Lansing residents sound off on proposed Dandy

Inside of a packed Lansing Town Hall on June 26, residents got a chance to voice concerns about an out-of-town chain coming into their town.

The Lansing Planning Board met for an update on a Dandy Mini-Mart that is proposed to be built on a 4.7-acre plot of land on the corner of Route 34 and Route 34B, not far from where the meeting was taking place (for our first article, visit tinyurl.com/2dc3oyw9).

Dandy has proposed a 6,100-square-foot convenience store on the site with gasoline and diesel fueling islands. Also proposed are 36 parking spaces, with four designed for tractor trailer trucks and four for electric vehicles. The proposal also calls for space for a drive-through window and fuel tank storage.

In a room with more than 50 people, more than 25 spoke during a public hearing, with only two residents speaking out in support of the idea.

Residents spoke for more than an hour and a half about their concerns involving the project. The most prominent, but not all, concerns brought forward involved Lansing’s comprehensive plan, increased truck traffic pressure on an already-busy intersection, environmental impacts and increased pressure on locally owned businesses.

One of those businesses included Rogues Harbor Inn, a national historic landmark located across the street from the proposed gas station. Residents also expressed concern about having a large gas station on the Cayuga Scenic Byway.

Before the public hearing, representatives from Dandy and Fagan Engineers updated the Planning Board on concerns the board had expressed during last month’s Planning Board meeting, where there was no public hearing.

Those issues concerned the lack of sidewalks in the area, curbing and environmental concerns. Both representatives said they had not heard from the New York State Department of Transportation but hoped to have answers by next month’s Planning Board meeting.

Lansing resident Sherry Munson lives across the street from the proposed Dandy. She is against the proposal because of its size, as well as health, property and safety concerns.

“There will be development on this corner — we know that,” she said. “However, this proposed development size is not to scale for Lansing, New York.”

Munson cited the category of zoning for the proposed Dandy, which is B-1, or small convenience stores, which she claims Dandy’s proposal does not fit.

Multiple residents who spoke made the point that it shouldn’t be called the Dandy Mini-Mart because there is nothing “mini” about it.

“Lansing is at a crossroads,” Munson said. “Decisions made here tonight will be this board’s legacy and will impact generations to come. Maybe a proposal of this size isn’t the best fit for Lansing, New York, and its corner.”

While the majority of speakers were not in favor of Dandy, or another gas station of its size, Danny Pace came to the meeting to offer a different perspective.

Pace and his wife, Nancy Pace, owned the Hickory Hollow Golf Range and Pro Shop from 1992 through 2019 on Waterwagon Road. He said the town should consider the property tax benefits of the Dandy and property rights.

He also said during the meeting that he has experience in meetings like this. He said that when he tried to open his golf range and pro shop 30 years ago, he was met with similar resistance that Dandy is currently being met with.

“Thirty years ago in this building, I stood down all these same concerns, and I’m not a Dandy Mart. I don’t have their money. It was my wife and I,” he said. “All these same concerns were put out to destroy me and my wife and bankrupt us. See these people here? There were probably 20 times the people [in the meeting then]. The meeting started at 6:30 p.m., and we got out of here around midnight.”

Danny said he’s been a resident of Lansing for 35 years and has seen gas stations come into Lansing met with the same questions from residents, but eventually, residents adapted.

“I hope the people at Dandy Mart and the people of the community, respecting what they’re saying, and the Town Board are going to come to an agreement,” he said. “I’ve heard that Dandy Mini-Mart has a very good reputation in the industry. I hope you [Lansing Planning Board] put it together, and they build a place and they do it the right way.”

Multiple residents also brought up the comprehensive plan, which was voted on and approved by Lansing residents in 2018. The plan states that economic development should still hold the character and the rural values of the community and has to fit a niche.

Residents mentioned that Lansing has a large gas station — the Mirabito located on Peruville Road — Lansing Pizzeria on East Shore Drive and the Lansing Sub Shop located near Rogues Harbor. Dandy also sells pizza and subs at its locations.

Tompkins County Legislative Board Member Mike Sigler also spoke at the public hearing. Sigler represents the county’s 6th District, which consists of the town of Lansing.

Sigler said he didn’t think a gas station of the size proposed was a good fit for Lansing and its comprehensive plan.

“I think the Planning Board and the Town Board has a lot of power here — what do you want your town to look like?” he said during the meeting. “It does come back to the comprehensive plan … I was in here two years ago seeing a comprehensive plan when it comes to utility and solar that could have a really nice impact. That was almost two years ago, and yet, I haven’t really seen any movement on the comprehensive plan. I know we’re working on it, and I appreciate it, and I know it takes a lot of time to get there, but two years is kind of a lot of time, and frankly, 2018 was a long time ago.”

Sigler also mentioned the size and location as being an issue. He didn’t think the location, on a corner as busy as the intersection proposed, would serve well for traffic coming in and out of the gas station and said he’s seen smaller Dandy Mini-Marts thrive.

“When I first saw this plan come forward, it wasn’t even the size; I just didn’t see how traffic was going to be able to get in and out of this site,” he said. “Now getting to the size, it’s big. I drive a lot and I’ve been to a lot of Dandy Mini-Marts. The one in McGraw is small. The one in Ithaca by Pete’s is not huge either.”

He recognized that those sites weren’t newly built like the one in Lansing would be, but said he’s seen other, newer Dandy sites in upstate New York be built that weren’t as large as the one proposed.

“The one in Horseheads on Route 14 takes truck traffic too. … That’s on Route 14 going up to Watkins Glen, not really the same situation,” he said. “This is not to bash Dandy Mini-Mart. They picked this location, why? Because it’s a busy intersection. That’s part of the reason you pick it, but it’s also part of the problem. That’s something I hope we really look at.”

Following Sigler’s public comments, Planning Board Chairman Al Fiorille spoke. The Planning Board did comment for the majority of the evening, but Fiorille mentioned that the Planning Board and Town Board have legal restraints on their power if Dandy wants to buy the property.

“Our power is not limitless; there are rules, regulations, standards, laws, procedures that we have to adhere to,” he said. “Our power is defined. There are boundary lines on our power, unfortunately. Sure, we would love to have more power, but we can only do what is legally available to us on this project.”

Lansing at Large appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.

In brief:

Music in the Park kicks off Thursday

The Lansing Parks and Recreation department’s Music in the Park concert series begins July 7 at 6:30 p.m. The series will feature live music in Myers Park every Thursday from July 7 to Aug. 11.

The opening act for the series will be Backtalk featuring Hannah Martin. Martin is a vocalist from Toronto, Canada, and the band features John White on keyboards and vocals, Mike Tolomeo on bass and vocals, Mark Joyce on drums and vocals and Lansing’s own Bob Keefe on guitar and vocals.

The band performs a variety of rock, disco, country and classic rock from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Food and ice cream trucks will be available.