GENESEE ST. RESIDENTS from #151 to #312

We are scheduled to pave the road (weather permitting) the WEEK of Mon., Oct. 5th at 6 a.m.

Please use caution when utilizing the roadway during the time the paving is being completed. Please do not park on the street from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. during this week.

Thank you for your patience. If you have any questions, please contact Supt. of Public Works Ken Farrell at 585-303-7065.

Mayor’s Corner

Thoughts on Growth, Development, and the Village Planning Process

At a recent meeting, the Village Board opened the public hearing regarding the proposed Taco Bell development.

After listening to some of the comments made, I want to clarify a few things about the process, and perhaps provide some additional context about the Village’s role in development.

First, I want to be clear: I don’t go out looking to recruit a Taco Bell, McDonald’s, or any other national chain or small business Avon.

But I absolutely DO believe it is my responsibility, and the responsibility of the Village Board, to cultivate economic development and create an environment where people and businesses want to invest in Avon.

I’ve often talked about what I describe as a virtuous cycle of economic development.

Investment creates opportunity. Businesses create jobs and choices for residents and add taxable value. A stronger tax base helps support the infrastructure and services we all depend on. Investment can encourage housing. Housing brings families. Families support our schools and become customers for our existing businesses — including our locally owned businesses.

Does one Taco Bell accomplish all of that? Of course not.

Neither does one new house, one new business, or one development.

BUT…Small things add up.

It’s investment upon investment, home upon home, business upon business, and family upon family that, over time, helps create a vibrant and sustainable community.

At the same time, economic development should never simply mean growth for the sake of growth. It should mean smart growth, and balancing opportunity with Avon’s history, culture, character, infrastructure and quality of life.

So Let’s talk about our Comprehensive Plan…

A Comprehensive Plan is our community’s long-term roadmap. It establishes a vision for land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, economic development and preservation.

What it is NOT is a list of specific businesses the Village wants to recruit. It doesn’t say “bring us a Taco Bell,” and it doesn’t dictate what restaurant belongs on a particular parcel.

The Comprehensive Plan establishes broader vision. Our zoning and development regulations help translate and codify that vision into actual land-use rules.

And I want to emphasize this:

We ARE working within the guardrails established by Avon’s planning framework.

This area has been contemplated for commercial development for decades. The proposed site is an outparcel associated with the Tops plaza, much like the O’Reilly Auto Parts parcel. This isn’t a situation where the Village recruited a national chain and then changed the zoning or created a new commercial district to accommodate it.

A private developer identified an opportunity on property already within an established commercial area and brought a proposal forward through our existing process.

Our own General Business zoning language captures the balance we’re talking about. It contemplates larger-scale commercial activities serving Avon residents, travelers and visitors while also calling for development that respects Avon’s traditional character and walkability, Village-scaled site design, pedestrian and bicycle access, greenery, landscaping and an attractive gateway into our Village.

Our planning framework doesn’t tell us to choose between economic development and community character. It asks us to consider BOTH.

And let’s also talk about the actual proposal and the review that has taken place.

This is a site of less than one acre, and more than 50% of the site is proposed to remain green space.

Traffic has absolutely been considered.

Representatives of the business and the developer’s architect attended our meeting and were available to discuss the project and answer questions.

And stormwater has received particular attention.

Anyone who has followed Village government over the past several years knows that stormwater and flooding are issues we take very seriously. Our Planning Board has therefore applied heightened scrutiny to stormwater considerations associated with this proposal.

While the size of this parcel does not trigger certain state stormwater requirements, the plans will nonetheless include an upsized bioretention stormwater facility designed to capture site runoff, allow it to infiltrate gradually, and provide for excess flow to be directed north toward the stormwater system.

That’s an example of the review process doing exactly what it is supposed to do: identifying an issue important to our community and working collaboratively to improve the plan.

I also heard concern that this process has moved too quickly.

The process of moving efficiently is not evidence that the process was inadequate.

The applicant met its deadlines. Our Planning Board did its work. The applicant, its professionals, and our Planning Board worked collaboratively through the issues that needed to be addressed. And you can’t compare the timeline of one project to another.

Quite frankly, I find the criticism somewhat mystifying because municipal government is frequently criticized — sometimes by some of the very same voices — for being too cumbersome and taking too long to accomplish things.

We should expect a thorough process.

But we should also expect an efficient one.

If an applicant provides the required information, responds to questions, meets deadlines, and our boards perform their due diligence, we shouldn’t intentionally slow a process simply for the sake of making it take longer.

That’s not good government either.

There has also been a suggestion that the public wasn’t notified.

That is simply not accurate.

The Village followed the applicable public-notification requirements. Meeting agendas were posted. Meeting minutes were posted. Required public notices were advertised.

Now, does that mean every resident saw every agenda, read every set of minutes, or noticed every legal notice? Of course not.

And we should always look for ways to communicate better.

But there’s an important difference between someone not being aware of a meeting or proposal and the Village failing to provide required public notice.

The latter did not happen.

And the public process continues right now.

The public hearing remains open. People still have an opportunity to comment, ask questions, raise concerns and have those comments included in the record.

That’s how the process is supposed to work.

Finally, I want to come back to the larger question.

We can fiercely support our historic downtown and locally owned businesses while recognizing that other commercial areas of Avon have different purposes and different development opportunities.

Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Avon’s small-town charm isn’t determined solely by the name on a business sign.

It’s our historic downtown. Our neighborhoods. Our parks. Our traditions. Our local businesses. Our architecture. And most importantly, our people.

Those things are worth protecting.

But communities also evolve. Residents’ needs change. Families change. Businesses change. Opportunities change.

We can respect our past without standing still.

And we can welcome opportunity without losing sight of who we are.

Our job isn’t to decide where people should eat or which businesses they should patronize.

Our job is to establish a thoughtful framework for how Avon develops, apply that framework fairly, scrutinize proposals where scrutiny is warranted, and listen to our residents throughout the process.

That’s what we’re doing here.

And because the public hearing remains open, we’re still listening.

If you’re supportive, opposed, concerned, or simply have questions, I encourage you to submit your comments to the Village Clerk so they can become part of the public record.

We may not all agree on every development proposal.

But I believe we start from the same place:

We care about Avon, and we want to make thoughtful decisions about its future.

— Mayor Rob Hayes