Friends of Shadow Pines
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REFERENDUM VOTE SUCCEEDS!

PENFIELD VOTERS CHOOSE TO
​SAVE SHADOW PINES
AND THE HISTORIC CLARK HOUSE!!!

Townspeople have saved a jewel of open space in the heart of Penfield from residential development.

Town says Shadow Pines will be open to public access after purchase is completed in April.

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February 27 Referendum Results

Prop 1 -- Shadow Pines

Yes: 5,671
No: 1,308

Prop 2 -- Clark House

Yes: 5,641
No: 1,300
​
[Results updated 3/1/2018]


What's Next for
​Shadow Pines?

  1. The Town does not own Shadow Pines yet. The closing of the purchase agreement with the current owner, Oldcastle-Dolomite is in April, but no specific date has been announced so far.
  2. Shadow Pines is still posted for no trespassing by the current owners.
  3. After the purchase of Shadow Pines is completed, the Town may need some additional time to remove various hazards from the grounds before opening Shadow Pines for public access.
  4. Save Shadow Pines has written to Supervisor Tony LaFountain with an offer to organize a "spring cleaning" of Shadow Pines to clear out any refuse and downed branches, etc. We haven't received any response yet.
  5. Save Shadow Pines plans to stay engaged to ensure good stewardship of this jewel of Penfield!
  6. The Town of Penfield plans to eventually convene a citizens committee to recommend possible future Town uses for Shadow Pines. The timing is unclear, but it looks like the committee might not be created before 2019. In the meantime, and hopefully forever, Shadow Pines serves an extremely useful purpose as natural open space.
  7. We have heard there are parties interested in leasing or purchasing the Clark House to restore it as a restaurant. We prefer that the Town maintain ownership of this historic site and carefully examine its options. If leased to a restaurant operator, the Clark House, and perhaps the other Shadow Pines buildings, would contribute a revenue stream that could be applied towards maintenance and improvements for the buildings and for all of Shadow Pines.
  8. More news and details to come!



Approximately 212 acres of pristine open space in the heart of Penfield were at risk of being converted from a beautiful golf course into a sprawling housing development -- perhaps with as many as 290 houses.

The people of Penfield resisted and won.  Soon, we as a town, will own Shadow Pines!


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Here's a link to important documents.

These provide information about the status of Shadow Pines, including the Final Report of the Moratorium Committee and communications from Supervisor LaFountain since then.



What's at stake?

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  • Shadow Pines serves as an essential buffer for the community from Dolomite's massive industrial quarry across the street. Neighbors further away from the quarry than the proposed development already complain about noise, dust, truck traffic, and dynamite explosions, which rattle their homes and sometimes break windows or crack walls.
  • Penfield does not have the infrastructure to support more development in the area. Do you want more traffic on Whalen, Browncroft, Atlantic, Five Mile Line Road and Huntington Meadow? Do you want higher school property taxes to accommodate more students than we can currently provide for?
  • ​Shadow Pines is extraordinary and beautiful land in the heart of Penfield. Western Penfield is the most developed part of the town. This may be the last opportunity to preserve such a large tract of land in this part of town that's filled with open fields, rolling hills, majestic stands of pine, a vibrant brook, and historic buildings and sites.​
Save Shadow Pines
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​Information

  • Click on the photo above and you can see the important role Shadow Pines and Shadow Lake play as buffers to the quarry/industrial site. There is an asphalt manufacturing plant within the quarry.
  • Here's a link to important documents.
    These provide information about the status of Shadow Pines, including the Final Report of the Moratorium Committee and communications from Supervisor LaFountain since then.
  • Shadow Pines and Shadow Lake are owned by the quarry company Dolomite/Oldcastle, a division of CRH PLC, a $30 billion building materials conglomerate headquartered in Ireland that has more than 90,000 employees in 4,000 locations around the world.
  • ​In 2016, Oldcastle put Penfield golf courses
    Shadow Pines and Shadow Lake up for sale. Shadow Lake was sold and remains as a golf course. Shadow Pines, however, was being marketed for residential development until town residents created Save Shadow Pines to preserve protect this beautiful open space in the heart of Penfield.

    Although the town's 2010 Comprehensive Plan designated the future use of both golf courses and the quarry as "recreation and sanctuary," they were never re-zoned with this protection.
Learn More
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​News

Please let the Penfield Town Board know you want to save Shadow Pines as open green space!
​
Learn More
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​Get Involved

We Need Your Help and Your Talents!
​

Fill out our contact form and tell us about your interests and skills. You can work on your own or join a team. We have teams working on communications, research, legal issues, environmental issues, and finance. There will be big and small projects so you can volunteer as much or as little as you wish.
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