Webster won’t waive a proposed recreation facility from its temporary development moratorium. The Town Board denied a hardship request from Dinks and Links during Thursday’s meeting.
Dinks and Links would bring volleyball, mini-golf and indoor pickleball courts; it would be located on Five Mile Line Road, between Lowe’s and BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Joe Catalani, representing Dinks and Links, argued the project had already advanced through part of the approval process and was delayed by requested site-plan resubmissions from the town and state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The town’s six-month development moratorium went into place in June.
Webster Town Supervisor Alex Scialdone moved to deny the waiver; his denial was supported unanimously by the board. “I’m sorry, but if you get the extensions it’s only a six-month moratorium. Get your ducks in a row and we’ll see you soon,” Scialdone said.
The Dinks project was first introduced a year ago. Catalani does not own the property but has a purchase agreement in place. He said financing for the development expired in June but can be extended to October. With the moratorium in place, the entrepreneur said, it won’t be possible to get a foundation in place before winter.
While Catalani said he’s spent more than $100,000 on the project already, he did not provide the town board proof of the figure or hard-number evidence of the financial impact of the moratorium on the development at the Aug. 6 meeting.
“That’s another thing that comes at us. Not only the costs of engineering that we’ve had to do over and over again, and all of the costs associated with it,” Catalani said.
To receive relief, the applicant needs to have clear and convincing evidence that the moratorium prevents reasonable use of the property, causes irreparable injury and denying relief would be unreasonable or unjust. The proof includes actual figures on the hardship caused.
The development moratorium went into effect following a unanimous board vote. Only certain developments are affected, including those located in office and commercial districts, large-scale solar, subdivisions of more than four parcels, and data centers.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Webster denies Dinks and Links request to bypass moratorium
Reporting by Steve Howe, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Steve Howe, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY Network
