A Councilor Predicted a Pattern for Route 31. Eighteen Months and Four Bank Drive-Thrus Later, the Record Backs Him Up.

Key Actions & Decisions

• ◆ Feb. 3, 2025 Town Board, 6-0 (one councilor abstaining): denied Summit Federal Credit Union's zone change for a West Taft Road drive-thru branch, citing residential proximity, an unsignalized intersection and hazardous Wegmans-lot traffic
• ◆ March 3, 2025 Town Board, 6-0: approved Seneca Savings' zone change from RA-100 to O-2 for a drive-thru bank on State Route 31
• ◆ May 5, 2025 Town Board: Northern Credit Union withdrew its West Taft Road zone-change request for NC-1 commercial zoning after neighborhood opposition and the same night sought a new hearing for O-2 zoning instead; Councilor Pleskach, at that meeting's Seneca Savings hearing, said the O-2 zoning may set a precedence for future development along the Route 31 corridor, according to the minutes
• ◆ May 19, 2025 Town Board: approved three drive-thru bank applications in one meeting — Canandaigua National Bank's special permit 4-2, Seneca Savings' special permit 6-0, and Northern Credit Union's revised O-2 zone change 6-0
• ◆ Sept. 3, 2025 Town Board, 6-0: denied McDonald's zone change and special permit for a drive-thru on the same stretch, citing "definable specific harm," after the county planning department had required a traffic study covering Northern Credit Union, Summit Credit Union, Inverness Gardens housing and McDonald's together
• ◆ Oct. 8, 2025 and Nov. 19, 2025 Planning Board, 6-0 each: approved final site plans for Canandaigua National Bank (after 5 rounds of adjournment) and Seneca Savings (after 8 rounds)
• ◆ Nov. 17, 2025 Town Board, 4-0: approved a special permit for a second Northern Credit Union branch at 3584 State Route 31, after an area variance reduced its Route 31 setback to 129 feet
• ◆ Dec. 15, 2025 Town Board, 7-0: approved Northern Credit Union's special permit for its West Taft Road branch; its site plan remains under Planning Board review, adjourned a tenth time to Aug. 12, 2026
• ◆ Feb. 11-March 16, 2026: Summit Federal Credit Union, denied in 2025, returned with a new application at 4955 West Taft Road after its old location's lease came up for non-renewal; the Planning Board recommended it 7-0 and the Town Board approved the zone change and two special permits unanimously
• ◆ May 18, 2026 Town Board, 5-1 (Councilor Gauthier opposed): approved a special permit for Community Bank's new drive-thru branch at 4000 State Route 31, after zoning variances; its site plan remains pending, adjourned to July 22, 2026