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The Lansing Town Board agreed to pay $294,800 to lift deed restrictions on 156 acres of land that town officials hope will become a new town center.  That is $195,700 less than New York State asked last October.  Lansing Supervisor Kathy Miller credits Town Attorney Guy Krogh with negotiating the lower price, opening the way for a town center to be developed on the land.

"Guy did a good job," Miller says.  "He argued and he got them down to $294,800.  We had already paid them some money, so that was prorated.  We saved a lot of money, that's for sure.  Just to put it in perspective, there are 19 acres for sale near my house and they want $270,000.  If it was $2,500 per acre it would be $47,500.  Wow.  Good job."

The Town purchased the land for $109,500 in 1992 with deed restrictions, placed on the land in 1933, that limited its use to parkland and recreational use.  Town officials have been trying to get the restrictions lifted for years, and it looked like a final agreement was near last October, but it was held up when State officials said they wanted an additional $490,500.

The deed restriction restricted use of the land to recreational and and town buildings such as a community center.  Town officials approached State Senator Michael Nozzolio and Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton to help pass a law that would allow the Town to use the land for any purpose.  In 2009 they sponsored bills to repeal the restrictions that were signed into law by Governor David Patterson that June.

That left the price.  Two assessments were conducted, and Town officials expected the cost to own the land free and clear would be around $180,000.  They sent an offer to the State early in 2011 and didn't receive a reply until October, when the State said they wanted nearly a half million dollars to complete the sale.  Krogh urged the board to allow him to appeal that ruling, even though it would further delay planning and development fo the land.  Wednesday it was evident that the wait was worth it.

"I's a compromise between the two appraisals," Krogh explained.  "They gave us $106,000 in credit and said you owe us the rest."

"Thank you very much for pushing hard on this," said Councilman Ed LaVigne.  "I really didn't think we'd be voting on this until 2013.  So whatever you did, thank you."

"It means that we can do anything over there," Miller says.  "We have some ideas for business and for residential development, for senior housing.  There's a lot of potential over there.  Whatever happens it can be beautiful."

The Town Sewer Committee has been working on a new project for the area since late last year.  Two weeks ago the committee considered extending the eastern portion of a proposed sewer district south to cover an area from Triphammer Road east and as far south as Hillcrest Road.  A site for a standalone sewer treatment plant near Cargill's mining facility was also considered.  Miller argues at sewer is crucial in order to accomplish the goals the Town has set forward, including affordable housing which she says required more density to make the homes affordable.

"You want increased density in that area, and that always depends on sewer," she says.  "Plain and simple there's no way around it.  That's what it depends on.  And we are long overdue for sewer.  We're long overdue in the sense that we need to do something about the homes along the lake.  Obviously, to bring any kind of high density housing here whether it's residential or senior housing, we need sewer to do that."

Krogh says all that is left are some administrative steps before the Town can actually begin developing the land.  Once the State Attorney General and Comptroller approve the sale, the attorney for the State will issue a deed, which Krogh will review for the Town.  At that point the Town pays the State.  Krogh said the assistant to the Commissioner of the Office of General Services has told him that will take another three to four months.


Miller says she hopes the town's Economic Development Committee will now work on a solid plan for developing the whole area.  That committee recently merged with the Town Center Committee, which Miller chaired.

Meanwhile, the Economic Development Committee and Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) has gotten the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency to agree to a Lansing Town Center Incentive Zone that will offer tax incentives to developers.  That will encourage denser development in the town center, helping to keep development in the south of the town, preserving farm land in the north.  The committee is also developing a plan to create a business and technology park in the northwest portion of the property.

The Town stands to recoup the cost of the sale and any infrastructure it installs on the land when parcels are sold to developers.  Sewer is paid for by property owners within the sewer district, so tax money is not used for that.  As more units are developed in the town center the annual sewer cost to existing property owners is reduced.

In late 2010 the Town Center committee presented a rough potential plan that showed improvements to existing roads including sidewalks, street lights, and trees along Route 34B along the stretch between East Shore Drive and Triphammer Road, as well as a map showing potential residential and commercial building and even a new town park.

At least two developers approached town officials last year about potential residential developments.  Miller says she hopes this milestone will speed up development and that once the Town has a solid plan in place development can begin.

"We'll see what everybody has to offer and how that fits in with our idea of what's good for Lansing, and we'll go from there," she says.  "We are not wedded to anything at this point.  Certainly, if I was a developer, I would look at this property and go -- wow!  This should be something that we all get to enjoy -- not just whoever buys a piece of land there and does this or does that.  We should all be able to enjoy it."

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