The Dolomite Group’s plan to sell two Penfield golf courses caught town officials by surprise and has them scrambling to exert some control over the future of the properties. The Town Board will consider enacting a temporary moratorium on development of the land at an upcoming meeting.
Dolomite put Shadow Lakes and Shadow Pines on Atlantic Avenue up for sale last month. It’s marketing the 200-acre Shadow Pines course for residential development, but trying to sell Shadow Lakes, also 200 acres, as an operational golf course.
Most people in Penfield assumed that the properties would always stay golf courses, says Penfield Supervisor Tony LaFountain.
The moratorium, which would last a minimum of six months to a year, would give the town time to pursue options for the properties, he says. It could alter zoning laws, LaFountain says, pursue a buyer or buyers who would continue operating the sites as golf courses or other recreational uses, try to convince Dolomite to donate the land, or explore the purchase of the property.
The Town Board will put together a committee of residents and officials to work through the options, he says.
In a letter to Penfield officials, a Dolomite executive says that the company is willing to sell the land to the town.
The properties are zoned to allow residential use, and half-acre lots, LaFountain says. And residents say they’ve heard that a developer wants to build as many as 290 houses on the Shadow Pines land.
But Kate McArdle, who is part of a group of town residents organizing against development of the land, says that the courses are essential green spaces in the center of Penfield.
Residents worry that a large housing development could exacerbate existing traffic congestion in the area, she says, place a substantial burden on the Penfield school district, and cause environmental damage.
Town officials echo those concerns. They’re also worried about the impact on storm and sanitary sewers, as well as other infrastructure, LaFountain says.
Ideally, the town, school district, or both will find a way to acquire and preserve the properties, McArdle says, or the community will find a buyer who will keep the land for recreational use. It’d be even better if Dolomite donated the land to the town, she says.
At minimum, the town should revise zoning laws to limit the number of houses that can be built on the sites, she says.
A public hearing on the moratorium will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2, at Penfield Town Hall, 3100 Atlantic Avenue. The Town Board will vote on the moratorium during its March 16 meeting.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2016.
What a golden opportunity to do this right, but more important,…an opportunity to do the right thing. There is a difference. Doing it right is doing whatever is decided and doing it by the book. Doing the right thing is taking this absolutely beautiful golf course property and preserving it. By that I don’t mean cluttering it up with baseball fields and the like, but making this a park that can be walked, hiked and planted. Yes,…planted.
If you have ever been to Holland, there is a park know as Keukenhof. That park has water (creeks and ponds), mature trees of all types and is planted with tulips and the like. It is spectacular. It receives many visitors and has placed that park on the international list of flower garden/parks. The Shadow Pines golf course is only lacking in the flowers. It has all the other attributes that would make that a spectacular spot.
Lets not choke the are with homes that can be built a mile down the road. lets keep this park/garden infrastructure in place. Lets do the right thing!!
My vote says preserve,.. by donating the property with the restriction that it remains a garden park. We could name it after the family, Dolomite Garden Park.
Lets say we develop this golf course and build homes. This is what will happen,..I guarantee it. I’ve been around to long, seen to much.
It has been decided to develop the Shadow Pines Golf Course. That means that they will bulldoze the area. That will include the removal of trees that have anywhere from 75 to 150 years of growth. There are many, many of those. So what you say, that’s progress. Then the sewer project will make the area look like it was carpet bombed. The roads are next and leveling the terrain will alter this area unrecognizable. The homes that will be built will be in the $300,000.00 and up range. This makes the new neighborhood off limits financially for most. Last but not least, they will plant new trees that they will not see mature because they wont live long enough. If we were a bit short on land that could be developed,…no problem. Last I looked, driving through this area, was a considerable amount of acreage, just waiting to be developed. Leave it green.
Since I am still getting some dislikes, let me modify my suggestion. What if we took the segment of the golf course that is located on the Atlantic road, which includes the club house and designate that a “garden park” and develop the remaining acreage?
You only get one chance at keeping some “green”. Once bulldozed and built up, it’s gone forever.
Better?
I’m not sure why this caught the town “by surprise.” I’m also not sure why the town needs another committee to “work through” the options.
The town’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted just 5 years ago in February 2011, specifically addresses the Shadow Lake and Shadow Pines properties. Presumably, the 2010 Comprehensive Plan was prepared with meaningful public input and still reflects the sentiment of the town.
From page 141 of the plan, in the section on ‘Future Land Use’:
“The areas on the Future Land Use Map shown in green are
designated as Recreation/Sanctuary uses. These areas include:
-Shadow Pines and Shadow Lake Golf Courses”
As is common with municipal planning efforts, the town dropped the ball. It produced a pretty planning document in 2010-2011, but then failed to follow up with regulatory changes required to actually implement the plan and protect the Shadow Lake and Shadow Pines properties. The zoning law in effect for these properties remained single family homes on half acre lots, contradicting the vision expressed in the Comprehensive Plan. If town officials were actually serious about stormwater and sewer concerns, as Mr. LaFountain claims now, and preserving these properties as “recreation/sanctuary” uses, it would have changed the zoning designation years ago to reflect the plan.
Dislikes simply mean you are right and people dislike those who are right.
Very nicely said. Gives me the courage to go on. LOL
“But Kate McArdle, who is part of a group of town residents organizing against development of the land, says that the courses are essential green spaces in the center of Penfield.”
Then the local residents need to purchase the land since they do not like what the legal owners of private land want to do.