INFORMATIONAL PUBLIC HEARING
KINNE/BUTTERNUT APT PROJECT
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18 @ 7 PM
DEWITT TOWN HALL
5400 BUTTERNUT DRIVE, DEWITT
IN PERSON ONLY
The Town of DeWitt Planning Board will hold a Informational Public Hearing on the Kinne/Butternut Apartment Project application on Thursday, November 18 at 7 PM at the DeWitt Town Hall, 5400 Butternut Drive. The Hearing will take place on the second floor meeting room. There will be a presentation by the developer and residents are invited to attend the hearing to provide their input on the impact the project will have on the neighborhoods.
The developer had a Traffic Impact Study done, and has submitted two additional documents to the Board for their consideration of the application. Those documents are published on the Town website and on this website on the Development page, noted as October submission and November submission.
The project has been marketed by the developer as "apartments for seniors" and a "senior housing project," however it is a not a development by a senior housing corporation, and the Planning Board has correctly determined that the application must be considered an apartment development.
A copy of the notice for the Public Hearing follows: 
Jonathan Craig Estates and DeWitt Acres are two of the oldest neighborhoods in the Town of DeWitt. They are residential neighborhoods with only single-family dwellings and have been zoned as residential districts since the Town of DeWitt established zoning codes. Since the 1940's and 1950's people have purchased homes in these neighborhoods knowing that they were making an investment in a neighborhood with single family homes. These single-family residences are well maintained and have a distinct character which has developed from the 1940's and 1950's to the present time.
In 2004 a developer purchased a vacant parcel of land that bordered Kinne Road on the north and Butternut Drive on the south. This vacant land was zoned residential R-2 at the time of the purchase, which means a residence built on this parcel must be a single-family dwelling. The developer was aware of this limitation when he purchased the property, but now seeks to have the property rezoned from R-2 to R-3, which would permit him to build apartment buildings on the property instead of single-family residences. He is asking the Town of DeWitt Planning Board to approve his application to build three apartment buildings of two to four stories with 144 units on the parcel.
Residents in the Jonathan Craig and DeWitt Acres neighborhoods are adamantly opposed to this development, since it will permanently change the character of the neighborhood by increasing traffic, increasing the population density of the neighborhoods, and increasing noise and visual pollution, thus disrupting the quality of these traditional neighborhoods.
The size and scope of the apartment complex can be seen from the following image submitted to the Planning Board, which shows the project view from Kinne Road (called Kinne Street by the developer). The main office and first building of the project will be located on Kinne Road, as well as the main entrance to the development, with another entrance from Butternut Drive (called Butternut Road by the developer).
