AMHERST, N.Y. — It is a debate that has been going on for a while now: what should the Town of Amherst do with the old Westwood Country Club?
Neighbors fought development of the land for years and demanded more green space. Now it looks like the town has a plan it thinks will please everyone.
At issue Monday, an alienation resolution which would get the ball rolling. The board passed it unanimously.
"Those developers that you've heard about in the news, in the media, would basically be purchasing property, or purchasing development rights, from the town with restrictions. The town would then take that money and then use it to purchase Westwood from Mensch and make Audubon Park improvements and make Westwood Park development happen," Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa said.
There are a lot of moving parts involving several potential contracts between the town and developers, which would ultimately result in a large central park and new development with possible senior housing, a hotel, an indoor sports center, an arts center, and more.
Even with the alienation resolution passing, it's far from a done deal. The legislature and the governor still have to sign off on it.
Dozens of people spoke at a public hearing before Monday’s vote, so the board could listen to everyone's opinions before making a decision.
"Why would you buy contaminated property and have to clean it up? Why don't the owners of the property clean it up and then you talk about it then," Marion Grace said.
"This is as close as we can come to getting what we want, and we've done, you know, great strides to get there and I think that this resolution is a good one," added Nate Hartrich.
"This leap of faith must include the stipulation that the residents get all of Westwood," said Judy Ferraro.
Kulpa also proposed a sunset clause, saying if the town and developers hadn't reached agreements in nine months on the properties, the alienation resolution would be null and void.
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