Just as Cayuga Island residents did earlier this year, property owners on Orchard Parkway and Chilton Avenue have overwhelmingly rejected a harebrained scheme cooked up by Mayor Paul Dyster and "City Planner" Tom DeSantis to have their streets designated as a historic district by the city.
The state has already listed the streets in its Register of Historic Places, and federal designation is expected to follow before the end of the year. But residents are most concerned about the local designation, which could interfere with even the most modest home remodeling project. In response to a survey conducted by members of the Orchard Parkway Block Club, just one of the 82 homeowners in the district indicated they were in favor of the proposal. Sixty-four were opposed, and 17 didn't respond.
Dyster, who lives on Orchard Parkway, didn't bother to inform his neighbors of the plan, which they first became aware of through news accounts. The homeowners say onerous provisions in the local designation regulations would force them to gain approval from both the city's Planning Department and the Historic Preservation Commission.
Along with DeSantis, City Historian Tom Yots and Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti, who also lives on Orchard Parkway, Dyster attempted to ram the historic designation past the City Council in November 2009, paying campaign contributor and architect Clint Brown $13,000 to draw up the paperwork.
Interestingly, Dyster and Grandinetti, along with City Attorney Richard Zucco, who also lives on Orchard Parkway, were among those who didn't respond to the questionnaire.
But a majority of the Council balked, and asked for input from the people who would be directly affected.
"The definitive results truly indicate that any attempt by the Niagara Falls Historic Preservation Commission to proceed with implementing the local historic designation would be going against the will and wishes of a majority of the involved homeowners," wrote Sue Teller, who helped prepare the report.
Last year, Dyster secured funding for another of his schemes, expanding and paving over much of Jayne Park on Cayuga Island, again without the knowledge of any of the island's residents and property owners. A major firestorm ensued after a series of articles in the Niagara Falls Reporter detailed the proposed project.
As is the case with the Orchard Parkway-Chilton Avenue fiasco, island residents were bitterly and overwhelmingly opposed to the plan.
Dyster has claimed repeatedly that the fact he lives on Orchard Parkway played no role in his seeking the special status for the neighborhood.
"I think the strategy here was to try to work first with the two neighborhoods that were closest to designation, based on efforts that were already under way in those neighborhoods, and it's not because the mayor lives in one of those neighborhoods," he said.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Aug. 31, 2010 |