Sewer backups delay approval of apartment project in West Seneca

Old, leaky sewers and sewage backups led the West Seneca Town Board to put off a vote this week on a rezoning that would allow an apartment and townhouse development on Orchard Park Road.

The board tabled the request for the rezoning after several board members expressed concern that the aging sewers would not be able to handle the extra load. The decision came after basements flooded in at least two neighborhoods following back-to-back snowstorms last month, and more flooding occurred earlier this month after a light rain.

William Sahlem and Brian Hillery want to rezone 3.1 acres at 1425 Orchard Park Road from commercial and residential to commercial, with a special permit that would allow two 12-unit apartment buildings and one six-unit townhouse-style building.

Sewer problems have plagued the town for years.

Sewage from the proposed 30-unit development, and a 44-unit apartment development planned nearby, eventually would empty into one of the problem lines.

“I am concerned with the additional housing on the sewer system,” Council Member Susan K. Kims said. “You are going to be putting sewage into lines feeding into a system that is already faulty, and people are suffering because of it.”