Amherst meeting summaries, agendas, and minutes

Amherst Town Board backs $3.215M bond for Boulevard Central District renewal, adopts 2.5% occupancy tax

The Amherst Town Board approved a $3.215 million bond resolution to acquire land for the Boulevard Central District Urban Renewal Plan and adopted a 2.5% occupancy tax on overnight stays, both on 4-0 votes at its Oct. 13 meeting, according to the meeting minutes.

The same meeting produced several other decisions: the appointment of an interim Town Comptroller, a $508,191 contract amendment for waterline replacement, an HVAC maintenance contract awarded to Parise Mechanical, Inc., and the appointment of Alexander Smith to the Youth Board. Each was recorded as a 4-0 vote.

Town Board: land, taxes and hearings set

Along with the bond and the occupancy tax, the Board set two public hearings. A hearing on a 2027 tax cap override is scheduled for Oct. 26, and a hearing on rezoning 9030-9040 Transit Road is set for Nov. 30. Both were approved 4-0.

A separate Town Board work session and executive session on Oct. 13 is recorded in the minutes as producing no substantive decisions, votes or public actions.

Budget and capital plan hearings

On Oct. 16, the Town Board was scheduled to hold public hearings on Resolution 2026-773, the Capital Improvement Program for 2027-2032, and Resolution 2026-774, the Town of Amherst 2027 Budget. That meeting is listed as an agenda only; minutes have not yet been published, so no outcome is available.

Planning Board: 25.46 acres on North French Road

The Planning Board meets Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, at 6:30 PM in the Amherst Municipal Building, 5583 Main Street, Williamsville, with a public work session at 6:00 PM. Public hearings are scheduled on two site plans and three rezoning requests.

The largest is a request from SBLC Development Corp. (Z-2026-07) covering 25.46± acres from SA to R3 and 23.39± acres from SA to MFR-5 at 1790, 1860 & 1920 North French Road and a portion of 999 Campbell Boulevard. Other requests include 2.06± acres from MS to CTR-5 at 1025 Niagara Falls Boulevard (Amherst II UE LLC) and 2.43± acres from NB to MS at 2545 Millersport Highway (West Herr Automotive Group).

Site plans under review are a proposed Uptown Apartment at 2190-2220 Wehrle Drive (Young Development LLC) and a proposed townhome development at 770 John James Audubon Parkway (770 JJAP LLC). The board will also take up unfinished business and its 2027 meeting calendar. This is an agenda only; no decisions have been published.

Traffic-Safety Board

The Traffic-Safety Board met Oct. 7 with an agenda covering a request to close access to Main Street from Royal Parkway West, all-way stop requests at Allenhurst Road and Cambridge Boulevard and at the Gina Meadows/Kristine Meadows intersection, and a marked crosswalk request at Paradise and Cricket Lane. Site plans listed for review included the Joe McCarthy Drive apartment/townhome development, a restaurant with drive-thru at 4010 Maple Road, and a Costco store and fueling facility at 4220-4230 Ridge Lea Road. Minutes have not been published.

Historic Preservation Commission

The Commission approved amended July 14, 2026 minutes (5-0-1) and decided not to move forward with a CLG grant this year. It appointed Brian Swartz to review the Harlem Road Community Center restoration mock-up (6-0-0) and approved adding the project's construction documents to the Town record (6-0-0). Members also requested that the Attorney's Office grant the HPC final approval authority for local historic landmarks.

Also on the agenda

The Zoning Board of Appeals met Oct. 14 to hear area variance requests for 3140 Sheridan Drive, 315 Alberta Drive, 331 Alberta Drive, 146 Bridle Path, 120 Schoelles Road, 514 Tiburon Lane and 2190-2200 Wehrle Drive. The Arts and Culture in Public Places Board met Oct. 13 to discuss the 2027 "America the Beautiful" painted traffic box theme, grant reconciliation and recommendations, and its annual report to the Town Board. Minutes for both are not yet published.

Coming up

The schedule provided lists no upcoming meetings for the next 14 days. The record does note three dates: a Town Board public hearing on the 2027 tax cap override on Oct. 26, the Planning Board's next regular meeting on Nov. 19, and a Town Board public hearing on rezoning 9030-9040 Transit Road on Nov. 30.

Amherst Historic Preservation Commission records the only decisions; Town Board sets 2027 budget hearing

The Historic Preservation Commission recorded the only decisions among the Amherst bodies covered in this roundup over the past two weeks, while a Town Board work session produced no recorded votes and two other boards met on agendas whose minutes have not yet been published.

Historic Preservation Commission, Oct. 6

The commission approved amended minutes from its July 14, 2026 meeting on a 5-0-1 vote. It decided not to move forward with a CLG grant this year, and requested that the Attorney's Office grant the commission final approval authority for local historic landmarks — a request, not a recorded decision.

Members appointed Brian Swartz to review a restoration mock-up at the Harlem Road Community Center on a 6-0-0 vote, and approved adding the center's construction documents to the Town record, also 6-0-0.

Town Board work session, Oct. 1

The board met at 12:00 PM. The minutes record the Pledge of Allegiance and an end time of 1:54 PM. No motions, votes, or resolutions are recorded in the supplied minutes, so no decisions can be reported from that session.

Design Advisory Board, Sept. 30

The board met at 6:00 PM at the Amherst Municipal Building, 5583 Main Street, Williamsville. The agenda listed approval of Aug. 27, 2026 minutes and three miscellaneous items: a review of design guidelines changes, a procedures memorandum, and a review of the board's rules of order. No design review applications were listed. Minutes have not been published, so no outcomes are available. The next regular meeting is Oct. 22, 2026.

Traffic-Safety Board, Oct. 7

The agenda included a request to close access to Main Street from Royal Parkway West, requests for an all-way stop at Allenhurst Road and Cambridge Boulevard and at the Gina Meadows/Kristine Meadows intersection, and a marked crosswalk at Paradise and Cricket Lane. Old business included a bike path crossing near Auden Apartments, held pending data analysis and County coordination. Site plans listed for review: an apartment/townhome development on Joe McCarthy Drive, a restaurant with drive-thru at 4010 Maple Road, and a Costco store and fueling facility at 4220-4230 Ridge Lea Road. Minutes have not been published.

Coming up

• **Oct. 13 — Town Board public hearings** on the 2027 Budget, the 2027-2032 Capital Improvement Program, and a bed tax. The agenda also lists a rezoning public hearing for 4110 Bailey Avenue, a BCD Urban Renewal Plan bond resolution for $3,215,000, and an Adsorptech, LLC change order for $24,800 for Oxygen System Replacement. A separate Town Board work session the same day includes an executive session on employment history, litigation, and attorney-client privileged matters.
• **Oct. 13 — Arts and Culture in Public Places Board:** the 2027 "America the Beautiful" Painted Boxes theme, grant recommendations, and annual report planning.
• **Oct. 14 — Zoning Board of Appeals:** area variance requests, including 3140 Sheridan Drive, 315 Alberta Drive, 331 Alberta Drive, 146 Bridle Path, 120 Schoelles Road, 514 Tiburon Lane, and 2190-2200 Wehrle Drive.
• **Oct. 15 — Planning Board,** 6:30 PM at 5583 Main Street, Williamsville, with a 6:00 PM work session: public hearings on two site plans and three rezoning requests, including 25.46± acres from SA to R3 and 23.39± acres from SA to MFR-5 at 1790, 1860 & 1920 North French Road and 999 Campbell Boulevard (portion), petitioner SBLC Development Corp.