Controversy remains over Siller/Cornucopia site plan

At its Dec. 22 meeting, the Town Board had no comment on a letter received from Helene Starzee, who had opposed site plan approval for former supervisor Gerry Siller’s application to share space with Cornucopia for its gardening operation, which has long operated on a lot on North Menantic Road.

Mr. Siller withdrew his application in December after running into opposition to his proposal. On the day it was expected the Town Board might act on the application, Mr. Siller sent a letter charging bias by some Town Board members.

In the interim, Mary Lou Eichhorn, who had planned to share her Cornucopia site with Mr. Siller, announced she would be closing her gift shop on Dec. 30. She and Mr. Siller had said they were trying to consolidate their businesses to share expenses that would keep them from having to close their respective operations.

“Upon advice of counsel, I will be looking at all my options going forward.” Mr. Siller said in his letter withdrawing his application.

Whether he might decide to reactivate the application is unclear, but Ms. Starzee’s letter charging that mishandling of Mr. Siller’s application caused her to hire a lawyer to fight the site plan, she said.

Ms. Starzee said from the outset that Town officials should have stopped Mr. Siller, who had moved his base of operation to the site on West Neck Road and North Menantic Avenue without any application. The former supervisor said he didn’t know a site plan review was necessary.

When informed it was, he filed his application and was allowed to stay at the Cornucopia site on an interim basis until a decision was rendered. When he withdrew the application, he was allowed 30 days to move his materials from the site to avoid being cited for a violation.

In her letter read by Town Clerk Amber Wilson, Ms. Starzee said the way in which Mr. Siller was treated demonstrated decisions were being made based on who applies, not the facts of a case in terms of whether an application should be considered at all.

Had the application been approved, Ms. Starzee said her property value would decrease by $65,000.

No comment came from Town Board members after Ms. Wilson completed reading the letter.