Orchard Park on alert to preserve quaint look
It’s a different kind of commercial strip along North Buffalo Road in Orchard Park.
The 1.5 miles of road, from Route 20 to the town’s boundary with the Village of Orchard Park, exhibits a low-key, genteel style of development.
Some stately old homes have been turned into offices, and newer buildings are designed with antique touches. Harsh lighting and garish signs — well, that would just be gauche.
The town likes it and wants to keep it that way. But how to ensure that freewheeling developers continue to mind their manners?
“We want to keep the aesthetics,” Councilman David Kaczor said. “If you don’t have something legislated, you lose control of it.”
The Town Board voted, 5-0, last week to create an “overlay district” along the corridor that is the town’s northern gateway to preserve its look. The legislation also creates an architectural review board to scrutinize plans for new buildings and additions.
The creation of the special district has been in the works for more than a year. The second of two six-month moratoriums on new building expired in November.
“The whole intention of it is to keep it looking quaint and residential,” Councilwoman Nancy Ackerman said.
Something as detailed and subjective as architectural style proved difficult to spell out in a zoning ordinance, she said, leading to the idea for a review board.
The five-member board’s review will come in addition to the town’s regular site plan review process. The Town Board will appoint the board’s members after advertising for applicants.
The OPCS Federal Credit Union has been waiting for the moratorium to lift before adding a drive-through to its building at 4000 N. Buffalo Road.
“We agree the entrance to the town should be as attractive as possible,” CEO Robyn Young said. Architects have drawn up plans to put the drive-through at the side of the building, with touches like columns and landscaping that harmonize with the rest of the building.
“We want to leave as much green space as possible,” Young said. “But we do need to use our property to the best interests of members.”
Village Mayor John Wilson applauded the town’s move in guiding development.
“I don’t want to see it become a strip mall from here to Southwestern Boulevard [Route 20]),” he said.
In the village, with its antique buildings, the Planning Board maintains architectural cohesion, Wilson said. The Village Code encourages preservation of residential-style buildings in core commercial district.
“That gives us a pretty good hammer on things,” Wilson said.
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