Join the efforts of the Basin Safety First Committee and fellow stakeholders in support of a supplemental SEQR Review or Positive Declaration on the proposed Hartwell Heights development in Perinton, NY.

Sign the petition to show your support.

*A negative SEQR determination/ declaration means the project will not have significant adverse impacts on the environment   (This was the Town Board's declaration for Hartwell Heights in 2025).

*A positive SEQR determination/ declaration means the project may have significant adverse impacts on the environment.)

The following comments have been submitted to the Perinton Town Board by a resident:

To the Perinton Town Board:

I am writing regarding the proposed Hartwell Heights mixed‑use development at 2 Thornell, 589 Pittsford-Victor, and 597 Pittsford-Victor Roads. As a stakeholder in the community, I urge the Town Board, in its role as Lead Agency under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), to reverse the Negative Declaration of SEQR and granted SUP, and issue a Positive Declaration requiring the preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Under 6 NYCRR § 617.7(c), a Lead Agency must issue a Positive Declaration whenever an action may result in one or more significant adverse environmental impacts. SEQRA also requires a “hard look” at all potential impacts and a “reasoned elaboration” when determining non‑significance. Based on the current record, several critically important areas remain under‑analyzed:

1. Traffic Safety and Jurisdictional Conflicts

While the project may fall below trip generation thresholds for a county traffic study, SEQRA requires evaluation of safety impacts, not just volume.

• Perinton Town Code § 182‑17(A) references the acceptability of a site in terms of safety, and subsection (B) expects preservation of existing features such as watercourses and desirable trees during design. § 182‑17 also states that where exceptional conditions of topography, location, drainage, or traffic exist, the Town may require design standards that protect public health, safety, and welfare. § 182‑17 further allows the Board to require easements and frontage improvements where necessary. (§ 182‑17 and related standards, Town of Perinton).
• The site’s direct access to Route 96 and Thornell Road creates potential turning conflicts and sight distance issues that have not been fully modeled or evaluated for safety under SEQRA’s criteria.

2. Stormwater Management and Impermissible Segmentation

The proposed project increases impervious surfaces significantly, yet the record lacks a completed Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) with verified downstream discharge analyses.

• Town Engineering Standards: The Town of Perinton Design Criteria & Construction Specifications require that stormwater facilities be designed to convey runoff from pre‑development and post‑development conditions, meet minimum design storm capacities, and provide detailed SWPPP information, including runoff calculations, hydraulics, and drainage area maps, as part of plan submittals. (§ 210‑3, § 210‑7, Town of Perinton Design Criteria & Construction Specifications).
• Perinton Town Code § 182‑20 mandates that storm drains, culverts, catch basins, and other drainage structures be designed and installed in accordance with Design Criteria and Construction Specifications to prevent inundation and groundwater seepage. (§ 182‑20, Town of Perinton).
• Determining non‑significance prior to completion of the SWPPP and detailed drainage modeling amounts to impermissible segmentation of environmental review is in violation of SEQRA.

3. Impacts on Historic Resources and Community Character

Bushnell’s Basin is part of the Town’s historic landscape. The environmental record lacks a visual impact analysis or compatibility evaluation.

• Historic Preservation Law: Perinton Town Code Chapter 149 - Historic Preservation establishes a Historic Architecture Commission and requires compliance with the ordinance for exterior alterations, new construction, or changes affecting properties within historic districts. This ordinance exists to “protect and enhance landmarks and historic districts which represent distinctive elements of Perinton’s historic, architectural and cultural heritage.” (§ 149‑3, Historic Preservation Law of the Town of Perinton).
• Without a robust evaluation of how the proposed density and building scale will affect the historic context, the Board cannot satisfy SEQRA’s requirement to consider impacts to historic and visual resources.

4. Failure to Quantify Vegetation and Ecological Loss

The application references preservation of vegetation “where possible” but provides no inventory of existing vegetation or tree canopy.

• Design Criteria Standards: The Town’s Design Criteria manual (which the Planning Board routinely references for engineering and site planning review) requires detailed stormwater and grading information and encourages preservation of natural watercourses and features wherever practical. (§ 210‑2, Town of Perinton Design Criteria & Construction Specifications).
• Without a quantified Tree Preservation Plan identifying species, size, and location of mature trees, there is insufficient information to evaluate impacts on biodiversity, stormwater infiltration, or aesthetic character under SEQRA.

Conclusion and Formal Request

New York courts have repeatedly annulled Negative Declarations where Lead Agencies have failed to take a hard look at reasonably related environmental impacts. Under SEQRA, the Town Board must take a hard look at all potential environmental impacts and provide a reasoned elaboration for its determination. Based on unresolved questions regarding traffic safety, stormwater runoff and drainage, and impacts to historic resources and community character, it is not clear that the current record supports a Negative Declaration.

Given these uncertainties, it would be prudent for the Board to postpone any final determination until the environmental record is complete.

I respectfully request that the Town Board:

1. Reverse the current Negative Declaration of SEQR and Issue a Positive Declaration based on the potential for significant adverse impacts to traffic safety, stormwater drainage, and community/historic character
2. Require the preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement to ensure these impacts are fully evaluated and mitigated as required under SEQRA and applicable Town standards.

Maintaining the current Negative Declaration on the incomplete record would be arbitrary, capricious and expose the Town to legal challenges.