The Buffalo Chronicle
The Southtowns
Community news from Buffalo’s southern suburbs.
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Colden’s highway tax would rise 24% as road salt jumps to $93 a ton, and a new general fund tax arrives
Colden’s preliminary 2027 budget raises the highway tax rate about 24%, driven largely by road salt rising from $57.79 to $93.24 a ton, and adds a new general fund tax. The public…
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OLV Basilica’s copper dome is about 80% restored, with the scaffolding due down next August
The copper dome at Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna is about 80% restored. Crews will cover the cupola for winter, and Msgr. David LiPuma expects the scaffolding to come down…
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Hamburg votes unanimously to pause data centers for a year, and officials say nothing is proposed
Hamburg’s Town Board voted 5-0 Monday for a one-year moratorium on data-center applications and permits. Officials said no project is proposed and the town wants time to update its zoning rules.
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West Seneca neighbors want a Thruway sound wall, but state rules leave little room for one
Covington Drive residents say Thruway noise has gotten worse since National Fuel cleared trees along a pipeline corridor. The town will price a noise study, but state policy says a sound wall…
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Hamburg is set to vote on a one-year pause on data centers while it rewrites the rules
Hamburg’s Town Board votes tonight on a one-year moratorium on data center applications and permits while it rewrites its zoning rules. West Seneca and the state have already hit pause.
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Aurora highway crew pickets as contract talks stall over raises and health insurance
Ten months without a contract, Aurora’s highway workers want 5% raises and relief on insurance costs. The town has offered 4% and a $500 bonus, and the supervisor says he has no…
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West Seneca’s Boys & Girls Club finds a home in the Winchester building, aiming for a fall 2027 opening
West Seneca schools will give a new Boys & Girls Club three years of free rent and busing at 650 Harlem Road, with East Aurora’s club as lead agency. Organizers are now…
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East Aurora approves West End Social at 206 Main St., with a 50-decibel limit and a six-month review
East Aurora’s Village Board approved a special use permit for West End Social in the former Mister’s Bar and Lanes, with occupancy caps, live-music curfews and a noise rule that lets officials…
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Boston overrides the tax cap for its 2027 budget, and town officials say water lines are the reason
The Boston Town Board unanimously approved a 5% levy increase that lands about $85,000 over the state tax cap. Town officials point to a waterline project costing more than $15 million, along…
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After a fatal crash, Camp Road neighbors ask the state for answers on safety
A week after a crash near St. Francis Drive killed a Buffalo woman, Hamburg residents and St. Francis High School want the state to take a hard look at Route 75. The…
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A new Quaker Road lot coverage request heads to East Aurora’s zoning board as a senior housing plan moves ahead
East Aurora’s Zoning Board of Appeals will hear a request on Nov. 12 for 52.6% lot coverage at 260 Quaker Road, as Young Development’s planned 118-unit senior apartment building at 270 Quaker…
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West Seneca gets $1.7 million for a crossing a student flagged. Who gets the credit is now on the ballot
A $1.7 million federal grant will bring sidewalks, curb ramps and crosswalks to Seneca Street and Ridge Road near West Seneca West. Assemblyman Pat Burke and Supervisor Gary Dickson, rivals for the…
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Lackawanna’s City Hall move is done, but the bill for what it left behind keeps growing
Lackawanna pitched its City Hall overhaul as an $18.5 million project. Court-mandated upgrades and a possible $25 million police and court building have changed the math, and the council has tabled a…
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Orchard Park’s five-story stadium zone stalls after 31 residents take the microphone
Orchard Park’s plan to allow five-story buildings near Highmark Stadium was tabled after 31 people spoke at an Oct. 7 hearing, most of them opposed. It is not on tonight’s Town Board…
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Hamburg adopts its first Airbnb law, with $2,000 in fees and single-family streets included
Hamburg had never had rules for Airbnb-style rentals, yet more than 100 are listed. On Monday the Town Board adopted a law that charges hosts $2,000 for a first two-year permit and,…
