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Ogdensburg approves Adaptive Reuse District in 5-2 vote; Step by Step lawsuit still looms

Posted 7/21/15

By JIMMY LAWTON After nearly a year of review, revision and compromise Ogdensburg City Council has established an Adaptive Reuse District. In a 5-2 vote Monday, the council adopted the ARD and …

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Ogdensburg approves Adaptive Reuse District in 5-2 vote; Step by Step lawsuit still looms

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

After nearly a year of review, revision and compromise Ogdensburg City Council has established an Adaptive Reuse District.

In a 5-2 vote Monday, the council adopted the ARD and ignored recommendations made by county planners that would have eliminated a second planning board review and a second public hearing from the process.

Councilor Dan Skamperle and Deputy Mayor Michael Morley voted against the proposal.

The ARD allows former churches, businesses and schools within residentially zoned neighborhoods to be zoned for new uses.

Officials have been reviewing, gathering input and modifying the plan since September of 2014. The plan was approved by St. Lawrence County’s planning board with some minor recommended changes, but those were overruled by a majority-plus-one vote Monday.

The plan had been controversial as one of its many iterations allowed properties greater than 2 acres to be included. This distinction would have allowed the Step By Step Inc., a mental health organization that owns Lincoln school, to apply for a zoning change through the ARD.

The former Lincoln school parcel is just over 2 acres.

However, at the request of councilor William Hosmer this distinction was dropped and those opposed to the plan quickly reduced in numbers.

Meanwhile, the city is facing a potential lawsuit from Step By Step, Inc., whose attorney Carlo De Oliveria has alleged the city has not only acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, but also in discriminatory fashion toward the mental health agency.

De Oliveria alleged that bigotry played a role in the council’s decision to deny the PDD. He said the controversial zoning change was focused on the fact that people with mental health issues would be visiting the property and that is not a valid reason to deny a zoning change.

“At no point should the people become part of the discussion about a zoning change,” he said. “The city planning board has very specific reasons for which an application can be denied and that’s not one of them.”

Despite the threats of a lawsuit, no legal action has been taken against the city at this time.