East Aurora Advertiser

Walnut Subdivision Gets Village Board Approval



A preliminary plan for a nine home subdivision on Walnut Street and Prospect Avenue was approved at Monday’s East Aurora Village Board meeting. 

The project developer will still have to file what is called a final plat approval with the village and Erie County, but that takes in documents approved for the preliminary plat and conditions placed upon the developer by the village. No changes are expected by the developer between the preliminary and final plat plans. 

The board continued its public hearing on the matter of home construction along the vacant lot at Walnut Street. It kept the matter open following its March 7 meeting. Additional information was discussed on drainage surveys and expectations for the developer during construction. For some of the residents, they were happy to hear about the updates. 

“This new information has assuaged many of our concerns,” Bruce Mitchell said. He lives on Center Street and the rear of his property borders the Walnut Street lot. 

An engineer for the village, David Britton with the engineering firm GHD, discussed some of the drainage measures that had concerned neighbors. He said proposed adjustments to the lot would not hurt the drainage going towards Walnut Street. And a drainage pipe on the southern part of the property was inspected with a camera and deemed to be in good shape and able to handle the projected water flow from the new builds. 

The plan is that Andrew Romanowski’s company, Alliance Homes, will construct six homes on Walnut Street, two homes on Prospect Avenue and refurbish another home on Prospect. That led to the nine home subdivision application.

The board approved the preliminary plat plan with a stipulation that if the developer wants to take out any trees, he would have to announce it to the village first to see if there is a way to save them. 

Peter Sorgi, an attorney for Romanowski, said they hope to file the final plat plan before the next Village Board meeting, which is April 4. Once that is completed, Romanowski can start to sell lots and begin construction. 

Sorgi said building could start this spring, depending on interest from clients. He thinks it would take about two years to complete all construction on the site. 

Resident Sally Mitchell also asked Romanowski to keep in mind that it is a quiet neighborhood and the construction will be unusual for the region. 

“This construction will be somewhat of a shock to the system. The whole neighborhood is so quiet, so unused to anything like this happening, and we just want the builders to be aware of this. Just think of us…it’s going to be a big change and consider that we’re there, too,” Mitchell said. 

Romanowski thought his company would likely work on two or three houses at one time, and he would send out memos to his workers to remember that they are working in a village setting. Responding to one question, he said he did not think there would be a point where a truck would be on site and idling for several hours. There are also projected plans to have a staging area in the center of the property to park most construction vehicles while work takes place. 

The next Village Board meeting is set for April 4 at 7 p.m.

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