Town of Amherst

PROPERTY OWNERS THREATEN TO SUE IN WAL-MART DISPUTE:

An attorney for two owners of property on Millersport Highway accused Amherst officials Wednesday of being "anti-development" and using "unlawful" tactics to block a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter and other projects.

Attorney Jeffrey D. Palumbo said his clients, James Collins and developer Anthony Cimato, are prepared to sue Amherst if officials continue efforts to rezone their properties at 2615 Millersport and at Millersport and New Road.

Palumbo urged officials to halt plans to "down zone" the two sites, which would change their classifications and limit development.

He said he does not dispute the town's right to rezone the land but said any such action must be undertaken as part of a master plan. But he said he had attended a recent board meeting where, instead of discussing a master plan, officials told residents they were using the zoning changes to block developments.

"Those down zonings were in direct response to complaints from neighbors. [Town officials'] original intent was to block development. Their words are going to count more than their actions," he said.
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But Town Attorney E. Thomas Jones said, "There is no vested right to any particular zoning. In theory, the government could come in and rezone your house from residential to commercial."

And Council Member Shelly Schratz rejected Palumbo's complaint, calling the proposed zoning changes an attempt to deal with serious drainage and flooding problems in the Millersport Highway area.

"This is not about Wal-Mart, this is about drainage and the master plan," she added