— — More than 60 residents packed Tonawanda City Hall Tuesday night for a public hearing on proposed zoning updates to two key areas of the city — the Spaulding Fibre site and the downtown district.

After receiving input from planning consultants with Wendel Duchscherer Architects and Engineers, the Common Council is considering creating a brand new zoning district to steer development projects within the 47-acre Spaulding Fibre parcel, a brownfield cleanup site that was recently declared ready for reuse.

Currently the site is zoned to permit heavy industrial development, but city officials have plans for a downgrade in zoning, which would allow a commerce park setting featuring a mix of commercial and light industrial operations.

Wendel representative Drew Reilly said the new zoning would allow for retail sales, recreational uses, restaurants and light industry, but would prohibit adult uses, motor vehicle sales and residential uses. The city has been advised against building homes on the site because of its prior environmental contamination.

Michael Mercio was among the dozen residents who spoke during the 90-minute hearing. He expressed concern over building a new industrial park only to have it sit vacant, asking the Common Council why a developer would come to Tonawanda over surrounding areas such as Williamsville and Cheektowaga.

“We’re just laying the groundwork for something to happen,” Council President Carl Zeisz said. “This isn’t about building anything. ... We want to be prepared and have this all in place.”

Reilly said there’s a small list of available sites in Western New York and that Spaulding would be “a high priority site to people.” Of the zoning change, he said, “We’re just trying to prepare this area for future development.”

If approved by the Common Council, the Spaulding Fibre zoning would contain certain guidelines developers would have to adhere to, including lighting and green space requirements, along with a 100-foot buffer zone for development that abuts residential properties.

Mercio implored city leaders to attract development that would allow city residents to spend their money in the city. “I’ve lived in this city a long time and I’m really tired of taking my recreational dollars to another town,” he said, citing the golf dome in the Town of Tonawanda and Deerwood Golf Course in North Tonawanda.

Mayor Ron Pilozzi said the city will lend an open ear to developers’ proposals. “If they’re willing to come forward, we’re willing to talk,” he said.

James Street resident Peter Deeb thanked city officials for their work on the Spaulding Fibre site remediation, but asked that the city work quickly to enhance the safety of the area, especially the sidewalks — and in some cases, lack thereof — near the property. “The sidewalks are impassable,” Deeb said.

Tuesday’s hearing also included public comments on the zoning update for the city’s downtown area, which stretches from the Main Street business district to the Niagara Street Tops Markets and City Hall. The area also includes the former water works building, which is being razed.

That parcel’s inclusion in the Central Business District Overlay was a contentious one for several Niagara Shore Drive residents, who feel that the city incorporated it into the overlay as a sneaky attempt to rezone the property in the future to allow for retail operations, something Riveredge homeowners say they were promised would not happen.

Residents seemed confused as to exactly what the overlay district allows and prohibits. The area is currently zoned R-2, or residential, and will remain so if the overlay district is approved. “We are not proposing any zoning changes at this time in the Central Business District,” Reilly said.

The overlay district would, however, require that future developers, or existing businesses and homeowners who want to remodel their property, adhere to new requirements, including design standards for landscaping and streetscaping.

Dan D’Angelo, a developer who owns property in the overlay district, said the new requirements wouldn’t be fair to current property owners. Addressing the issue of added requirements during his presentation, Reilly said the new standards will help maintain the integrity of the area while giving developers an idea of what they will need to do for their project to win approval. “If you get poor development, it’s worse than having no development,” Reilly said.

Some Riveredge residents wondered how they could have the water works building removed from the business district. Zeisz said it’s a decision only the Common Council can make.

The council could vote on the two zoning updates at its next meeting Sept. 21.