Webster ZBA tables Xerox solar challenge and Waterview Phase 3 until July

The Webster Zoning Board of Appeals met June 9 and left two of its three agenda items unresolved. The board tabled a citizen challenge to the town's permit for the Xerox campus solar farm until July 14, and separately announced before the meeting began that the Waterview Apartments Phase 3 application would also wait until July. Five routine variance and permit applications were approved unanimously.

Xerox solar challenge tabled until July 14

A group of residents from Grand Meadows Way and Pine Lakes Trail is challenging the town's classification of the Webster Solar Garden project as an Industrial Use Permit matter, arguing that the project should have been reviewed under the town's Solar Energy Law and required a Special Use Permit instead.

The Webster Solar Garden is a proposed ground-mounted solar installation on the Xerox campus at 139 Caracas Drive, developed by Montante Solar on land owned by Xerox Corporation.

The appellants are Elaine Johnson, Debbie Rice, Jane and Ben Bashaw, and Jerri Breschard. They are represented by an attorney.

Their attorney argued the town committed what he called a "parade of errors" in approving the project: an incomplete application, no special use permit required, the Planning Board reviewing a different project layout than the one the Town Board ultimately approved (the attorney said Montante Solar removed panels from the hazardous waste site and relocated them to the forested section after Planning Board review without returning to that board), and a SEQRA type classification the attorney argued may no longer be valid.

Community Development Director Josh Artuso made the original determination that the project qualified as an Industrial Use, rather than triggering the Special Use Permit pathway under the Solar Energy Law.

Before reaching the merits, the board's counsel, John DeMarco of DeMarco Taylor Law Group, raised a threshold question: was the appeal filed on time? New York Town Law requires appeals to be filed within 60 days of the administrative determination. Two possible starting points for that clock were discussed: a July 2025 Town Board resolution that referenced the industrial-use-only determination, and an April 1, 2026 email from Artuso to board members and the public. The appellants' attorney argued the April 1 email was the first public notice of the determination. DeMarco countered that the July 2025 resolution was posted on the town website and is arguably a public record.

Board members said they had not had adequate time to review materials handed to them shortly before the meeting began. The board voted unanimously to table the appeal until the July 14 ZBA meeting and asked that any additional documentation be submitted at least one week in advance.

A parallel Article 78 proceeding challenging the Town Board's approval of the solar project has already been filed in court. DeMarco confirmed the board's July determination would not affect the Article 78 case, and vice versa.

The Webster Solar Garden, developed by Montante Solar in partnership with Xerox, received an Industrial Use Permit from the Webster Town Board in a 3-2 vote on April 2. The Planning Board approved the final site plan in January 2026.

Waterview Phase 3 also pushed to July

Before any public business was taken up, the board chair announced that the Waterview Apartments Phase 3 application would be tabled until July. No reason was given on the record.

Legacy Development Co. is seeking area variances for Phase 3 at the northwest corner of Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive: a front setback of 18.7 feet where 75 feet is required, and a single-family district buffer of 38.5 feet where 100 feet is required. The proposal calls for six buildings and a community center totaling 56 units in the Medium High Residential district.

Five routine items approved unanimously

101 Midnight Trail. The board approved an area variance for a front setback of 44 feet, where 75 feet is required, for a 480-square-foot pole barn. The property is a flag lot set more than 1,000 feet back from the road. The owner is active military. A neighboring property owner submitted a letter of support.

514 Klem Road. The board approved an area variance for a side setback of 13.3 feet, where 15 feet is required, for a new 720-square-foot attached two-car garage. The applicant had obtained signatures from all neighboring properties.

Bay-Ridge Resubdivision (423-429 Ridge Road and 1036-1036A Bay Road). The board approved multiple area variances to allow a resubdivision of five existing lots into four, so that each building sits on its own legal lot. Existing lot lines ran through the buildings. The application proceeds to the Planning Board for final approval.

1640 Lake Road. The board approved area variances for lot widths of 162.45 feet and 177.45 feet, where 250 feet is required, to allow a two-lot subdivision of an 8.3-acre parcel. The applicant, Triple Family Asset Group LLC, represented by Michael Seversky, stated an intent to purchase one of the resulting lots and combine it with an adjacent property already in the applicant's ownership.

1813 Halesworth Lane. The board granted a one-year trial Special Use Permit for a chicken coop (8 by 8 feet) and up to eight hens on a 0.42-acre R-2 parcel. Conditions include evergreen screening plantings along the north property line, near 1817 Halesworth, and the east property line. The board noted it hears three or four backyard chicken applications each year.

The board also approved the minutes from the May 12, 2026 ZBA meeting.

AI tools were used in drafting and research.