Lackawanna holds public hearing on historic-overlay for Our Lady of Victory complex
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Summary
City officials held a public hearing to solicit comment on a proposed historic property overlay district for the Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Basilica Complex; OLV Human Services expressed support but asked protections not to block health and disability-related uses.
The City of Lackawanna held a public hearing to gather comments on a proposed historic property overlay district for the Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Basilica Complex, Mayor Annette Aifalo said.
The proposed overlay would add local design and review requirements to the complex’s existing Central Business District zoning. City officials said the overlay is intended to provide protections for buildings and features the city deems architecturally or culturally significant while allowing appropriate alterations where required for regulatory compliance.
The proposal follows the OLV complex’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places on Feb. 26, 2024. City officials said the overlay would not change Lackawanna’s Central Business District (CBD) zoning but would add an extra layer of review specific to the OLV campus.
Tom Voigt of CNS Engineers, speaking for the city, described two main elements of the draft overlay. He said it would impose design standards that prohibit some materials — including vinyl siding, exterior insulating finish systems (EIFS) and glass block — and favor brick, masonry and historically appropriate glass and other materials for expansions or new construction. He also said the overlay would give the Planning and Development Board criteria and submittal standards similar to a certificate of appropriateness used by New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, to evaluate compatibility of scale, architectural features and character with surrounding buildings.
Ben Dwyer, general counsel for OLV Human Services, read a statement on behalf of the organization saying OLV Human Services and related programs support the city’s efforts to preserve the campus. "We welcome the city's efforts and share its goal of preserving the historically and architecturally significant buildings on the OLV campus," Dwyer said.
Dwyer urged that the overlay account for the complex’s current health and human services uses at 790 Ridge Road — including a long-standing dental clinic, an evaluation and treatment center for young children displaying signs of autism, programs for foster children and residential and school services — and any forthcoming pediatric primary care practice. He said the organization would "respectfully oppose any change that limits, quote, professional offices, to the extent that that definition would encompass health and human services." He also said that when government partners require changes for disability accessibility, OLV would seek to make minor changes without significantly altering exterior appearance.
City staff said the required public-notice step has been completed: a notice was published on Jan. 17, 2025 in Buffalo Business First and copies of the draft overlay and a map of the proposed footprint will be posted on the city's website and Facebook page. Attendees at the hearing were asked to register at the door and keep remarks to five minutes.
No vote or formal action on the overlay was recorded at the hearing. The public hearing was opened and then concluded after the presentations and invited public comment.
Copies of the draft overlay and the district map are to be made available online for further public review and comment; city staff and the project consultant said they will be available on the city's website and Facebook page.
