N.Y. man has plans to build family park
Toolbox
By Brent Curtis Staff Writer - Published: July 13, 2009
A New York developer has plans to open a $263,000 family fun center along Route 7 in Danby.
The "Otter Creek Fun Center," proposed for a plot of land north of Scottsville Road, would feature a snack bar and miniature golf course, according to developer Anthony Scory.
Scory and his wife, Patricia Panebianco, live in Hampton, N.Y. But Scory said he and his wife plan to move to Vermont before the fun center is built — a process he hopes will take no more than two years.
Danby might seem a bit off the beaten track for some, but Scory, who has worked 25 years running a similar establishment in Long Island, said family fun centers exist and flourish in similar locales throughout the country.
"People all over the country have these set up in farmland like this," he said. "When you think about it, it's only 15 minutes from Rutland and 15 minutes from Manchester and only a mile down the road from the horse show."
Most important of all, Scory said, is the 27.5 acre site's location along Route 7 — a heavily traveled roadway that should bring plenty of potential customers his way.
Scory said he plans to start small with a 16 seat, 80-foot by 60-foot snack bar, 31-space parking lot and a miniature golf course.
If business goes well, he said he might try to add another miniature course and other attractions such as a batting cage, bumper boats, a picnic area or grounds for a car show.
The initial operation would create 10 to 15 jobs, he said.
But before plans to build the center can move forward, the development must satisfy state land use requirements.
The proposed project is set for a public hearing before the District 1 Environmental Commission on Aug. 11. The Act 250 review, which begins at 9 a.m. with a site visit followed by a hearing at the Danby Town Offices, will focus on the projects' impacts on water, wastewater and wetlands, traffic safety, aesthetics and impacts on prime agricultural soils since the proposed site is an agricultural field.
While the development would sit near a Class II wetland, plans at the Act 250 office in Rutland show that it would not trespass onto them or within a 50-foot buffer zone around them.
The commission's office said they have received no phone calls or correspondence in opposition to the plans.
brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com
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