Annexation as Process: Notes from a Joint Public Hearing

One thing I’m learning quickly as a Town Board member is that much of the work happens before a Town Board meeting ever begins. Site visits, legal review, environmental questions, and coordination between municipalities all take place in advance. A public hearing is where that work becomes visible and where the public is formally invited into the process.

Last week (January 15, 2025), the Town of Pittsford and the Town of East Rochester held a joint public hearing on a proposed annexation of several parcels along Linden Avenue. Joint hearings with both boards present are uncommon, and they reflect the seriousness of decisions that affect more than one community. For those interested in the details, our Town Attorney prepared briefing materials for the Board, and the official minutes of the hearing are available on the Town website.

The business involved

The annexation request involves Northside Salvage, a three-generation, family-owned auto salvage and recycling business. They recycle vehicles quickly and thoroughly—fluids, parts, and metal—returning usable parts to the market and keeping significant material out of landfills. It’s the kind of business many of us only notice when we need a part to keep a car on the road. (My dad would have LOVED this place!)

During a site visit, what stood out was how intentionally the family has been improving its operations with plans to move activity further from the road, increasing safety, adding landscaping, and planning a professional retail front. This is not your junkyard of decades past. As someone who runs trails in the area, I also asked about environmental and watershed impacts, and the team was eager to walk through how those would be addressed.

Why there was a hearing

Under New York State law, when land is proposed to be annexed from one municipality to another, the affected governments must hold a joint public hearing. The purpose of the hearing is narrow but important: to determine whether the annexation itself serves the overall public interest.

The hearing was not a vote, and it was not approval of any expansion or construction project. Any future development would require separate applications, environmental review, zoning actions, and additional public input.

Why annexation matters

The proposed annexation involves a small number of parcels currently in Pittsford that adjoin property Northside owns in East Rochester. The request was initiated by the property owner and would place the land under one municipality rather than two, simplifying regulation.

Annexation matters because it determines:

• which municipality regulates the land

• which zoning rules apply

• how future development is reviewed

• how impacts like traffic, visibility, and environmental safeguards are enforced

At the hearing, I focused on asking the questions I know constituents will ask later—about enforcement, conditions, and what steps would still be required before anything changes on the ground.

What happens next

After the hearing closes, each municipality independently decides—within a defined time frame—whether the annexation is in the overall public interest. Any future land-use or development proposals would return through their own public processes.

My role, and the role of the Town Board, is to stay focused on process clarity, enforceability, and the public interest—so residents understand what is being considered, what is not, and how decisions are made.

As always, thoughtful questions and engagement are welcome.