Through this lawsuit, PDDG is seeking access to ten
documents identified as missing and probably destroyed by the Town of
Geneseo. As records of the Town of Geneseo produced by or for the Town,
these documents are part of the public record and are not properly exempt
from public disclosure through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
Beyond our general interest in developing a record of the origins and
review of Newman Development Group's Gateway Town Center (GTC) proposal,
these eight documents are of specific interest due to the parties they
involve and when they were produced. The numbers in parenthesis represent
the original numbering of the requests for 36 town documents.
(3) March 24, 2005: Email correspondence from James
Coniglio to T. Ferrera and D. Jerum (partners of the Developer through
their firm Ferrera/Jerum) regarding formal submittal of application;
(4.) March 26, 2005: Email from James Coniglio
to D. Jerum and T. Ferrara regarding submittal issues;
These documents were produced as Newman's
Gateway Town Center proposal was first being made public. As correspondence
between the Town and the firm through which the GTC project was first
proposed, these documents may provide information about the origins
of this proposal and the expectations for its review;
(7.) April 21, 2005: Correspondence from K. Kamlet
(in-house attorney for the Developer) to James Coniglio;
(8.)
April 21, 2005: Correspondence from James Coniglio to K. Kamlet;
These two documents were produced in the period during which the
Planned Development District (PDD) Law was being drafted and discussed.
The PDD Law is critical to the GTC proposal in that the proposal is
far too large to be permitted under the existing zoning of the Gateway
District. Enacting the PDD Law allowed this proposal to be reviewed.
Understanding the circumstances behind the development and enactment
of that law, as these documents may help us to do, is thus critical
to understanding the relationship between the Town and Newman in the
development of the PDD law.
(11.) October 21, 2005: Correspondence from applicant's
counsel (presumably K. Kamlet) to James Coniglio;
(12.) October 25, 2005: Correspondence
from applicant's counsel (presumably K. Kamlet) to James Coniglio;
These two documents were produced in the days prior to the formal submission
of Newman's Gateway Town Center proposal. The PDD Law had been passed
in July 2005, after which Newman revised and completed its proposal.
These documents may provide information related to the submission of
Newman's application.
(15.) December 2, 2005: Correspondence of James Coniglio
with N. Madden;
Neal Madden is an attorney for Harter, Secrest, which represented Wal-Mart
during the review of its SuperCenter proposal by the Village of Geneseo.
This correspondence, written the week before the Town Board accepted
Newman's application and forwarded it to the Town Planning Board to
begin environmental impact analyis (required by the State Environmental
Quality Review Act) review may provide information related to the Town's
plans for SEQRA of the GTC proposal.
(16.) December 13, 2005: Correspondence of K. Kamlet
to Ronald G. Hull;
This correspondence was written the day after the Town Planning Board
accepted lead agency status and initiated SEQRA review of the GTC proposal.
Ron Hull was the attorney representing the Town Planning Board at the
time. This document may provide information related to Newman's plans
for the SEQRA review of their proposal.
(33.) May 17, 2006: Correspondence of K. Kamlet to
James Coniglio;
This correspondence was produced during the Livingston County Planning
Board's review of Newman's proposal. That review had resulted in some
unanticipated difficulties for Newman's proposal and some required modifications.
This document may provide information related to Newman's response to
those difficulties.
(35.) July 19, 2006: Letter from T. Lucey of APD
Engineering (consultant to the developer)
This letter was apparently written by Mr. Lucey, engineer for Newman,
to the Town of Geneseo. It was written during the Town Planning Board's
review of the GTC proposal and may provide information related to the
dynamics between the Town Board, the Town Planning, and Newman during
this period.