The Evans Planning Board tables the vote on the proposed restaurant but also declined to answer many questions.
The Evans Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) is a document that’s the plan for the town’s waterfront. The LWRP is developed with input from residents. The current LWRP filed with and approved by NYS, includes 107 pages on Lake Erie Beach Park that I submitted on the park. Changing the LWRP requires more public meetings and another approval by NYS.
If it’s in the LWRP, it should be considered carved in stone.
Town officials raised the issue that the “old maps” had to be reviewed. The old map clearly shows the designation “park” in three places.
The next argument was the LWRP. http://docs.dos.ny.gov/opd-lwrp/LWRP/Evans_T/Amendment1/Final/Evans_T_LWRP.pdf
The LWRP describes suitable uses on the waterfront. A restaurant is a suitable use but is a 4th restaurant really needed or a suitable use?
The Town’s LWRP actually requires town officials to recover the parkland that was sold.
The proposed restaurant is “inconsistent” with the Town’s LWRP since it includes unalienated parkland. Inconsistent may seem like a harmless word is it’s really a significant and powerful word.
The next town board meeting is this Wednesday at 7PM. Please attend and ask the questions the Planning Board declined to answer.
The Town has not offered one law, legal opinion or policy that allowed the sale of unalienated parkland nor allowing them to avoid their civic duty to recover the 0.8 acres for use by current and future generations of residents.
The supervisor made a campaign promise that the town would follow the laws. Residents should not expect less.
From The Evans LWRP – Section II – Page #30
It is in the public interest that State and other governmental ownership of public trust lands be maintained and, when possible, recovered from private ownership. Where full public ownership no longer exists, the application of the Public Trust Doctrine required that any remaining rights of the public to use such lands should be preserved and protected for present and future enjoyment.
Recent Comments