The Van Buren Town Board voted 6-0 on Aug. 5, 2026 to take the first formal step in reviewing one of the largest housing proposals brought before it in recent memory: a plan by Brolex Living Community LLC to rezone 103 acres on Crego Road from R-40, a low-density residential classification, to Planned Unit Development, or PUD, to build 304 homes. The vote, recorded as resolution 168-26-017 in the town clerk’s minutes, sets in motion the state mandated environmental review process for the project and starts a clock that will run through at least two public hearings before any final decision.

The property, identified in county tax records as parcel 034.-03-01.1, would be split between 98 single-family homes and 206 for-rent townhouse units, plus a clubhouse, according to the resolution language read into the record by the board. That works out to roughly 2.95 housing units per acre across the parcel, a figure CNY Signal calculated by dividing the proposed 304 units by the stated 103 acres. The Town of Van Buren Planning Board had already given the rezoning a positive recommendation before it reached the town board.

Because the project qualifies as what state regulators call a Type I action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the town board formally declared itself lead agency for the review, meaning Van Buren, not the county or a state agency, will control the pace and scope of the environmental analysis. Supervisor Wendy Van Der Water told the board that the town must notify a list of outside agencies with a stake in the outcome and then wait 30 days for objections before the review can move forward.

The resolution names nine interested or involved agencies that must be notified: the Town of Van Buren Planning Board, the Onondaga County Department of Transportation, the Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency, the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection, the Onondaga County Water Authority, the NorthWest Fire District, the Baldwinsville Central School District and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Any of those agencies can file a written objection to Van Buren acting as lead agency within the 30-day window.

If no agency objects, Van Der Water said the town will refer the project to the Onondaga County Planning Board and then schedule two separate public hearings, with residents notified in advance of both dates. The board is also requiring a Long Form Environmental Assessment to document the project’s likely effects before any hearing is set. As of the Aug. 5 meeting, no hearing dates had been scheduled.

The rezoning request also drew a comment from Brolex representative Jacobson, who used the public meeting to raise a separate issue: the letters of credit the town is holding on the company’s existing development in Treybrook. Jacobson told the board that more than $100,000 in security remains tied up even though he said the majority of the work in that development has been completed. Van Der Water responded that the board is not reducing any letters of credit at this time, telling Jacobson that while the town engineer’s recommendation carries weight, the board wants full project phases finished before releasing any security money. The town engineer on the Crego Road matter is Jason Hoy.

The Crego Road proposal is arriving at a pointed moment for land use policy in Van Buren. Councilor Robert Grover told the board the town’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which has been in development for months through a dedicated committee, is nearly complete. He has scheduled a public hearing and open house for residents on the plan itself for Aug. 18, 2026 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, just 13 days after the board opened environmental review on the Crego Road project and before any hearing date has been set for the housing proposal. Residents who want a voice in how the town’s long-range growth policy is written, and how that policy might bear on large-scale rezonings like Crego Road, have that single Aug. 18 meeting to attend before the plan is expected to be finalized.

Housing growth is not the only land use pressure on the town’s radar. Councilor Michael Burke told the board he held the town’s first data center committee meeting during the reporting period covered by the July 15 minutes. Burke said New York State has passed a statewide moratorium on data center development and that Onondaga County is now conducting its own study to establish guidelines that towns like Van Buren could eventually adopt. No specific data center project has been proposed in Van Buren, but the committee’s formation signals the town is trying to get ahead of a use that has drawn scrutiny elsewhere in the state before any application arrives.

Beyond the two big land use items, the board’s summer meetings show a town handling a routine but active municipal workload. At the July 15 meeting, the board awarded a $75,985 bid to Klein Heating and Cooling for an HVAC upgrade at the Canton Woods Senior Center, a project Van Der Water said will be partially covered by a $50,000 Community Development Grant, with the town covering the remainder. The same meeting approved a $19,800 award to JSK Outdoor Enterprises Inc. for a septic system installation at Pavilion AA in Van Buren Park, and issued trash hauler licenses to four companies: Butler Disposal Systems, Waste Management, Morgan Rubbish Removal and Dependable Disposal.

The board also approved a $4,104 payment to Ryan’s Arbor Care for a property maintenance violation at 115 Mann Drive, a cost Van Der Water said will be levied directly onto that property’s tax bill rather than paid solely out of general town funds. Separately, the board formally adopted the New York State Association of Towns’ Bill of Rights, a statement of principles on municipal home rule, local control over land use decisions and relief from unfunded state mandates.

A small but locally resonant item also cleared the board twice this summer. At both the July 15 and Aug. 5 meetings, the town authorized a $2,100 capital project for a new historical marker honoring Abram Pryne, funded entirely through a grant from the Wm. G. Pomeroy Foundation, a Central New York based nonprofit that funds historic marker programs statewide. Van Der Water told the board at the July 15 meeting that the town no longer needed to authorize an internal short-term loan for the project because the Pomeroy Foundation’s $2,100 check had arrived that same day.

On the environmental side, Van Der Water reported that 391,000 pounds of invasive water chestnut had been pulled from town waterways so far this season as of the Aug. 5 meeting. At the July 15 meeting, she had reported the first harvesting round complete, telling the board that areas which were previously thick with the plant have visibly thinned, evidence the treatment plan is working. She thanked local farmers who have been taking the removed material for reuse. Crews were set to move harvesting operations to Oneida Lake before returning to work in the Town of Clay, according to her Aug. 5 update.

The town’s Codes Department, in a report Van Der Water relayed to the board, opened 32 permits in July, including one building permit, and completed 31 fire inspections during the month. Councilor Chris Sherwood reported that the Public Safety Committee discussed active drainage improvements at the town Highway Garage, including a new roof gutter system, plus drainage projects planned this summer for Interstate Island Road and Connors Road west of North Brickyard, along with paving work in Village Green. Town Engineer Jason Hoy told the board that the town’s new drainage system at Idlewood Boulevard and Birchwood Boulevard was tested by the last heavy rainfall and produced no road flooding, an early sign the infrastructure investment there is holding up.

On the recreation side, Van Der Water announced that Reeves Park will host the 11U Little League championship for the 2026 through 2028 seasons, with games beginning July 17. Councilor Jennifer Sullivan told the board the Canton Woods Senior Center held its prom the Friday after the July 15 meeting and reported that the Meals on Wheels program is marking its 55th anniversary with a dinner at the Elks Lodge on Aug. 29. Sullivan also relayed June activity reports from the town’s Buildings and Grounds and Parks and Recreation departments, which have been maintaining landscaping and equipment and installed new cameras at the park office; the Parks and Recreation report noted the town pool is open, the summer playground program is at full capacity and swim lessons are underway.

Both the July 15 and Aug. 5 meetings closed with the board voting to enter executive session to discuss a personnel matter, resuming open session afterward each time with no public action reported. The next regular Van Buren Town Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2026 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, one day after the Comprehensive Land Use Plan public hearing.

Sources and verification

This story is built from the official, published minutes of the Van Buren Town Board’s regular meetings on July 15, 2026 and Aug. 5, 2026, obtained directly from the Town of Van Buren’s government website. Every figure, vote count, motion number and quoted position above is drawn from those two documents. The units-per-acre calculation is CNY Signal’s own arithmetic, based on the acreage and unit counts stated in the board’s own resolution. No hearing dates for the Crego Road rezoning had been set as of publication; this story will be updated when the town schedules them.