Published: June 29, 2008 09:47 pm      

DEVELOPMENT: Law would have planning board enforce Transit North design goals in commercial projects

TOWN OF LOCKPORT — The town board will hold a public hearing Wednesday on a proposed local law giving the planning board some architectural review powers.

The law, if enacted, would require commercial property owners to submit architectural plans for planning approval. It would apply in all commercial districts in the town and to all new builds, rebuilds, building modifications and additions.

The law calls on builders to steer design toward architectural styles prevalent in Niagara County between the 1820s and 1920s.

It’s the town’s way of supporting the vision embraced by the Transit North Historic Canalway Corridor committee, which aims to remake Transit Road as a retail/residential destination linked across three municipalities by a common heritage theme.

Some design rules pushing commercial development in that direction already exist in the town’s Commercial Corridor Overlay District, which covers South Transit Road, but the proposed new law cements the push — and also would apply in all commercial areas of the town, including Lincoln Avenue, Robinson Road and Wrights Corners. The law specifically states that corporate logos and designs would be subject to modification in town builds when they’re not in keeping with the town’s design desires.

By the law, architectural guidelines, a text and photographic primer in the do’s and don’ts of heritage construction, would be supplied to builders when they apply for planning review. Sample guidelines have been supplied to the town, the City of Lockport and Town of Pendleton by the Transit North committee and await adoption by each municipality.

Giving architectural review power to the planning board will “start to bring our commercial corridors into a historic look,” town Supervisor Marc Smith said. “It’s another weapon in the planning board’s arsenal, shall we say, to make this all work.”

Supply of broad-but-clear guidelines to builders, and clear legal authority by the town to nix certain building designs, will help the town avoid some of the battles it’s had with developers recently over the look of places including Wal-Mart Supercenter, McDonald’s and the proposed Walgreen’s pharmacy at Lincoln and Davison Road Extension, according to town planner Drew Reilly.

As planners tried informally to steer the looks of those buildings in a history-minded direction, but could not point to anything on the books saying they had to go that way, “some applicants were finding it a bit arbitrary,” Reilly said.

Architectural review by the planning board would be simultaneous with site plan review and does not create an extra hoop for developers to jump through, Smith said. Also, architectural review would not apply to property in industrial or residential zones.

The public hearing on the proposed law will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the town hall.

Contact reporter Joyce Miles at 439-9222, ext. 6245.