Friction between UB and the Amherst Town Board caused by a rezoning of property near the university may finally be cooling after a formal agreement between the two.
In March, the university filed a lawsuit against the town board for violating an adopted comprehensive plan that designates an area near Sweet Home Road for research and development, according to the Office of Community Relations.
The board authorized the rezoning of Rensch Road, near Sweet Home on North Campus, in order to establish apartment complexes despite adamant opposition from the university and the guidelines set by the adopted comprehensive plan.
According to the Office of Community Relations, the school feared that overdevelopment near Sweet Home through the establishment of increased housing and shopping centers would deter their goal of creating an environment of research and employment growth.
A recent memorandum reached by the board and the university seeks to assuage any ill feelings and establish a commitment to cooperation and collaboration to align their goals and help work together to achieve them.
"[The memorandum] starts at the most basic element at the top with the goals that we each have in the community," said Elizabeth Cheteny, director of Planning for The Urban Design Project at UB. "Then it lays out a framework for how we can go about achieving these goals together. It lays out the first steps we should address; I think it's important to put it in writing."
Cheteny believes this document is important because it will get the people who are implementing plans at the ground level involved in the process. She anticipates that this document can function as a plan of action to maintain a peaceful relationship between the two entities.
The memorandum seeks to align the interests of the two groups in order to facilitate the agreement.
"It starts out finding agreement for the basic goals and objectives of the town and the university, as stated in the draft comprehensive plan for the university and the adopted comprehensive plan for the town," Cheteny said.
Cheteny encourages board members, faculty and students to take a look at them side by side.
"There are a lot of similarities in our goals," Cheteny said.
UB and the board were at odds for six months before the memorandum was drafted, a misstep that Cheteny chalks up to bureaucracy.
"It was just a matter of making it through the internal review process," Cheteny said. "Of course, the lawsuit probably slowed things down. I don't think there was any conflict about what was in the document."
Many students are optimistic about future collaborations between UB and the board.
"I think it would be great if we worked together," said Amanda Kras, a sophomore history major. "I feel like UB can contribute a lot to the community and the community can contribute back."
Others would like to see more cooperation with activities between the two.
"I'd like to see more community events in Amherst that university students could partake in, and would also like to see improvements in parking for students," said Danielle Pleban, a junior French major. "A good relationship between the school and the town could be very beneficial to students."
Despite the recent memorandum and improved relations between the board and the university, the lawsuit is still pending.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
