Paver Patios, Walkways and Stone Steps in Skaneateles

Skaneateles Lake is the City of Syracuse's drinking water supply and the watershed carries its own rules. A project located in an environmentally sensitive area that disturbs 5,000 square feet or more of land is required to submit an Erosion and Stormwater Control Plan, and the guidance states that this applies to most of the Skaneateles Lake Watershed. Copies of the plan must be submitted to the City of Syracuse Water Department at least ten business days before any land disturbance activity, and anyone building a project that needs a local building permit, another land disturbance permit or a shoreline permit must also send copies of the application to the City of Syracuse Water Department.

Source: The Skaneateles Lake Watershed Website, Soil and Erosion Plans, published by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County with support from the City of Syracuse, under the Skaneateles Lake Watershed Rules and Regulations, accessed 2026-09-14

The Town of Skaneateles is the exception to the stormwater regime that covers the rest of this metro. Its annex to the county hazard mitigation plan records that it is not a regulated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, has no stormwater management plan and is not a member of the Central New York Stormwater Coalition, though it does have a stormwater management ordinance. The Village of Skaneateles records that it is a regulated MS4 but has neither a stormwater management ordinance nor a stormwater management plan. Every other municipality in this metro, including Clay, Cicero, Camillus, Manlius, Salina, DeWitt, Onondaga, Lysander, Marcellus and the villages of Baldwinsville, Liverpool, Solvay, East Syracuse, North Syracuse, Fayetteville, Manlius, Marcellus and Camillus, records MS4 designation, a stormwater ordinance, a stormwater plan and Coalition membership.

Source: Onondaga County, New York, 2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan, Town of Skaneateles Annex and Village of Skaneateles Annex, Onondaga County Department of Planning, accessed 2026-09-14

In the Town of Skaneateles, 12.9 percent of the mapped soil area is classed poorly drained, somewhat poorly drained or very poorly drained, and 41.8 percent is classed well drained. Honeoye silt loam covers about 19.7 percent of the town on 3 to 8 percent slopes and about 9.2 percent on 8 to 15 percent slopes, Lima silt loam about 12.4 percent, and about 12.7 percent of the mapped area is open water, which is Skaneateles Lake.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Geographic Database for Onondaga County New York, survey area NY067, queried through the Soil Data Access service, accessed 2026-09-14

Median owner-occupied home value, owner-occupancy rate and the share of housing that is single-family detached vary widely across this metro. Skaneateles village reports a median value of 647,100 dollars with 75.5 percent owner occupancy, the Town of Skaneateles 457,800 dollars, Radisson 313,600 dollars, the DeWitt census place 297,600 dollars, the Town of Lysander 288,400 dollars, Manlius village 263,300 dollars, Fayetteville village 258,700 dollars, the Town of Manlius 253,600 dollars, the Town of Marcellus 245,700 dollars, the Town of DeWitt 243,500 dollars, Marcellus village 225,600 dollars, the Town of Cicero 221,200 dollars, Baldwinsville village 219,900 dollars, the Town of Camillus 209,000 dollars, the Town of Clay 205,900 dollars, Liverpool village 189,600 dollars, the Town of Van Buren 169,600 dollars, Camillus village 164,200 dollars, North Syracuse village 163,000 dollars, the Town of Salina 160,500 dollars, Solvay village 150,000 dollars, the City of Syracuse 138,400 dollars and East Syracuse village 126,200 dollars. The county median is 200,200 dollars.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25003 Tenure, table B25077 Median Value, and table B25024 Units in Structure, accessed 2026-09-14

The hardscape industry's own base specification is short and checkable. It states that the thickness of the base is determined by traffic, soil type, subgrade soil drainage and moisture, and climate; that sidewalks, patios and pedestrian areas should have a minimum base thickness after compaction of 4 inches over well-drained soils; that residential driveways on well-drained soils should be at least 6 inches thick; and that in colder climates, continually wet or weak soils will require that bases be thicker.

Source: Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements, accessed 2026-09-14

Compaction is a measurable number, not a matter of judgment. The specification states that compaction of the soil subgrade is critical to the performance of interlocking concrete pavements, that adequate compaction will minimize settlement, and that compaction should be at least 98 percent of standard Proctor density as specified in ASTM D698. It adds that this compaction standard may not be achievable in extremely saturated or very fine soils and that stabilization of the soil subgrade may be necessary in those situations.

Source: Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements, accessed 2026-09-14

Two further numbers from the same document. Base material is to be spread and compacted in 4 to 6 inch lifts using a 7,000 pound-force reversible plate compactor, with thinner lifts required for compactors in the 5,000 pound-force range. And the finished surface must drain: slopes should be a minimum of 1.5 percent.

Source: Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements, accessed 2026-09-14

Unit paving is a flexible pavement and it is designed to move. The specification notes that the top of installed pavers may be set 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the final elevations to compensate for possible minor settling, and states directly that a small amount of settling is typical of all flexible pavements.

Source: Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements, accessed 2026-09-14

The hardscape specification carries its own cold weather rule, and it is absolute: frozen base material should not be installed, nor should material be placed over a frozen soil subgrade.

Source: Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements, accessed 2026-09-14