Medina urged to change zoning for 46 acres of vacant land to allow more housing

Some residents don’t want to see more rental units in village

Photos by Tom Rivers: Ken DeRoller, a former county legislator who is part of a housing task force in the county, urges the Medina Village Board to support a zoning change to allow mixed use housing on 46 vacant acres at 450 West Oak Orchard St.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board was told 46 vacant acres near the school district on West Oak Orchard Street represents a great opportunity for much-needed housing development in the community.

Sieck Wholesale Florist owns the land off West Oak Orchard Street. The land is zoned light industrial which doesn’t allow housing.

Ed Michel of Sieck Wholesale wants to use 46 acres for housing and keep the other 8.8 acres of the property as light industrial. That land is next to the railroad and includes a cell tower, an old boiler and another older building.

The Village of Medina Planning Board has recommended the zoning be changed for 46 vacant acres to planned residential community. That allows for mixed use housing and also gives the village more oversight in how the property is developed.

During a public hearing on Monday, some residents said the village is saturated with rental properties and they don’t want more poorly kept rental units that could be a blight on the community. One resident said to keep the zoning as light industrial to allow for more business development in Medina.

Nyla Gaylord, the executive director of the United Way in Orleans County, said a housing shortage is threatening the community’s ability to grow. For businesses to come to Medina, there needs to be more housing for their workers, she said.

J. Lincoln Swedrock, an engineer and vice president with BME Associates in Fairport, said the owner of the acres wants to find out if the land will be rezoned before committing to a detailed plan for the property. Ed Michel of Sieck Wholesale wants a mixed-use option for the property with single-family houses as well as multi-family town houses.

Orleans County overall needs more housing options from single family construction, to affordable rentals for young adults and senior citizens, Gaylord said.

“We have some scary data for our community if we don’t allow more property to be developed for housing,” Gaylord said.

A housing report shared last month by the United Way’s Housing Task Force included the following data:

• Orleans County population dipped from 44,178 in 2020 to 42,850 in 2010 to 39,124 in 2024.
• School enrollments at the five districts are down from 8,225 in 2010 to 5,505 in 2022. The enrollments for 2022 include 1,782 in Albion, 1,391 in Medina, 992 in Holley, 708 in Kendall and 632 in Lyndonville.
• The share of population ages 0 to 4 decreased from 5.3 percent in 2010 to 4.7 percent in 2022, while share of population 65 and older increased from 14.4 percent in 2010 to 20.2 percent in 2022.
• Building permits for new houses are trending down. The county had 83 permits for new houses in 2004 but that was down to 33 in 2020, 21 in 2021, 2 in 2022 and 16 in 2023.

Dean Bellack of the United Way said getting more units should be a high priority in the county so more workers can live locally.

“The big question is do you want to stay in a declining county?” Bellack said.

He said more workers in the county are coming from outside Orleans than those who live in the community.

“These are critical problems,” Gaylord said. “We need to make changes now.”

Ken DeRoller, a former county legislator who has been active with the housing task force, said the vacant acres within the village are a great opportunity for Medina to add housing to keep and attract residents.

Other residents said the developer should provide the detailed plans for the property before the zoning change is approved. Once the zoning is changed to housing, Medina will be limited in how it can influence what happens on the property, said Scott Carlton, a village resident.

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” he said.

Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman said the development would be subject to scrutiny and more public meetings if the zoning is changed to allow for housing. She said the zoning change is just step one in the process. A site plan would follow later.

J. Lincoln Swedrock, an engineer and vice president with BME Associates in Fairport, responded to concerns that the property may be contaminated. He said the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) shows there is no contamination on the vacant land. There was a spill from Fisher Price but a monitoring well hasn’t detected any contaminants in about 40 years, Swedrock said.

The developer will work on plans if the zoning change is approved, he said. There needs to be a mix of housing with some townhouses to allow more units so a project would be economically feasible, he said.

The board didn’t vote on the issue on Monday, opting to wait until Trustee Mark Prawel also can be at the meeting. The board may vote on the issue at its next meeting on July 14.