Penfield Planning Board members say they're opposed to the commercial component of a controversial development planned near Corbett's Glen Nature Park. Board members expressed their opposition at a work session last night. The last word on the development, however, will have to come from the Town Board.

Nightingale Properties of New York City wants to construct three buildings on 14.3 acres of land next to Linden Hills office park. One of those buildings would be for commercial use. An accompanying six-acre parking facility would be located in Brighton. The project has attracted criticism from neighbors, preservationists and others who worry that the scope is too intense for the site and that it could jeopardize the environmentally sensitive Nature Park.

"We know we're under the microscope on this project," says Penfield Director of Planning Doug Fox. "We have to be very, very careful."

At last night's work session, Planning Board members agreed to send a letter to Nightingale, stating their concerns about the project's intensity, its impact on the area, and the potential environmental fallout. They requested a supplemental environmental statement from Nightingale and said the amount of parking planned exceeds what's allowed by town code.

They also came out against a proposed 6,000-square-foot commercial building, which is part of the project. The property would have to be rezoned for the building, and the board is "not supportive" of that, Fox says.  The final decision, however, would be made by the Town Board. The Planning Board, he says, merely acts as an advisory agency. No application for a rezoning has been made.

How Penfield proceeds will be determined by how things shake out in Brighton, Fox says. The parking on the Brighton end is crucial, he says, and if Brighton shoots down or scales back that part of the proposal, the developer would have to come up with an alternative to satisfy Penfield officials.

Brighton's Conservation Board will meet at 7 p.m. on October 9 to discuss environmental concerns related to the project. The meeting is in the Stage Conference Meeting Room at Brighton Town Hall, 2300 Elmwood Avenue. The developer will present the project to Brighton's Planning Board at 6:30 p.m. October 24, also at Town Hall. Public comment will not be allowed at the second meeting.