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By Lauren Zaepfel
Tribune Editor
Although the Wheatfield Town Board has not made a decision on whether it will zone the area along Niagara Falls Boulevard as commercial, council members did approve the rezoning of a business's property that was split by residential and commercially zoned land.
Custom Covers & Canvas owner Rich Winstanley is looking to build a 4,000-square-foot storage facility behind his existing building at 2946 Niagara Falls Blvd.
The property would extend onto land partially zoned residential, which would limit the owner from developing the rear of the property for his business.
"Certainly this property is not going to be used for any residential use in the future," said Timothy W. Arlington, PE, of Apex Consulting, representing Custom Covers & Canvas. "Without this rezoning, he can't continue."
Arlington said Rich wants the building constructed by the fall to store finished product in time for his busy season.
Winstanley purchased the property on the boulevard in Wheatfield for storage. His actual business is located at 3145 Military Road in the Town of Niagara.
"We're out of room in Town of Niagara," Winstanley said. "We can't build anymore on our property, and this building (in Wheatfield) is for storage. In the fall, we service about 2,000 awnings. And the building that we're in right now, on the boulevard, it's just jam-packed."
The board unanimously agreed to approve both the rezoning of the property from residential to commercial for the property, as well as a negative declaration of State Environmental Quality Review. The business's proposal is now under review by the town's Planning Board.
This is not the first time a business has sought a zoning change along the boulevard in order to use more property. Town of Wheatfield Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe said the board recently approved a similar request by Bedore Tours.