Consultants Begin Public Input Process for Chadakoin West Brownfield Opportunity Area

Dan Riker from C&S Companies during Tuesday night’s presentation at the Robert H. Jackson Center.

JAMESTOWN – About two dozen area residents were at the Robert H. Jackson Center Tuesday night to begin the input process of a study that will eventually be used to help guide the future development of an area of the city near the outlet of Chautauqua Lake.

Representatives from C&S Companies and Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect have been hired by the city to put together an implementation study for what is known as the Chadakoin River West Brownfield Opportunity Area. The area covers a large portion of land that includes Jones & Gifford Ave., Washington St., and Fluvanna Ave. while also including hundreds of acres of wetlands.

Project leader Daniel Riker from C&S Companies said Tuesday night’s public input session was really the beginning of what will be a 14-month process.

“We’ll take this information and use it to start boiling down what the community’s vision is,” Riker told WRFA following the meeting. “There’s a lot of information we did gather so there is a lot of great input. We’ll look at what their vision is for what types of uses should be in the area and what types of uses should be excluded. From that, we’ll continue to gather other input and information from the community. There will be all types of other meetings that we’ll be having and we’ll keep incorporating that new information with what we have hear. Toward the end we will create a document that shows  what the community’s vision is and really how we think we can best get to that.”

The brownfield area in Jamestown that is the focus of the Chadakoin West Brownfield Opportunity Area. (Image from Jamestownny.net)

During Tuesday’s input session, several individuals expressed concerns regarding the wetlands, saying they felt the natural environment needs to be preserved and undeveloped. City planner Bill Rice, who was on hand, along with the consultants said that while its unlikely the wetland will see any type of development, there could be opportunities for increased public access, creating an educational asset for the city.

Much of the discussion and input also focused on the outlying areas, such as properties along Washington St. and Fluvanna Ave. and what types of developments the community would like to see those areas.

One of the main brownfield properties that could benefit from the completion of the study is the former Consultants  Begin Public Input Process for Chadakoin West Brownfield Opportunity Area operation next to Pal Joey’s on Washington St. Officials say once the study is completed, it can be used to help leverage state or federal funding to help clean up the location.

The redevelopment study is due to a $269,000 state grant that was awarded to the city in 2013.

Additional public input will be sought in the coming weeks and months. Anyone wishing to learn more about the project or any group that would like to host an input session can do so by contacting Riker at 716-867-1630 or by visiting www.ChadakoinRevitalization.com.