associates, P.C. gave a slide presentation of the proposed project. Town Supervisor Richard Lemcke then opened the meeting to hear comments from the public, many of them expressing their concerns about changing the area from a country atmosphere.

Neighbors at the town board meeting expressed the same concerns about keeping the area rural. Many said that they grew up in the area and stayed in the area and/or moved to this area because of the rural zoning. They were concerned about re-zoning to medium density because of traffic control, policing the area and the effects it would have on area schools and emergency services.

Supervisor Lemcke stated that the developer would be responsible for the traffic study; the town board only deals with rezoning requests. The planning board, developer and engineer must decide on the other issues.

The land has already been cleared of some trees. The private owner of a property is not required to obtain a permit to do so, but the developer did try to obtain a permit from the town's building department.

Since the March 4 meeting, Supervisor Lemcke has stated, "I believe it was a very good public meeting. We've heard the concerns of citizens, and are committed to a good faith effort to evaluate their concerns and how they impact the community." He explained that the decision of the board is many months away, and the board has to follow set procedures. He wanted to point out that any proposal set before the board, whether it be for a landfill, building proposal or re-zoning ordinance has to at least be considered by the board. All proper legal procedures, including a posting in the Suburban News and notifying those in the surrounding neighborhoods, were followed.

The process for re-zoning takes many steps. This project is currently in the beginning stages. The next stage is developing a "lead agent." The lead agent is responsible for notifying and assessing all parties that would have an impact on the project, such as the water authority, fire and emergency departments, sewers, school districts, traffic control and tax assessments. Lemcke stated that "the town would most likely be the lead agent."

The next process would be an Environmental Impact Study. This study examines traffic control, drainage and property value. After that examination, the board has to file an Environmental Assessment Review form. Lemcke stated that there are currently no hard studies on how this project would affect land value or tax rates without the findings of the lead agents' statistics.

As supervisor of the Town of Parma for 12 years, Lemcke stated that he realizes that the concerns of the public aren't any different than any new development coming into a town that is accustomed to rural environment. Although the board has to "listen to every proposal, the reality is not for land to be ever wild. There is potential for sewers. We will take into consideration what every concerned citizen has to say."

Public hearings on this matter will be posted in the Suburban News. Zoning amendments are available for review at the Office of the Town Clerk at the Parma Town Hall.