This week the Canandaigua Planning Commission reorganized for 2026, then voted to table two special-use permit applications for rooming houses while approving a Verizon small-cell facility near East Street and a special-use permit for Sugar Rush to operate a carryout bakery at 11 Phoenix St.
At the start of the meeting, Planning Director Richard Brown called the organizational meeting to order and the commission elected James Hitchcock as chair for 2026. Brown said Vice Chair Fox was not present but was willing to serve; the commission voted to name her vice chair. The commission also voted to continue holding regular meetings on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Hurley Conference Room, and to authorize the chair to call special meetings when needed.
Commissioners also approved the minutes from the Dec. 10, 2025, meeting by a 6-0 vote. Early in the meeting, commissioners noted the printed agenda listed the wrong year and said it would be corrected.
Rooming-house permits tabled for more information
The commission considered two public-hearing items seeking special-use permits to operate rooming houses within existing structures: Application #25-359A at 53 Chapin St. (Eagle Mountain Properties) and Application #25-360A at 86 Bemis St. (Skyrec Development).
Sky Ferguson, appearing via Zoom, told the commission the properties had been operating as rooming houses and said the request was to “keep doing what we have been doing.” During questioning, commissioners and staff said written materials and verbal explanations were inconsistent on key details such as bedroom counts, layouts and square footage, and they requested clearer documentation.
After discussion, the commission voted to table both applications until the next month to give the applicant time to provide floor plans and correct errors and clarify the record, including how the properties function and how parking meets code. The motion carried 6-0.
No public comments were received in writing, and no one spoke in the room during the public-hearing portion on the rooming-house items, according to the transcript.
Verizon small-cell facility approved 5-1 after SEQRA review; homeowner raises concern
The commission next held a public hearing on Application #25-369 (Bell Atlantic Mobile) for a special-use permit to install and operate a micro-cell facility on a utility pole in the street right-of-way adjacent to 440 East St. Attorney Laura Smith of Nixon Peabody presented the application with Kathy Pomponio of Verizon. Smith said the project was intended to address a “significant gap in coverage” near the Academy of Canandaigua and the surrounding neighborhood and to provide capacity relief to nearby sites.
During the discussion, the applicant corrected earlier statements and confirmed it would be a pole replacement, not simply equipment added to an unchanged pole. Commissioners discussed issues including equipment placement and changes to the streetlight height.
Before acting on the special-use permit, the commission reviewed the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) form and voted to adopt a negative declaration.
During the public-hearing portion, homeowner Julia Curtis, identified in the transcript as living at 6 Tamarack Drive, said the new pole and equipment would be “right, essentially in my backyard” and asked whether other locations closer to the school had been considered. Smith responded that the school had been approached and declined placement on the school building, and that the site selection analysis in the application identified the next available pole location across the street under the utility’s pole-attachment requirements.
The commission then approved the special-use permit by a 5-1 vote.
Sugar Rush carryout bakery approved unanimously
The commission also held a public hearing on Application #26-002 for Sugar Rush at 11 Phoenix St., seeking a special-use permit to operate a carryout restaurant (bakery) within an existing structure. Architect Richard Crop of Identity Design Architects, 15 Granger St., appeared on behalf of the project.
City staff said no written comments were received and no one spoke during the public-hearing portion.
During discussion, Teresa Miller described potential future classes such as cake decorating and fondant work, and said she would like to limit classes to no more than 10 people at a time and possibly hold them about once a week if they are offered. Commissioners also discussed trash handling and said changes such as exterior alterations and signage would require returning to the commission, including any venting/“chimney” work.
The commission approved the Sugar Rush special-use permit 6-0, with discussion referencing a return for signage and related exterior details.
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