Archive: News

Eight people spoke in a public hearing that kicks off the final stage in approving Lansing's Comprehensive Plan Revision.  The December 20th hearing was held after much discussion before and during a special Town Board meeting the previous week.  While some board members favored quick passage of the current draft that has been seven years in the making, others advocated for a more extended public discussion period.

Supervisor Ed LaVigne had called the special meeting for the purpose of cancelling the public hearing to allow for more time for meetings and consideration, but when Attorney Guy Krogh advocated keeping the December 20 hearing on the schedule to fulfill state deadline requirements, no action was taken.  Thus, despite concerns that the public hearing was scheduled so close to the holidays that many people would not be able to attend, the Board agreed to hold the hearing, but not vote on acceptance of the plan revision.  That public hearing became the first of a number of meetings planned for the final, Town Board consideration before officially accepting the plan.

Six of the eight speakers brought up zoning and environmental concerns, with some advocating that the focus should not be on where zoning goes, but on using Lansing's strengths to enhance the quality of life in the Town.  There was discussion about how the 'Bell Station' land should be zoned.  Some talked about the process, and advocated more work be done to attract public comment and participation.

When NYSEG sold the Milliken Station power plant to AES they retained the 490 acres, currently half wooded and half leased farm land, with the intention of building the Bell Station Nuclear Plant there.  In 1969 the Tompkins County Board of Supervisors approved the plant.A 2,436,000kw reactor was planned to produce a net 838,000kw of power.  But the $320 million plant project was fiercely opposed by a Trumansburg group in 1973.  The plant was never built.  In 2012 the Fingerlakes Land Trust proposed a plan that could result in the land becoming a state park or state forest.  But the property is not currently for sale, and Planning Board members, in revising that portion of the Comprehensive Plan said that current zoning would not preclude that idea, but would also allow for lakefront development that would bring the Town tax dollars.

County Legislator Mike Sigler cautioned that making Bell Station a state park could be harmful to the Town's tax base, advocating turning it into a state forest which would also allow the farm land portion of the property to continue being farmed.

Planning Board member Dean Shay said that in the nearly one year that the Planning Board considered its edits, there was almost no public input.  He said the current public interest is good, though late.

The Comprehensive Plan revision has been developed by two committees, the Planning Board, and now Town officials say they will hold 'neighborhood' informational meetings, as well as possible additional public hearings before voting on final acceptance.

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