ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Orchard Park Town Council members John Mariano and Joe Liberti hosted a public meeting Thursday night to discuss the proposed rezoning and hear feedback from people who live near the stadium.
The town proposed to rezone the areas in and around the new Buffalo Bills stadium. This could pave the way for more development in the form of commercial and hospitality spaces in the area.
Jim Grucella has lived in Orchard Park for 50 years.
"The people are great. The school system's wonderful. It's just a great place to live," he said.
He was one of the dozens of people who attended the public meeting to raise concerns about the rezoning process and its potential impact on their neighborhoods.
The proposal would rezone three different areas into “Development and Research 2” zones:
- The immediate area around both Highmark Stadium and the new stadium
- A zone northeast of the stadium around South Benzing Road
- A large zone at the northwest corner of Milestrip Road and Southwestern Boulevard
Hotels, restaurants, bars, retail stores and more could come with that change, and it would also raise the town’s building height limit in those zones from 2.5 stories to five stories.
"I worry about the businesses encroaching on the residential areas. I think if they kept it Southwestern. They kept it to the corner of Southwestern that would be an appropriate place or Abbott Road near the stadium," Grucella said. "I'm worried because I don't think a McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts would be good next to my house. It's a residential area they should put homes there."
Council member Liberti assured neighbors that corporate businesses would not be placed in the proposed rezoning area, instead they're looking for local commercial businesses.
"I don't want Orchard Park to be this one big parking. We'd like to have it more like an entertainment district," Libert said. "If I wanted to come in and put a restaurant up or entertainment, establishment around the hotel or around the stadium — it's not zoned properly. I know developers are out there. They're going to look at Orchard Park with this brand new stadium $1.7 billion giant that's coming here. So we just have to get ready for it. That's what we're trying to do we're trying to get ahead of it."
Liberti said if you are a resident in the proposed DR2 zone, you will be grandfathered into the zone so your taxes will not change.
There will be a public hearing at the Orchard Park Town Hall on October 2nd. Liberti said the board will vote on the proposed rezoning that evening.
