Mary Shkut
Marvin Councilor
VILLAGE HALL
VILLAGE HALL DESIGN & BUILD
Posted Oct 05, 2018:
Many of you already know that in 2016 commercial developer interests (and associates of Pollino and Vandenberg, have been lobbying to halt the development of a Village Hall -- most actively since 2016.
Why Do They Want to Halt It?
Pollino, Vandenberg & Associates have been lobbying (covertly and directly) to sell or swap our municipal property to make it available to commercial developers and landowners. Their plan has been to incorporate our municipal Village Hall property into a mixed-use commercial development, designed within an extensive 'master-plan' provided by urban planners, like Shook-Kelley. (link)
Why Is It Important to Move Forward with Village Hall?
There are several reasons it is important to move forward now - but here are the two most important reasons as far as I am concerned.
Building the Village Hall
The Village Hall property was donated to the Village specifically for that purpose. Given the price of land in Marvin, this was a remarkable achievement by past members of the Council and our staff.
However, since 2016 Mayor Pollino has been working with Chip Sawicki, Michael Lavelle and other large landowners with the hope of selling or swapping out our municipal land.
Why? Pollino, Vandenberg & Associates want to incorporate our municipal Village Hall property into a mixed-use commercial development, designed within a Master Plan provided by urban planners, like Shook-Kelley. Though funds and plans to build a modest, residential-looking Village Hall have been in the works for over ten years, the elevations and plans were approved just prior to the 2016 election. When Pollino and Vandenberg were elected (with very slim majorities) the Village Hall development plan was thwarted, just as Pollino (Mayor), Lavelle (Planning Board) & Sawicki (non-resident) had hoped. Since then, developer-friendly interests have also been placed on the Planning Board and most of those residents are former commercial developers (Jones, Lavelle), have vocally advocated for "something special" (Peterson), or are situated within the "development food-chain" and advocate for development (Dale Bishop).
The Village Council is proceeding with original plans to construct a Village Hall on the 3.4 acre parcel located at New Town Road and Marvin-School Road. The parcel was donated by Toll Brothers and is unique in that it endowed by beautiful heritage trees and one of the only sites in the Village Center with water and sewer service. The issue here is that the land's value and it's position have also made it a desirable piece of property among commercial developers. In 2016 commercial developer interests, and associates of Pollino and Vandenberg, have been lobbying to halt the development of Village Hall on the property, with the hope of selling the land to and utilizing the space as part of mixed-use commercial development, designed within a Master Plan provided by urban planners like Shook-Kelley.
View Village Hall Plans
Village Hall Elevation studies
Village Hall Construction plans
Village Hall discussion (3 years)
Resident and Citizen Input
Pending Attachment
Evaluation Criteria
The Council must evaluate the proposal against four+ main findings of fact. Those findings being as follows:
(1) Whether the use will materially endanger the public health or safety if located where proposed and developed according to plan;
(2) Whether the use meets all required conditions and specifications;
(3) Whether the use will substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property or the use is a public necessity;
(4) Whether the location and character of the use, if developed according to the plan as submitted and approved, will be in harmony with the area in which it is to be located and will be in general conformity with this chapter and the Village Land Use Plan; and
(5) Whether the use meets with, or addresses, the criterium of the zoning code, as required.
Resident and Citizen Input
Because Council members will be restricted, in terms of what they know, or what they can say in this case, I strongly encourage residents to keep their eye on the development, as it moves through the process. Concerned residents should prepare to attend meetings and/or submit comments when the proposal is ready. However, comments for this process should be based in fact, statistics and calculations. If you haven’t done so already, you may want to sign-up to receive Village of Marvin Meeting Agenda alerts to keep up to date with Village deliberations.