Public gets first glimpse of 'Magical Land of Oz'

by Ralph Schwarz
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, May 4, 2006
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, May 6, 2006

Wheatfield residents, local politicians and business leaders got their first peak at the proposed "The Magical Lands of Oz" theme park during a public scoping session on Monday.

With more than 300 people packing the Wheatfield Community/Senior Center, representatives from Oz Central LLC revealed some of the project's attractions while soliciting public input to be included in the finals scoping document, which the developer has to file as part of the mandatory State Environmental Quality Review study.

"Our goal is to create a theme park that would make you believe you've been transported to the Land of Oz," said Richard Burch, president of Oz Central.

After studying sites across the United States for more than a year, the Kentucky-based company declared Wheatfield last July as its first choice for a $800 million theme park and destination resort, which would revolve around characters and stories from the popular "Wizard of Oz" books by L. Frank Baum.

Year-Round Attraction

The first phase of the project would see the construction of a 442-acre theme park in the eastern portion of the 800-acre complex, sitting within the boundaries of Williams, Jagow, River and Witmer roads. With more than 80 to 85 percent of its attractions to be located indoors, the park would be capable to operate 12 months a year.

"Some of this park would be seasonal, while some areas would be covered but not climate controlled," Burch said. "And our third part would be the indoor element where you would be in climate-controlled conditions."

According to the proposed site plans devised by former Disney designers, visitors would reach the theme park via an extension of the LaSalle Expressway, which leads into a 1,000-acre, 12,000-car parking lot. From there, a shuttle would take them to the entrance, which represents present-day Kansas, and transported through a virtual tornado to Munchkin Land, Emerald City and places like Quadling County, Gillkin County and Winkle County.

"We expect this to be one of the most significant technologically superior theme parks in the world," Burch said, adding that the "Oz" design team will carry this technology throughout the attractions within and beyond the park. "We have some surprises."

'Landmark Tower'

Each of the different lands will have its own "e-ticket" or virtual realty event based on L. Frank Baum's stories and characters, Burch added. Other highlights include a botanical garden, which would incorporate the surrounding wetlands as part of a nature conservation effort; a statue of Baum; a castle; a three-story carousel; and the "Kansas Landmark Tower," a 1,000 feet tall structure with an observation deck at 650 feet.

"There is a structure around this that looks like a framework of tornado," Burch said. "The proposal of the architectural firm is that we would run steam through it. So once every hour, the steam would be released and this tornado would appear before your very eyes."

Also included in Phase I are the construction of a themed flagship hotel with 200 rooms and dining and entertainment facilities, an administration/office building, maintenance and safety buildings, an emergency generator station and an extension of the LaSalle Expressway, which would serve as the primary access road to the theme park.

Wheatfield Supervisor Timothy Demler said it would take about 12 months for the Wheatfield Planning Board and other involved agencies to approve the site plan for the project.

"In a very rapid sense, a project like this could be started about a year or 18 months from now," he said. "It would be about a three-year construction window, according to the developers, and they are hoping to be operational by 2009 or 2010."

The second phase of the project would add four more hotels with a total capacity of approximately 800 rooms on 64 acres along an internal circulatory road leading up to the north-central portion the complex. Phase III would see the construction of additional retail, dining and entertainment facilities on approximately 300 acres in the western section of the theme park/resort, as dictated by market conditions.

Sales Tax Revenue

Once opened, the theme park would generate sales tax revenue between $50 million and $70 million a year in new sales tax revenue, Demler said.

"To put this into perspective: The town of Wheatfield currently budgets just under $11 million, with about $2.6 million coming in sale tax revenue from Niagara County," he said. "If we add $50 million to $70 million in new sales tax revenue from a private project like this, we could cut county property taxes in half or maybe even further. And that is something that we desperately need."

Demler pointed out that the town would ultimately have a stronghold on the Niagara County Legislature when it comes to the redistribution of the county portion of the sales tax collected from the "Oz" project.

"The town of Wheatfield would pursue exemption and preemption; in other words, rather than let the county have a $35 million cut, the town would keep it all," he said. "The town would have a lever over the county to require a reduction of the property taxes, not just in Wheatfield, but in all of Niagara County to make us competitive again."

Residents Sound Off

During a public comment period, about a dozen Wheatfield residents brought forward concerns as well as suggestions to be addressed in the Scoping Document. Since the actual theme park is proposed for a location in the southeast corner of the 800 acres of land, many of the concerns revolved about the hotel planned for Phase II of the project.

Bob Federspiel, who lives on Jagow Road, criticized the proposed access roads to the hotels through his neighborhood.

"At former meetings that I've been to, it was said that there'll be not access of Jagow Road," he said. "But on the map I see that there's going to be an access from Jagow Road."

According to Town Engineer Timothy Walck, the Jagow Road entrance would serve primarily as an emergency entrance for fire companies and other first responders, but can be subject to change.

"I think we need to review in detail the access to Jagow," Demler said. "I think Jagow is way too narrow and not able to accommodate increased traffic. ... I think we need to included this in the Scoping Document and make sure this is going to be addressed."

Issues Raised

Other residents pointed out to potential traffic problems on the roads leading to and from the theme park; increased noise and pollution; drainage; buffer zones; additional access roads to the park; anticipated pattern of wildlife migration and wetland mitigation.

Another point of interest revolved around the project's impact on the values of residential properties.

"I don't want this park built," said Chris Mercurio, who lives on Lakeside Drive. "What happens to the quality of life to those who live nearby? What happens to our property value?"

Tim Collins, a Danielle Drive resident, predicted that all houses located in the inner circle, which borders the outskirts of the park, would lose value and eventually be turned into commercial properties.

"The values of the houses in the two outer circles may increase," he said.

Positive Response

Still, the majority of those attending the meeting welcomed the Oz Central's plans to build a multi-million theme park in Wheatfield. Local historian Paul Gromosiak reminded the audience about the times when area officials foolishly turned down plans for a theme park by Walt Disney or a Mall of America by the Ghermezian brothers.

"I hope and pray that the people this time won't turn away the likes of Mr. Burch," he said. "It's time for us the examine the bigger picture and to make sacrifices for the greater good. This (theme park), I think, is the greater good."

Demler shared a similar point of view.

"Projects like this don't come around that often, and when they do they are usually too good to be true," he said. "But I can tell you that after four years of working closely with the developers on the local level, this project is moving into the right direction."

What's Next

Residents still have the opportunity to submit their questions or comments in writing through Wednesday, May 17. All written comments should be addressed to Town Engineer Timothy Walck, Wendel Duchscherer Architects and Engineering P.C., 140 John James Audubon Parkway, Suite 201, Amherst, NY 14228. After the cutoff date for public comments, the developers then have to examine and address any raised issues and concern in a Draft Environmental Impact Study. The document should also include a list of alternatives the developer has to consider in order to reduce or eliminate any of the potential negative impacts on the environment.