Wetland Study's March Timing Questioned, Great Northern Site Hotel Adjourned Again by Clay Planning Board
The Clay Planning Board again put off a decision on the hotel proposed for the former Wegmans Great Northern Site on July 23, 2025 after member Jim Palumbo questioned whether photos behind the project's wetland study were taken too early in the season, while the board approved site plans for an Equipment Share fueling station, a Charge Smart EV project, the Scott Merle Builders subdivision on Gaskin Road, and an EVgo charging station near the former Barnes & Noble.
New York State flag flying in Baldwinsville — photo:
Quintin Soloviev
(BY 4.0)
▶Key Actions & Decisions
●• Approved minutes of the July 9 meeting, 6-0 (Palumbo abstained, having been absent July 9)
●• Adjourned the proposed hotel at the former Wegmans Great Northern Site (3955 State Route 31) to August 13, 7-0, after Palumbo said wetland-delineation photos were taken in March before vegetation had grown in and asked for backup data; the fire department has not yet confirmed the site's turn radius, and access easements have not been filed with the town
●• Adopted a SEQR negative declaration and approved the site plan for Equipment Share Syracuse's fueling station on Henry Clay Boulevard, both 7-0, after the applicant secured a special permit from the Town Board
●• Adopted a SEQR negative declaration and approved the amended site plan for Charge Smart EV/TownePlace Suites on Carling Road, both 7-0
●• Adopted a SEQR negative declaration for the Scott Merle Builders subdivision on Gaskin Road, 7-0; moved to final plat, 7-0; granted final plat, 7-0, conditioned on health-department-reviewed septic plans for its two lots
●• Adopted a SEQR negative declaration and approved the amended site plan for an EVgo charging station at the former Barnes & Noble site on State Route 31, both 7-0, on condition the EV parking spaces not be restricted to electric vehicles only
●• Approved four sign permits, 7-0 each, for a T-Mobile retailer on West Taft Road, an Edward Jones branch on State Route 31, a freestanding Honda/Logo sign on Henry Clay Boulevard, and Zaman Coffee House's drive-through signage on West Taft Road
●• Adjourned seven other cases without action, to August 13 or September 10, including the United Auto Supply renovation of the former Pep Boys on Oswego Road, Emerald Lawn Care, Pack Rat Storage, Sonbyrne Sales/Byrne Dairy, Seneca Savings, Mirabito Shopping Center, and the Canandaigua National Bank site plan, for which no one appeared
●• Meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.; next meeting set for August 13, 2025
When Chairman Russ Mitchell turned to board member Jim Palumbo for his read on the wetland report behind a proposed hotel at the former Wegmans Great Northern Site, the answer sent the project back for another round. According to the minutes of the Planning Board's July 23 meeting, Palumbo said the delineation wasn't a true one: the photographs supporting it were taken in March, before any vegetation had grown in, and he wanted backup documentation showing there really are no wetlands on the property before the board could rely on it.
The hotel, represented by engineer Mike Ritchie of Costich Engineering, was already logged on the town's agenda with the notation "Adj. 7" before this meeting even started. Ritchie told the board the wetland report had since been completed and submitted, and that comments had gone to the town engineer as requested. Palumbo's concern wasn't the only loose end, either. Chairman Mitchell said the board still needs a letter or email from the fire department confirming the site's turn radius works for its equipment. And on the question of ingress and egress, Deputy Chair Michelle Borton learned that although Ritchie said the access points had cleared the town engineer, the easements themselves have not been filed with the town -- and Planning Board attorney Kathleen Bennett said she has not yet seen them. Town Engineer Ron DeTota noted the town does not formally accept easements until they are dedicated, but said they should at least appear on the drawings. With no members of the public speaking at the hearing, the board closed it and voted 7-0 to adjourn the case again, to August 13.
Elsewhere on a packed agenda, the board actually got quite a bit done. It adopted a negative declaration under SEQR and approved a site plan, both 7-0, for the Equipment Share Syracuse fueling station on Henry Clay Boulevard, after the applicant told the board it had submitted updated plans on July 15 and received the Town Board's special permit for the fueling station. The board did the same, 7-0 and 7-0, for an amended site plan at the Charge Smart EV/TownePlace Suites project on Carling Road. It also walked the Scott Merle Builders subdivision on Gaskin Road from preliminary plat to final plat in a single meeting, 7-0 at each step, conditioned on septic plans for its two lots that the health department had already reviewed.
The board approved one more amended site plan, for an EVgo charging station and parking changes at the former Barnes & Noble site on State Route 31, with a specific condition attached: the EV parking spaces cannot be restricted to electric vehicles only. It also cleared four sign permit applications without objection -- for a T-Mobile retailer on West Taft Road, an Edward Jones branch on State Route 31, a freestanding Honda/Logo sign on Henry Clay Boulevard, and Zaman Coffee House's drive-through signage on West Taft Road.
Seven other cases went nowhere for now. The board pushed United Auto Supply's renovation of the former Pep Boys on Oswego Road, Emerald Lawn Care, Pack Rat Storage, Sonbyrne Sales/Byrne Dairy, Seneca Savings and Mirabito Shopping Center to later dates, and adjourned the Canandaigua National Bank site plan when no one showed up to represent it. Two weeks earlier, on July 8, the board had adjourned its entire agenda without deciding a single case; this time, even with the hotel project stuck again, four site plans, a two-step plat approval and four signs got through.
The board adjourned at 8:22 p.m. Its next meeting is scheduled for August 13, 2025, when the hotel, the Pep Boys renovation, Sonbyrne Sales/Byrne Dairy, Seneca Savings and the Canandaigua National Bank case are all due back.
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Related Planning Board Meetings
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