By: Matt Glynn

Homeowners in Lakefront Commons who opposed construction of 36 townhomes on Buffalo’s waterfront have scored a legal victory.

State Supreme Court Justice Gerald J. Whalen issued a permanent injunction blocking Nemo Development LLC from building the townhomes as planned, saying they would be visually incompatible with other structures in the neighborhood abutting LaSalle Park.

In his order, Whalen said the height and design of Nemo Development’s proposed structures did not conform with a covenant governing the exterior appearance of buildings in Lakefront Commons.

“The lack of conformity violates the covenant that the current build-

ing owners bargained for and as such have a right to enforce,” Whalen said in his order.

The dispute centered on the developer’s plans for 1.3 acres of undeveloped land between Lakefront Boulevard and the Niagara Thruway that it purchased in 2007 for $210,000. The project was the brainchild of Barbara and Miro Staroba, Lakefront Commons residents.

A number of neighborhood residents spoke out against plans unveiled by Nemo Development, but the city Planning Board gave its approval in 2008. About 20 homeowners, part of a neighborhood group called Lakefront Alliance, filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping the project. Nemo Development contended the townhomes as proposed would not violate the covenant’s terms.

Lakefront Commons, developed in the late 1980s, consists of 52 townhomes with an identical red brick exterior appearance.

After a three-day nonjury trial last July, Whalen signed his order late last month. The judge cited a number of differences between what Nemo Development proposed and the current structures in Lakefront Commons. The proposed structures would be three stories, instead of two, and would be nearly 9 feet higher, he wrote.

The new structures would have a single-pitched roof and a 500-square-foot observation deck, while the current structures have a double-pitched roof and no observation deck, he wrote.

Eric T. Dadd, who represented the Lakefront Alliance homeowners in the case, said he was pleased that “the judge saw it our way. At the end of the day, three stories is not the same as two.”

Dadd said Lakefront Alliance homeowners are not opposed to development of the land in the cul de sac — rather, they contend new construction should comply with the covenant that other homeowners in the neighborhood must observe.

Will Nemo Development appeal, or modify its townhome development plan?

Jeffrey Reina, who represented Nemo Development in the case, said the developer is “currently examining its options.”

“My client is obviously disappointed in the court’s ruling and views the decision as another setback to development on the Buffalo waterfront,” Reina said.

Source: Ruling blocks lakefront townhomes - The Buffalo News