Steve Lucente apparently didn't like the rejection the Town gave his application for a 260-unit development in Varna, and is appealing it to the the Town's Zoning Board of Appeals.
They'll be meeting December 7th at 7:30pm at Dryden Town Hall, 93 East Main Street (Route 392) to discuss the appeal.
I've posted the packet including Lucente's appeal (10.8MB PDF) for perusal. (Thanks to the Town Clerk and Zoning offices for getting it to me speedily when I requested it.)
I've also posted a summary of issues from Jim Skaley that I think is a good start toward explaining why approving this appeal would be a bad idea.
My own immediate response to seeing the application was simpler - I don't think the sketch plan (page 12 of that PDF) is accurate. It's possible that they've completely reconfigured their building design, but where the old drawings showed around 200 boxes, this one only shows 150 by my count. Neither of those counts includes possible housing over the commercial piece of the development, but the friendlier picture of lower density in the appeal application doesn't seem very plausible to me.
Let's hope Lucente's previous visits to the ZBA have at least convinced him that it would be a good idea to have taxes paid up when he visits.
Posted by simon at November 30, 2010 12:39 PM in Varna , Varna II , planning and zoning
Has Dryden's ZBA EVER turned someone down? This seems like the obvious end-run, and I hope it doesn't become traditional. As for taxes, the Lucentes are notorious nonpayers and late payers, and the town should absolutely insist on payment before allowing anything new to go up. Why should they get breaks the ordinary citizen doesn't get?