Community Choice Aggregation Approved

In a bipartisan vote on September 17, 2018, the Pittsford Town Board unanimously passed a local law that will allow the Town to establish a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program. It was with pride in our community that I voted for this law. It is fiscally responsible, will make renewable energy accessible to all residents, and is environmentally imperative. 

Instead of using the default energy supplier designated by the state, CCA lets a town designate its own default energy supplier. By doing this as a town, we can aggregate our buying power to obtain energy at a more affordable rate. 

One of the most important choices a community makes through CCA is what kind of energy they want to purchase. I am committed to a 100% renewable CCA program that invests in renewable energy infrastructure right here in New York.

As residents who have studied ESCO options know, renewable energy ESCO contracts that are offered to individual consumers tend to have higher rates than RG&E. That limits renewable energy to those who can most easily afford it. Because CCA aggregates purchasing power across a town, and potentially in partnership with other towns, we can secure renewable energy at a rate that is either the same or better than what we currently get.This makes renewable energy accessible to all of the hard working families in Pittsford.

CCA allows for individual choice as well as community choice. Residents and business owners can opt-out at any time and at no cost. If you want to stick with RG&E, community solar, or an ESCO, you can do so. This respects consumers' rights to determine how they want to manage their energy.

CCA is environmentally imperative. Our climate is changing at a rate impacted by the carbon our industrialized society puts into the atmosphere. Ocean temperatures are changing, impacting both land and water ecologies. Individual actions such as recycling and making our homes more energy efficient are important. However, they will not solve climate change. That requires systemic solutions. CCA is one way Pittsford can impact carbon emissions at the level required to mitigate the climate crisis.

The next steps for CCA are that the Town needs to finish its discussions and negotiations with neighboring towns and determine if or how we will aggregate our purchasing power with them. Then we will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) that allows CCA administrators to submit a proposal for our consideration. Once a CCA administrator is chosen, we can go to market and lock in a price. Throughout this process, input from residents will continue to be sought and thoughtfully considered.

I want to thank all of the residents who have been a part of this process. Whether you voiced support, opposition, or skepticism -- your voices were heard. More than 300 people attended the public information sessions held in April and June, many of whom spoke publicly about their views. At least 66 people have communicated with Town Hall by email or letter. Countless more have talked individually with Town Board members. I learned from and at times was challenged by you all. It was with careful consideration and much research over the past year and a half that I cast my vote to enable CCA in Pittsford.

If any resident or business owner in Pittsford would like to talk further about CCA or other ways you think the town can strengthen its environmental sustainability, please let me know. I am happy to get together and talk. You can reach me at stownsend@townofpittsford.org or (585) 690-9315. 

Cloverwood Senior Living Expansion

About a year and a half ago, I was chatting with an elderly man whom I was sharing a table with at the Village Bakery. Joe and his wife lived in Pittsford almost their whole lives. He owned a business, home, and retail property here. But he’s no longer living in Pittsford. They needed to downsize and had to leave because there are very few low-maintenance, modest-sized homes in town.

Joe still works out at his old Y and stops into the bakery for morning coffee. But we lost Joe and his wife, the history they bring, and the contributions they can still make. Joe is one example of the growing elderly population in our town. How do we keep the Joes of Pittsford here? 

The answer must include multiple strategies -- no one solution will fit for all residents. One of the strategies is to support the kind of independent living options offered by Cloverwood Senior Living and The Highlands. 

Joe was one of the people I thought of when casting my vote at the August 21, 2018, Town Board meeting in support of changing the zoning in the Planned Unit Development at Jefferson Road and Clover Road. The changes that the Town Board unanimously approved will allow Cloverwood Senior Living to expand its independent living housing by adding approximately 115 one- and two-bedroom apartments. 

Here are a few of the considerations that led me to vote in support of this project:

• Pittsford, like the nation, has an aging population. Currently approximately 23% of our residents are 62+ years old and almost 10% are 75+ years. These residents are vital members of our community. As they look to downsize, we must have housing available that meets their needs. The majority of current residents at Cloverwood come from Pittsford and Brighton, indicating that they are meeting needs of our current residents who are downsizing.
• Prior to the vote, Cloverwood sought feedback from neighbors, the Town Board, the Planning Board, and the Design Review & Historic Preservation Board. As a result of the feedback, they made substantive changes to the plans, including decreasing the number of units, setting the building further back from Clover Road, lowering the elevation of the northwest wing, adding landing pads for fire and emergency medical response, and eliminating from the plans a smaller building that would have been next to the historic yellow house that neighbors the property. I appreciated their openness to feedback and willingness to make substantial changes to their plans.
• While traffic at that intersection is an ongoing concern, the commute patterns of a senior living development such as this tend to have little impact on traffic, especially during commute hours. Senior residents tend to drive during off-hours and Cloverwood offers a shuttle service for its residents. With both entrances having traffic signals, the impact of additional residential traffic is minimized.
• Concerns about the massing of the building were thoroughly addressed with a presentation of how the building will appear from nine different angles, in both the summer when there is foliage and in the winter. The photos indicated that the building will not dwarf the parcel or neighboring buildings and, in my assessment, is an aesthetic improvement over the current Barn Bazaar structure.
• The project will solidify the area as a residential gateway to Pittsford, better reflecting the character of the town. 

