Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The new Buffalo Bills stadium is one step closer to the construction phase.
After several Erie County legislative sessions for presentation, deliberation and extended discussion of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) for the new Bills stadium, the review was finally passed unanimously 11-0 Thursday afternoon.
"It feels good that it's over with. We had multiple discussions on the topics. It's good and we're moving along," said Erie County Legislator Tim Meyers, "Everything has been indicated that it has no negative impact on the environment, and it just goes to talking about the stadium size, drainage size. You have to remember when the old stadium was built, there was no SEQR process, no environmental review or anything like that. So it's just a smaller footprint, and just the standards are higher and more efficient, I should say."
Legislature Chair April Baskin said that it's exciting to be putting this review through so things can move forward, "I'm proud of this process. I know in the past, there have been comments that the Bills lease or deal has been rushed in past years and we have some new innovative things going on. Not just the timelines that we are setting through formal resolutions and taking our time to deliberate on all of the documents that are coming from to us from the state and the Bills, but also we have things like the community benefits agreement, that have never been done before in pass deals. So yes, the legislators are taking this extremely seriously and I couldn't be more proud of our body."
This environmental review now prompts a 30-day window to complete the other necessary agreements and requirement, like the community benefits agreement, "The community benefits agreement is one agreement of many in the full lease deal. I have been the chief advocate of bringing one to reality here locally, and then I was invited to sit on the negotiating team. It's been a wonderful experience. I am confident that what we ended up with something that is going to not just benefit the residents of Buffalo and Erie County, but it is going to be a staple benchmark of what CBA's should look like across the country. I'm proud of the process and I'm glad I was involved," said Legislator Baskin.