Down with development on Mount Hope, for now

The Rochester City Council says there will be "no more" development in the Mount Hope neighborhood at least for six months. The ban includes the area on Mount Hope between Elmwood Avenue and Raleigh Street just South of Crittenden Boulevard.

The moratorium on Mount Hope seemed to create a divide between business owners and residents in the area. While residents welcome the ban, others reject it.

"It's really difficult to do business. We lease that property and it's property that's falling down, it's falling apart, we'd love to put more money into the store but when we can't get the return in the investment, it's very difficult," said Ron Aylward, District Manager for Starbucks on Mount Hope.

During Tuesday night's City Council meeting, both sides weighed in on the moratorium that would stop new development in the Mount Hope area for six months. Mayor Bob Duffy along with residents say the ban is temporary, it's simply time needed to come up with a long-term strategic plan for the neighborhood.

"We're not just slapping up fast food restaurants quickly, we're looking at the overall picture to make sure what we do adds value to Mount Hope," said Mayor Bob Duffy of Rochester.

But business owners say six months is too long to wait when the abandoned buildings nearby are bringing down the neighborhood, therefore bringing down businesses as well.

"We can't guarantee we'll stay in business there. Unfortunately, the building is running down and our own building we lease is running down as a business that needs to stay in business and be profitable in order to stay in business it makes it very difficult and the odds aren't that favorable for us to stay in the area," said Aylward.

Even though the moratorium passed, City Council members made an exception for Starbucks. The coffee giant will be allowed to expand its business which includes plans for a Drive-Thru window and the purchase of neighboring buildings for a larger cafe.