Hello everyone,

We hope you have all been enjoying the first signs of Spring! 

A bit of housekeeping before we begin. The "Updates" page of the website now holds some great information, please check it out! Also, if you know someone that would like to be or you think should be added to our mailing list please forward them this email to reply to or send them THIS link!

Now, onto the important stuff...

Please be advised that the proposed Event & Banquet Hall at 30 Cherrytown Road will be discussed at the Town of Rochester Planning Board meeting this coming Monday, April 13th, at 6:30 PM. It appears later on the agenda.

Harold Lipton Community Center
15 Tobacco Road, Accord, NY
Monday, April 13 | 6:30 PM

Important note: There will be no public comment period for any items at this meeting. This is likely due to no new information (to the best of our knowledge) being submitted by the applicant, even though the board asked for specific items to be sent., which can be found HERE. And that we anticipate that the board will be using this meeting to discuss their findings from SEQRA Pt.2.

It’s been a while, so let’s quickly recap where things left off on February 9th and why this meeting on April 13th is so important.
During the February 9th meeting, the Town of Rochester Planning Board continued the SEQRA process by completing Part 2 of the Environmental Assessment Form (which can be found below). In Part 2, the Board identified potential project impacts and noted whether each one would result in “no, or small impact may occur” or “moderate to large impact may occur.” Think: water, septic, traffic, community character, and similar concerns.

Between the February 9th meeting and this next meeting on April 13th, the Planning Board’s planner, David Church, has been reviewing each impact that the Board identified as “moderate to large impact may occur” in order to assist the Board in evaluating whether any of those potential impacts may be significant enough to require additional environmental review.

Here’s the really important part: if even one of the impacts identified by the Board may result in a significant adverse impact, that is enough for the Planning Board to issue a “Positive Declaration.” 

Our collective hope is that the Board DOES issue a Positive Declaration at Monday night’s meeting. If that happens, the applicant will be required to prepare a detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), examining each potentially significant impact and how it could be avoided, reduced, or mitigated. This is not a short or inexpensive process. It requires additional time, studies, revisions, and public review before the project could move forward.

For now, we STRONGLY recommend that you attend in-person on Monday. We know that it can be hard to get there and that it's often a long evening but attendance is so important. Showing up in person demonstrates to the Planning Board that the community is engaged, paying attention, and invested in how decisions are made! Pro tip: since this application is second to last, you can always keep an eye on the meeting from home via the youtube livestream and then come down to attend the meeting closer to the time that the board will be discussing this issue. 

If you cannot attend in person, the meeting will be streamed live on the Town’s YouTube channel (linked in the agenda). The official meeting agenda can be found HERE.

Thank you, as always, for staying informed, engaged, and committed to the future of our town. Your presence makes a difference!

With deep appreciation,
The Town of Rochester Alliance