Monroe Republicans on Local Law 1-2003

To the editor: We are happy to read in their letter to the editor in the Oct. 7th issue of The Photo News that SaveMonroe has finally admitted “it’s important for us all to know the facts.” However, as usual, SaveMonroe’s rhetoric and the facts do not agree. It is a fact that a provision of Local Law 1-2003, unanimously endorsed by the Planning Board, was to eliminate residential use in the Light Industry, LI, and Heavy Industry, HI, Districts of the Town Outside the Villages. It is a fact that a proposed project in the URM /LI Districts consisting of 80 attached units in 17 acres of the URM District and 33 homes in 53 acres of the LI District was before the Planning Board and that preservation of Bald Hill was part of the plan. It is a fact that Village of Monroe residents in King Estates had concerns about the proposed project that was adjacent to their development. It is a fact that some land was rezoned from LI to URM. To understand why the Town Board passed this Local Law requires some background and history. We accepted the complaints by the residents of King Estates and shared their concerns. We wanted to eliminate residential use from our Industrial Districts but had one existing project before the Planning Board that would be affected. The problem for the Town Board was, how to resolve these issues while treating all interested parties and all town residents fairly? Rezoning 23 acres of the LI lands to URM allowed a new layout that offered a significant increase of the buffer to King Estates. A total of 23 acres of the site’s 70 acres are now proposed as open space. The redesigned project before the Planning Board now offers 55 units of age appropriate housing. In addition there will be 11 acres of accessible, buildable, land that will be available for tax positive development. The total number of dwelling units is 112 and has not changed as a result of the passage of the Local Law. SaveMonroe’s conclusion that the result of passing the local law was to “grant one builder more room to build more townhouses” is obviously incorrect. Without a zoning change the town would have lost 53 acres of LI lands to housing with little open space. However, with the zoning change the town gained 19 acres of open space and 11 acres for industrial development. SaveMonroe’s conclusion that the process “cost the community tax positive industrial lands” is obviously incorrect. The Town Board enabled the Planning Board to resolve neighbor’s concerns, to improve the proposed development layout, and to create access to LI lands for future tax positive development. The project will be built on private roads and is expected to contribute a minimal number of students to the school district. The applicant will pay full parkland fees and, in addition, has pledged support for off site recreational fields. Based on these facts Local Law 1-2003 is certainly not the example of “ineffective government” that SaveMonroe would have you believe. We all agree on the importance of the truth. SaveMonroe just needs to find it. Sincerely, Supervisor, Sandy Leonard Councilman, Don Weeks Councilman, Peter J. Martin, Ph.D.