A petition seeking support for commercial development at the former stone quarry near the intersection of State Routes 5 and 167 on the eastern edge of the city of Little Falls appeared as an insert in Wednesday’s edition of The Evening Times.
Paid for by concerned citizens, the petition reads that city revitalization requires a vision of not only a vibrant downtown and urban core, but also a strategy for re-developing vacant land and underutilized sites and buildings.
This vision, said Mayor Robert Peters, is necessary to allow Little Falls to move forward in the years to come.
“This is not about saving Main Street, but about saving Little Falls,” said Peters. “Little Falls needs to grow to continue to prosper, and that growth can come in the form of new businesses willing to locate to a new commercial development. If I honestly believed that development away from Main Street was going to hurt the city’s downtown I would not be for it. But I believe this development will be good for Little Falls and that it and our Main Street and downtown will succeed in the business climate it will create.”
Peters said that in addition to the increased tax revenues any possible development will bring in, as well as the new jobs it will bring with it, residents would benefit from having more shopping options and lower prices created by possible competition between stores.
“We have new businesses coming into Main Street now, and I believe that will never change,” he said. “Main Street and our downtown will continue to be home to unique small businesses and specialty stores, and because of that it will remain strong. This development is not about weakening Little Falls, it is about strengthening it. It’s my belief that the city has to move forward with bringing any potential developer in, or at least considering to bring a developer in, due to the possibility that Little Falls may one day lose one of its manufacturers in the industrial park. A loss like that would be devastating to the city, which is why we need to bring in any revenue that we can. This development would do that.”
The petition, which is to be returned to Peters at City Hall, either in person or via mail, also reads that the two business districts would complement each other by offering diverse products that are not available within the city and that extension of water and sewer to the Manheim Four Corners would provide more revenue to keep water and sewer rates affordable.
“An investment of this nature would be beneficial to all areas of the city,” said Peters. “The sales and property tax revenue it would generate would help everyone. We have made successful investments in Main Street, Shoppers Square and Canal Place in the past, and now might be the time to make an investment in the other side of the city. We have to consider anything and everything that will help Little Falls.”
While the members of Main Street First, a group of citizens with concern about the Common Council’s decision to rezone the 21-acre parcel, say that those who support the proposed development are well intentioned, they do not agree with their vision.
It is Main Street First’s stance that a community of less than 5,000 residents cannot support a second commercial district, and that the second district would be little more than urban sprawl. They also feel that there should have been greater opportunity for public input before the vote to rezone the parcel took place, and have called on the Common Council members to reverse their vote.
“Everyone should have their say on this issue,” said Peters. “The residents in opposition to the development have circulated petitions, and now a group of residents in support of the development have a petition of their own. This level of public involvement is good for Little Falls.”