BOARD OKS PLAN LEAVING MOST OF

NEW PARK IN NATURAL STATE

Buffalo News,   September 28, 2004  by Thomas J. Dolan

       The new Amherst State Park will retain most of its present natural state under a master plan approved Monday by Town Board members.

       The plan, adopted by a 6-1 vote during a special meeting of the board, calls for 97 percent of the 77-acre park to remain as undeveloped woodland, meadows and other "green" uses. The remainder would be used for new driveways, parking areas, trails and buildings, according to the plan.

       However, no changes were proposed for the northern 20 acres of the park, which abuts at least one private residence and has been the subject of controversy.

       Planning Director Eric W. Gillert praised Amherst senior landscape architect Robert C. Walter, who he said has been working on the plan for a year.

       The town and state each paid $2.5 million for the historic St. Mary of the Angels motherhouse and surrounding land, which has now become a new state park.

       Original plans called for the town to open an entrance to the park off Sheridan Drive by building a pathway through a narrow neck of land linking the northern part of the park with the southern section, which stretches along Ellicott Creek to Williamsville's Glen Park.

       But that sparked a protest by George Kannar and his wife, Ellen Weissman, both high-profile lawyers who own a 4.5-acre estate, complete with a tennis court and an in-ground pool alongside the proposed pathway.

       The couple hired attorney Anthony Renaldo, who usually represents big developers, and took their protest to Town Hall, claiming the path would come within 30 feet of their home.

       As a result, "the final Master Plan leaves the northern area unprogrammed," according to documents filed with the board.

       Without mentioning Kannar and his wife, Gillert told board members the northern area of the park is "the most sensitive," and said the plan was the result of "negotiations with owners of properties adjacent to the park."

       Council Member Daniel J. Ward cast the only dissenting vote without comment.