Why Cazenovia

Why David Chose Cazenovia

When David was about seven years old, he moved from Richmond, Virginia, to Beaverdam, Virginia.

Shortly after he moved, the community embarked on this program of development. It was really sad for David. The woods and open spaces were bulldozed down to the red dirt. He couldn't walk it anymore. He goes back to Beaverdam now, and so many buildings have deteriorated.

After college, David lived in Richmond, Virginia for ten years and then moved to Oakland, California. Oakland is a very walkable city and was beautiful, but David's job had him traveling too much, and he was ready to get off the road.

The minute David drove into Cazenovia on Route 92, and made the turn onto Route 20, he knew he liked the area. He remembers seeing the lake and the welcome sign. He then drove past Lorenzo and the Brewster Inn and into the village. It was charming. He and his family decided to relocate.

David describes Cazenovia's uniqueness as its "brand.” It's what attracts people to live here and it's worth keeping. “You can't reproduce it,” he says.

After moving to the area, David became involved in the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF) because he wanted to help maintain and enhance that brand. He wanted to be able to be a steward and have his voice heard. The land doesn't have a voice, but David imagines that if it did, it wouldn't ask for a gas station [to be built upon it] or to be paved over.

As Cazenovia makes development compromises to remain a vibrant community, David wants the decisions to be ones of "smart development" and "smart progress.” He asks, "Will this be something that will be valuable, not just today, but in 50 years... in a 100 years?"

“The difference in participating with CPF is that we get to enjoy CPF's work now, as well as the future generations,” he says. He encourages everybody that loves Cazenovia to get involved with CPF.

When David tells people where he lives, they reply that they love Cazenovia, that they think that the village and lake are beautiful. They like that it's walkable and they love driving through the village.

CPF members are stewards that look out for the land. They protect it for today's enjoyment but also for future generations.