Greece, N.Y. (WHAM) — The Town of Greece gave the proposed Island Cottage Road senior living complex the green light Wednesday, leaving some residents worried their concerns were not heard.

“This is the outcome. Sad, sad day here,” said horse farmer Steve DiBattisto, speaking again with 13WHAM on that major complex. He said it will be right up against his backyard on Island Cottage Road.

“Yeah, we were surprised there, because we talked about the different issues that we had with the traffic, and the fire department and, you know, the (protected) wetlands,” DiBattisto said.

BACKGROUND: Greece neighbors share thoughts on proposed senior living complex | Island Cottage complex proposal in Greece continuing to get pushback | Greece neighbors push back on possible wetland development

DiBattisto said the buildings will tower over his property and the foliage at the back of his property will be taken away.

“It’s going to be an ongoing project,” he said. “They said it could take up to six years. Yes, it’s a big project here, (the buildings will be) four and three stories high.”

Close by are Brendan and Casey Bulson, also opposed to this project.

“The fight’s definitely not over,” Brendan said.

The pair presented their concerns on the environment to the town.

“We still have the situation of animals,” Brendan explained. “When the stuff gets torn down, they go out in the road, they get hit. They need to place them too, when we’re losing more and more of our green spaces.”

They claim contaminants are in the soil from past developments that could get stirred up again.

“I’m really concerned about them digging without truly knowing what contamination — or at least we don’t know — because they say they did some tests, but the didn’t say what they found,” Casey said. “That plume of trichloroethylene is coming, and it floods there regularly. I’m worried about the people that will be living there.”

Town Supervisor Bill Reilich shared a statement with 13WHAM.

Yesterday, the Town’s Planning Board granted conditional site plan approval for a senior living apartment complex on Island Cottage Road. As the Town of Greece has the highest senior population compared to all other towns in Monroe County, I am very pleased to see additional housing opportunities that will allow our beloved senior citizens options such as this to enjoy continued independent living right here in our community.

Looking back, the Bulsons and DiBattisto feel this decision was already made long ago to develop.

“We wish we would have known that going forward,” DiBattisto said. “We had three three-hour-long meetings at the town about it.”

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