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Summit Mall sports complex: Board gives site plan a conditional OK

Fri, May 13th 2016 08:50 pm

Approval will be based on review by Wendel Duchscherer Architects & Engineers

By Lauren Zaepfel

Tribune Editor

The Town of Wheatfield Planning Board approved the site plan of the proposed Niagara International Sports and Entertainment facility, contingent on if the town's engineering requirements are met.

This pending approval comes after the applicant's representative Robert J. Blood, landscape architect at Lauer-Manguso & Associate Architects, presented a new site plan with two domes for the facility, instead of one higher dome originally proposed to the Planning Board at the March 2 public information session.

"Going from one to two was a change of site plan," said Town of Wheatfield Planning Board Chairman Walter Garrow. "The prior approvals that they have, they had to redo. So, they went back to the Zoning Board for the variances associated with the height, and then they received that. They went back to the (Federal Aviation Administration) relative to any implications to the airport, and that was taken care of."

Part of the Planning Board's May 4 approval process also involved working with Wendel Duchscherer Architects and Engineers, as the town engineer, to undergo a state environmental quality review. This was approved at the Planning Board's April 20 meeting.

At that point, "Everything was starting to line up," Garrow said.

When reviewing the site plan, the Planning Board focused on two utility units, one for each dome, that contain compressor stations to keep the tents up.

Garrow said one of the units will be "tucked away" between the first dome and the mall, while the second will be located closer to the first dome, but slightly to the south.

He said the second unit could not be placed between the two domes because there would not be enough room for full access.

To ensure the entire site's sound, including compressors, was limited to town code, "We told them they have to comply with the town ordinance. And we very specifically said it has to be in compliance with the continuous motor portion of that ordinance, which has a nighttime limit of 55 decibels," Garrow said.

Both units will be placed on a concrete base and surrounded by a fence.

For additional soundproofing, landscaping, (including the addition of trees and vegetation), will be implemented in the space between Plaza Drive and the second dome (closest to the street) to serve as a barrier.

One of the other components of the site plan that was heavily focused on by the Planning Board was the type of lighting used for the facility.

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