The changes to the Planned Unit Development zoning are only the beginning of the design process. The project will still have to go through formal Planning Board and Design Review & Historic Preservation Board approval. Those reviews are all open to the public and public comments will be considered as the boards make their approval decisions. 

If you would like to go over the current concept plan, view the presentation that was made to the Town Board, or talk about any aspect of the project, my door is always open. Feel free to contact me at stownsend@townofpittsford.org or (585) 690-9315. I'm happy to get together and talk through the project with you. 

Bringing Politics Back to the Front Porch

Originally published in the Democrat & Chronicle, 19 August 2018

Recent articles in the Democrat & Chronicle and the New York Times have highlighted the ways corporate political action committees are a source of “dark money” in politics. They provide ways for corporate contributors to bypass donation limits and they raise questions about the influence those donors have on elected officials.

I concur with those concerns and the need for meaningful campaign finance reform. However, it is important not to paint with too broad of brushstrokes. “PAC” is quickly becoming synonymous with practices that disempower voters and reinforce distrust of elected officials. It is important to remember that all PACs are not the same. PACs can bring greater transparency to politics and reconnect voters with democracy. One such model is seen in Trailblazers PAC.

As a political action committee, Trailblazers PAC raises money that it contributes to candidates they endorse. Three things make Trailblazers unique. First, they are non-partisan and have no particular social issue on which they base endorsements. They endorse candidates of many political parties. Second, they require endorsed candidates to be 100% transparent about contributions and to raise money locally. Even when state law does not require disclosure, Trailblazers does. Third, they only endorse at the county and municipal levels, giving support to a level of government that is often overlooked yet affects our daily lives in important ways.

That formula works. In 2017, districts where there were Trailblazers-endorsed candidates had higher voter turnout than comparable districts. In those races, 58% of Trailblazers-endorsed candidates won their races, compared with 24% of candidates who contacted Trailblazers but did not earn an endorsement. The values that Trailblazers PAC puts into practice and hold their endorsed candidates to resonate with voters and bring greater transparency to our democracy.

Campaign season will soon be in full swing. If you are not satisfied with the political process, get involved and change it. Call on candidates to disclose all financial contributions, even when not required by law. Attend or host neighborhood events where candidates talk directly with voters. Demand that the needs of your family and your community be addressed. Hold those who seek to represent you accountable by being engaged and speaking up. Decisions are made by those who show up, so show up throughout the campaigns and on election day.

Preservation and Progress

One of the reasons I choose to live in Pittsford is the rich sense of history that surrounds our community. Almost daily, my work takes me from my home past School District #3, the red brick, one-room schoolhouse where students studied from 1845 until 1946. Further down the road, I go past the Lehman Farm Market and the historic port area of Cartersville, once a settlement on the old Erie Canal where horse and mule teams changed and a distillery was housed. I come into the Village where I go past the Wiltsie & Crump building, behind which there was once a barn that was part of the Underground Railroad.

The Town and Village of Pittsford have worked to preserve their history. Yet, that does not mean living in the past. The one-room schoolhouse is now a home. The land surrounding the Lehman Farm Market continues to be farmed, using 21^st century technology. Cartersville is home to Little League Baseball fields where families enjoy warm summer afternoons watching their children play. The Village is now home to businesses including an advertising firm, software company, personal trainer, and massage therapy.

Preservation and progress can work together to create a more vibrant community. It takes vision, planning, and thoughtful consideration to make that happen. Heritage tourism is one way to meet goals of both preservation and economic development. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, heritage tourism is “traveling to experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people” of a community or area.

Heritage tourism can have positive economic impacts, bringing in people from around the region to explore the area. More visitors supports a thriving economy. In addition to our iconic Sam Patch boat tours, imagine if we had signage on our trails to teach people about local cultural and natural history . What about a podcasted barn tour to tell stories of the families whose generations have lived on and worked the land. What if Pittsford worked with its local farmers to host an annual Open Farm Weekend where people could come for tours, hands-on activities, and food tastings. There are also opportunities to work with the Seneca community to highlight the earliest history of our region.

Heritage tourism also has social impacts, building pride in one’s community. It strengthens a community’s sense of identity and place. It creates opportunities to socialize, to be entertained, and to learn.

Laying the foundation for heritage tourism first requires that we identify our history. You can help do that. Currently, there are 89 homes in the Town of Pittsford (and many more in the Village) that are designated as local historic landmarks. In 2016, the town conducted a historical inventory that identified 70 more buildings that are likely candidates for landmark designation. To find out if your home is on the inventory, call Town Hall at (585) 248–6200. A member of the Design Review & Historic Preservation Board can walk you through the designation process.

If your house is not on the inventory, you can get involved in Historic Pittsford, a citizen’s group that promotes our local history. You can find out more about the organization at www.historicpittsford.com.

Thriving heritage tourism is going to require a collaborative effort of the Town and Village governments, business owners, historians, and residents. Together, we can preserve our past while growing into the future.