FULTON, NY – A sigh of relief was felt throughout the packed Common Council Chambers Tuesday evening; Fulton residents happy to hear of a low-income housing plan, slated to be built at the former Nestle Chocolate Factory building No. 30 site, had been blocked. The future of the low-income apartment complex had been thwarted due to a zoning technicality; an announcement made by Fulton Mayor Deanna Michaels during the July 5 Fulton Common Council meeting.
As part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), the only building left of the former chocolate manufacturer had been under the intense scrutiny of Fulton residents, who for months religiously blanketed the Common Council meetings in protest of a potential low-income apartment complex coming to the City of Fulton; especially being placed in the only structure that is still reminiscent of the century-old manufacturing history that took place in Fulton.
Fulton Common Council President Dan Farfaglia followed the mayor’s announcement with additional information regarding the new decision;
“The City of Fulton passed a Comprehensive Plan in 2021. In that plan, the old Nestle Property was set up mainly for economic development purposes, not living quarters. The proposed change in the zone for that portion of the DRI Project must be consistent with what was approved in the 2021 Comprehensive Plan. Again, housing units of any kind were not contemplated in the Comprehensive Plan,” Farfaglia said. “There were many different entities and many pairs of eyes working on various projects for the DRI over the last few years. At this point, we are not certain how this issue was overlooked, but we hope to be getting some answers soon. In the coming weeks, it will be necessary to review all of the projects in the DRI, to make sure that they too are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan as well. It is my hope that this will be done quickly, so that we can move forward and begin the work.”
According to Fulton Mayoral Candidate David Phares and former Common Councilor Ethan Parkhurst, both attending Tuesday evening’s meeting, verified that the property is owned by CDM Construction, Design and Management; the building purchased from a private owner in a “not-at-arms-length” sale.
“In reality, it’s a privately owned building with their own private idea,” Parkhurst said. “A municipality cannot tell you what you’re going to do with your privately-owned building or idea, provided it falls within the city’s Regulations of Codes and Zoning Requirements set by the city. Outside of that, nobody can tell them they can do anything or they can’t do anything. If it’s rezoned to their preference – what they need it to be rezoned to – that’s all its going to take for CDM Housing Visions to be able to develop whatever they need to.”
According to Phares, having thoroughly read through the Comprehensive Plan during the review period, added his thoughts on the issue.
“I think what they’re really doing is – they found out finally – they’ve got to pull back before they do the rezoning, [and] make sure that whatever rezone they have today is going to tie-back to the Comprehensive Plan,” Phares said. “It should have been done a long time ago.”
Parkhurst went on to say Building No. 30 is a pivotal project in the DRI application process, saying it was the second-largest project that they applied with to win the DRI grant.
“If that project doesn’t go through, we’re not going to lose the grant money. The grant is there – we have the grant. The public has started to think that we’re going to lose that grant; that is not the case. We were awarded that grant – we have that grant,” Parkhurst said.
Parkhurst also said that once the DRI and zone have been accepted by the City Committee, the project moves onto the State Committee, who takes full control of the process from that point forward.
“Now those individuals work directly with the state’s committee with their project – the DRI. If the Council fails to rezone for that particular project of the DRI – it’s been shared with the public that the whole DRI fails. That’s not entirely true,” Parkhurst said. “Provided we petition the state in some capacity I would imagine, to change the zoning of the DRI zone…if we zone it all as one, or break it up into different zones.”
As Farfaglia mentioned during his update and the beginning of the meeting, all DRI projects will be re-reviewed for any discrepancies, while moving forward with original plans. Information will be updated as it is released.
Other items passed during the main portion of the Common Council meeting were Resolutions of Respect read aloud by Michaels for three former Fultonians. A moment of silence was given after all three resolutions were passed. The resolutions are as follows:
- Resolution of Respect – Harley A. Thompson
- Resolution of Respect – Kurt W. Brown Sr.
- Resolution of Respect – Timothy Doyle
All items on the July 5 agenda were unanimously passed. To view the full agenda, please click here. All Fulton Common Council meetings are held the first and third (optional) Tuesday of every month in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building.
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How can a resolution be passed by a deceased man?