The Amherst Comprehensive Plan took several years to complete. Experts were consulted to study the present and future development of Amherst. It cost approximately $500,000. The Plan was unanimously voted on and adopted in January 2007. How can it be that within months, this plan was ignored?

Over the past several months, person after person has gone before the Town Board relating their experiences of living in former Shooting Club neighborhood and/or predicting what would happen if this commercial development were allowed. The authors of the Comprehensive Plan recognized the potential for the same problems and advised against it.

The Plan specifically designates certain areas around UB for mixed use development. Maple Road is not one of them. In fact, it specifically says that commercial development should be prohibited in this area of Maple Road. Why is the Town Council so quick to abandon the Master Plan and the people living in the area, as soon as a developer asks?

It begs the question, just who exactly is running this Town? Transparently, this is reprehensible politics.

Any location, should not be considered until the numerous vacancies in Amherst are filled. This proposal offers nothing new. Duplicating businesses will only redistribute the same money creating more vacancies. This will not attract people. This will not keep our children here. This will not lower our taxes. These promises have been made many times before. History has proven them to be empty.

It is hard to believe we have come to this point, if everyone read the Comprehensive Plan and FEIS. This should have been denied and defeated at the very inception. It is a blatant violation of our Town’s Comprehensive Plan. It is a travesty of our system.

I encourage everyone to view our Town’s Comprehensive Plan, the FEIS and the Response to the DEIS. All Amherst residents must understand what is happening here, how wrong it is and how a similar scenario could easily be played out in their neighborhood.

The lengths a developer will go to silence the voice of the people, most effected by their development are deplorable. Our elected officials allowing these tactics to prevail would be tragic.

Dr. Mohan’s quote above is exactly what we are saying and doing. Is our Town Board listening to us? We are the people that will suffer the consequences of this ill-advised and ill-conceived development. – Judy Ferraro

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST, STAY IN TOUCH REGARDING THIS MAPLE ROAD COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

“Today, I challenge the business leaders and I challenge the Amherst Citizens to take back their government and tell the elected officials what their needs are and for what they elected them.”

Dr. Satish Mohan
Amherst Town Supervisor
January 25, 2008

Categories: Local News
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