ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (WNYT) – At Wednesday’s Rotterdam Town Board meeting, residents complained to the town board on new zoning laws. These new laws restrict the heights of buildings in Rotterdam’s Main Street and Neighborhood Center Overlay to two stories.

This has created a mess for Rotterdam’s Community Center, which has a redevelopment plan to build a new food pantry and 60 affordable housing units. The only issue is members from the community center say the plan can’t happen unless it’s three floors.

Kimlee Marquise is the board chair at the Rotterdam Community Center, and she stressed this to the town board Wednesday.

“And we’re asking you to help us, to let us be able to build a place safe, affordable people to live. We’re not asking you for any money. We’re not asking you to pick up a hammer or paint a wall. We just want you to work with us. That’s all. So please reconsider. Please be willing to sit down and talk to us.”

Chris Deteso, of the Rotterdam Community Center, also addressed his concerns to the town board at the meeting.

“Supervisor Collins, my question to you is you keep saying that regulating that building height is what’s best for Rotterdam. Explain to us how? How does that better serve Rotterdam keeping the building height at two stories,” said Deteso.

The board was not answering the residents’ concerns tonight, but Marquise said that they are not going to give up.

“There are already three-story buildings in this town. And so suddenly there’s this zoning variance that you can’t build a three-story building and so we’re really struggling with that,” said Marquise.