GLENVILLE – Town residents will have to wait about three weeks for a public hearing about the plan to develop residential and commercial buildings at the old Horstman Farm. Public conversation about the land, between Route 50 and Swaggertown Road in Glenville, was originally scheduled for May 18.
The delay has to do with rules about hearings intended for public participation. While the town adhered to state law requiring municipal employees give residents a five day notice of a hearing, Supervisor Chris Koetzle said the town mistakenly only provided the public with eight days of notice instead of the 10 required under the town’s zoning law.
So, now a special meeting will be held Wednesday, June 1 for residents to provide feedback about the proposed zoning change, Koetzle said.
The town will decide whether or not to designate the proposed property as a mixed-used planned development district. If approved, New York Development Group in Clifton Park would build 11, four-unit condominiums and eight two-unit condos on two parcels of land. The buildings would be two stories. There would also be two buildings, not exceeding 3,500 square feet each, that would have commercial space on the first floor and two or three apartments on the second floors, according to town documents.
One of the two parcels the property consists of is zoned for agricultural use and the other is zoned for community business, Koetzle said.
Horstmans Drive resident Tom Bodden planned to speak at the public hearing Wednesday evening about how the town should pause making a zoning change to the property. He said the town shouldn’t make a zoning change based on someone wanting to develop the land.
“I don’t think that’s the way zoning changes should be made,” he said. Rather, the town should look at what uses fit best for the town and character of the area, he said.
Bodden said the town should use its comprehensive plan and open space plan to decide the best use of the property and take into account issues like the creek in the area and high water table that causes seasonal flooding in the area and what a large development like the one proposed might mean for the water table.
Koetzle said a planned development district is actually better for the neighborhood than just changing the zoning because the district designation would allow the town to negotiate for public benefits like sidewalks.
“This is actually the best way to protect the neighborhood,” he said.
He also said the town’s master plan calls for more diverse housing.
Even if the zoning change is approved the project still has to go back to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Reporter Shenandoah Briere can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at SB_DailyGazette.
Categories: -News-, Scotia Glenville
