Op-Ed: Town Board’s Discussion of Willow Pond
A Preserve Penfield member sent us the following letter regarding the February 5th Town Board meeting, at which the Willow Pond project was discussed. We were asked that it be shared anonymously.
I watched the February 5, 2025 Penfield Town Board meeting and in 15 years of living here, have never felt so much concern about this town’s leadership.
I’m referring to the public hearing regarding the apartment project suggested for Willow Pond (WP) by Mark IV. Residents of that neighborhood have presented their lived experiences to the Board as valid reasons why this project should not receive a special permit allowing it to move forward, going so far as to engage both Preserve Penfield and an attorney to fight their case for the safety of neighborhood children as well as the fact that the proposal is not in alignment with the town’s own zoning.
When written documentation was presented to show how previous town administrations (of both political parties) have rejected this same proposal four times since 1972, two of our elected officials made it obvious that they do not take residents’ seriously nor respect outside counsel, but that they have clearly sided with the developer in this instance. When the new information regarding the history of this project was offered it appeared that the proposed resolution might need to be delayed, it was at this point that Candace Lee showed an unnecessary level of hostility toward Jake Zoghlin, the attorney representing the Willow Pond neighbors. Supervisor Leenhouts complained aloud about having to make Mark IV wait any longer to get their needed approvals to move forward…” We’ve made them wait long enough…”, while representatives of the developer followed WP residents into the hallway trying to get them to capitulate.
I’m thankful that, after all of that, the resolution was for now tabled, but if I ever needed confirmation that developer’s needs come before those of residents in Penfield, this was it. I appreciate Preserve Penfield for supporting residents in the fight to hold our government accountable.
You can watch here: https://vimeo.com/1054142363
Do you have thoughts about development projects in Penfield or the ways that these projects are handled by Town government? Please share your thoughts with us by emailing info@preservepenfield.org.
