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Facts and Comments on All Matters of Zoning in the Town of Sheldon
What is on the schedule?
- June 4,2025, 6 pm Planning Board regular meeting
- June 11, 2025, 6 pm Town Board meeting
- June 18, 2025, 7 pm
Also consult the Town of Sheldon website.
News
For news items more than 60 days old, please visit the News Archive.
News from the May 14 Planning Board meeting
The Planning Board did no work on any changes to the proposed new zoning law at this meeting.
Three Board members attended – Mary Kehl, Deb Kirsch and Don Pawlak – along with alternate member Kathy Roberts. Supervisor Becker attended, as did Zoning Officer Don Roberts from the County and both the Town Clerk and the Planning Board Clerk. The meeting began at 6 pm.
Vice Chair Mary Kehl announced that the Planning Board would hold a special working session meeting on June 4 at 6 pm. Public notice of the meeting will be in the Batavia paper.
Mary Kehl announced that although the June 4 special meeting was a public meeting, there would be no comments allowed from any members of the public who attended the meeting.
Supervisor Becker stated that 90% of the new proposed zoning law is the same as the current law, and he asked that as the Planning Board reviews the proposed new law, he would like them to cite where the same provision can be found in the current law. Mary Kehl asked that it be made a part of the record that Supervisor Becker had nothing to do with the new proposed zoning law or what was in it.
An announcement was made for the record that Board member Jeff Nixon has resigned from the Board.
The Board members in attendance approved two land separations and clarified for the American Legion Post that their proposed new building project needed a site plan review before a permit could be issued.
The meeting adjourned at 6:55 pm.
What does the County Zoning Officer actually do for the Town?
The proposed new 157-page zoning law raises the questions:
- How much work does the Zoning Officer currently do for the residents of the Town? and
- Is there anything in the current work of Zoning Officer that shows a need for the new 157-page zoning law?
The answer to the first question on the work actually done by the Zoning Officer can be determined by looking at the Zoning Officer’s reports. Current law requires the Zoning Officer to issue a monthly report to the Town Board. Those reports must provide details on all actions of the Zoning Officer, all permits, all complaints, and all violations found. The data showing how many actions actually occurred are listed HERE.
Please note that there are no reports on any activity on the proposed new zoning law. and the proposed new zoning law eliminates entirely the requirement for monthly reports from the Zoning Officer.
- In the most recent 15 months, the Zoning Officer reported zero citizen complaints. According to the Zoning Officer’s official records, no one in the Town was worried enough about any problem to complain in writing.
- In the most recent 15 months, the Zoning Officer handled only one property maintenance violation.
- In the most recent 15 months, the Zoning Officer handled only one special use permit.
The current law allows the Zoning Officer to issue routine permits for common low-impact local activities like single family housing, standard ag buildings, fences, sheds and the like. In the first 3 months of this year, the Zoning Officer issued 4 of these. In all 12 months of 2024, the Zoning Officer issued 41 of these, an average of 3 to 4 per month. No permits were denied.
So that brings on the second question -- whether there is anything in the volume and type of work that the Zoning Officer is currently doing that requires a complete re-write of the Town’s zoning law. The Town’s residents apparently do not raise complaints; there appear to be no regular property maintenance violations that need attention; and the day-to-day workload of the Zoning Officer does not seem to highlight any urgent need for reform.
If a justification exists for an entirely new zoning law that justification must lie elsewhere.
News from the April 16 Town Board meeting
Supervisor Becker spoke about the 3rd postcard on issues before the Planning Board in its review of the proposed new zoning law, briefly recounting the criticisms he put forward at the preceding Planning Board meeting. He also discussed the role of the Genesee-Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council as the original source of material for the proposed new zoning law. More.
News from the April 9 Planning Board meeting
The Planning Board did not take up the matter of the new zoning law. Supervisor Becker spoke at length describing his personal laundry list of complaints about the postcards sent to residents about potential problems with the process for considering the new zoning law and its content. More.
News from the March 26 Town Board meeting
No discussion of the proposed new zoning law or other zoning matters.
News from the March 12 Planning Board meeting
No meeting was held.
HERE’S WHAT IS GOING ON:
- The Town’s Zoning Officer drafted a PROPOSED REPLACEMENT ZONING LAW which you can read HERE.
- The Town’s Planning Board considered what the Zoning Officer wanted to do and sent the proposed replacement law ahead to the Town Board for its decision.
- You can read the Town’s current zoning law HERE.
- HOW MIGHT THE NEW LAW AFFECT YOU? See examples HERE.