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Red House approved for special use permit

OBSERVER File Photo Red House, pictured here in April, was approved for a temporary special use permit by the Cassadaga Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday.

CASSADAGA — Red House has officially been approved for a special use permit, following a hearing held by the village Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday. The information was confirmed Tuesday by Village Clerk Roxanne Astry in a phone call with the OBSERVER.

“The ZBA vote was 3-2 in favor,” Astry stated of the vote. “Tom Beichner, Ryan Burlingame and Chris Mackrell were in favor, with Amanda Lancaster and Matt Cassatt against.”

The special use permit given to Red House is temporary, a condition that was also a 3-2 vote in favor. “It is temporary until we have another hearing in October 2020,” Astry commented. “It’s just to be sure that all the conditions have been followed…those in favor for making it temporary were Cassatt, Lancaster and Mackrell, opposed were Beichner and Burlingame.”

According to Astry, discussion over Red House was lengthy, and included several contributions from those directly involved in the current legal affairs. “It was a two and half hour hearing, there was a lot of discussion,” Astry said. “The Wickmarks (the owners of Red House) and the Wilcoxes went over their sides, there were quite a few other public comments…When it was voted, it came to a vote after everyone spoke.”

One of the main concerns neighbors to Red House had was music volume, which was a focal point of the discussion. “It was decided there were conditions,” Astry noted. “They have to stop music at 10 p.m., music cannot be louder at the source by 90 decibels and 60 decibels by the road.”

Additional stipulations arose involving security and windows at Red House. “The parking lot has to have an attendant,” Astry said of the other new conditions. “The place has to be monitored by someone other than owner. Also, the north and east side windows have to be enclosed.”

With the special use permit attained and new regulations in place, compromise seems to have finally struck the killing blow in the Red House debate. “There were a lot of people in favor of it, that’s why they put the stipulations on it,” Astry noted, closing out her comments. “Want to be fair to those who live nearby, and hopefully that will make everyone happy.”

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