The Shadow Pines Golf Course and Shadow Lakes Golf & Racquet Club both went on the market in January, making their futures uncertain. The one-year moratorium on development will give the town and community time to discuss all options, from building residential or commercial developments to maintaining open green space.
In a unanimous vote by the Penfield (N.Y.) Town Board on March 23, members approved a one year moratorium on the Shadow Pines Golf Course and Shadow Lake Golf & Racquet Club, meaning no development, other than work on the courses and facilities, can take place, the Rochester, N.Y.-based Time Warner Cable News reported.
Not only did residents at the public hearing earlier this month push for this, but town supervisor Tony LaFountain said so did those in an online survey. “The numbers were just crazy off the chart,” LaFountain said. “It was probably 95 or more percent for the moratorium.”
Since both golf courses went on the market in January, the future of each has been up in the air. Many residents have expressed their concern that if the land was made into a housing development it could increase taxes. They pointed out if houses were built, more children could enroll in the school district and taxes would increase due to the need of more schools, the News reported.
Some also say they believe commercial development would change the character of Penfield. “My priority is that it maintains its character as open space,” resident Sam Ogie said. “I know many people want to keep it as a golf course. I don’t golf. I think a golf course would be great. I’ve lived there for 10 years. The golf course operators have been great neighbors. I’ve enjoyed having that there, so if it’s a golf course that would be great, but if it’s not, I want the character of the green space and pine trees.”
All options like these and their potential impacts will be considered by a committee. In the coming weeks, LaFountain said the town will develop that committee of about 20 people. He says 85 people have already shown interest so far. They hope to have the committee formed by April 6. LaFountain also made it clear they will not be considering any political figures for the committee, the News reported.
“From a guideline standpoint, we want to keep it very open-ended because today we’ve got the golf course, that’s kind of one goalpost,” LaFountain said. “The current zoning might allow anyway from 250 to 300 homes. That’s the other goalpost and then there’s everything in between.”
Residents said they hope the quarry between the two golf courses is considered. The owner has a 30-year-old permit for the quarry, but residents say its future could play a role in how the golf courses transform, the News reported.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize the quarry is there, which is a good and a bad thing, but the golf courses really are a buffer on either side,” Penfield resident Tim Murphy said. “I mean there’s blasting in there fairly regularly. There’s a lot of dust that kicks up. As it was mentioned there is possible environmental issues there, so all of this is one big topic.”
Although Dolomite Group Senior Vice President Fritz Odenbach and Zeller Corporation CEO Gary Haseley have signed a letter of intent to buy Shadow Lake Golf & Racquet Club and keep it just that, LaFountain said the course will also be included in the moratorium, the News reported.
“Five years from now, what happens if they say we no longer want to be in the golf course business, we want to sell it,” LaFountain said. “So that’s why we want to make sure both are included.”
Throughout the process, Penfield resident Tim Murphy said he hopes the committee doesn’t lose sight of what residents really want, the News reported.
“I worry that during the 12 months this will fade from people’s thoughts and maybe something that’s not what we would like to happen could happen,” Murphy said. “So again, the moratorium is a good thing because it buys us some time, but I want to make sure we make good use of it.”
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