Wednesday, Jan. 4, 7pm, the public hearing on the Shodeen apartment complex before the Plan Commission will be continued.

If you have concerns about the size of the project, this is the meeting to attend and voice those concerns. They will be discussing the approval of variances to City Code to accommodate a multitude of things, including its massive size (over 30 ft taller than the downtown zoning allows) and the lack of parking (Shodeen will be providing 0 –that’s “zero”–parking spaces when City Code requires 402; the 350 “public” parking spaces that the City will pay $14 million to build, and Shodeen’s residents will use, don’t even meet that requirement). Based on the Dec. 7 meeting, everything is fair game.

See the latest document: http://www.cityofbatavia.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/9901?fileID=5948

After a review of the Dec. 7 meeting, there’s a traffic study attached. Page 25 has the projected traffic from the apartment complex. If I read it correctly, they expect 33 cars to exit the garage during the peak traffic hour in the morning (when people go to work), from 7:15am-8:15am. With 186 apartments, almost 100 of them 2-bedroom, and real life traffic experience, does 33 cars sound realistic?

There is only one exit from the 2nd level of the garage, one exit from the 1st, both onto State St. Traffic must turn onto State St., left or right, 2 levels of traffic exiting at the same time. Go right and you immediately run into Rt. 25 (Washington). Turn left and you hit River St.. Going south on River St., you can only turn right (west) at Wilson.

To avoid the State/Washington intersection, northbound you could ride up River St. and cut to Washington farther up. But what are your choices if you want to go southeast?

Public hearing Wednesday, 7pm.