Village of Colonie VILLAGE HALL PLANNING COMMISSION 2 THUNDER ROAD COLONIE, NY 12205 ALBANY COUNTY (518) 869-7562 NEW YORK FAX (518) 464-0389 email: ahart@colonievillage.org PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2020 6:30 P.M. A public hearing scheduled for the Village of Colonie Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 at the Village Family Recreation Center at 3 Thunder Rd Albany, NY 12205 ROLL CALL: Chairman Chris Dennis Commissioners: John Martin Peter Chudzinski Kenny Hart Dan Judge (Absent) Jim Splonskowski Mark Keegan, alternate Village Attorney: Victor Caponera Village Engineer: R.J. Laberge Code Enforcement: Mike Cerone Chairman Dennis opened the public hearing at 6:30 p.m. APPLICANT: 31 VLY ROAD CAPITAL CHURCH INC. (MINOR SUBDIVISION) Mr. Nick Costa from Advance Engineering was present before the Commission to present a minor subdivision application for 31 Vly Road. Mr. Costa stated that Capital Church Inc. is looking into dividing the existing parcel into two lots. Mr. Costa explained that the existing lot is about 14 acres and the application proposes lot one to be 2.8 acres and the remaining 11 acres will create lot two. Mr. Costa stated that lot two will be proposed to be further subdivided in the future but is not included in this subdivision application. , Mr. Costa indicated on the site plan the boundary lines of the proposed lot two, stating that the back end abuts Saddlewood Elementary School with frontage on Hillside Ave and Chris Place. Lot one has frontage along Vly Road. Mr. Costa explained that the application also requests site plan approval for lot one which includes some minor site plan items. Attorney Caponera asked Mr. Costa to explain the site plan improvements for lot one. Mr. Costa stated that there is a proposed pavement reduction at the main entrance with delineated ingress 1 VILLAGE OF COLONIE PUBLIC HEARING PLANNING COMMISSION AUGUST 4, 2020 and egress. Mr. Costa stated that due to the proposed changes the site may gain some additional parking spots and excess blacktop will be removed. The Commission did not add further comment and Chairman Dennis opened the meeting to public comment. Ms. Colleen Edgell, 23 Vly Road: Ms. Edgell is also representing her mother who resides at 25 Vly Road. Ms. Edgell stated that the church has a narrow entrance at Vly Road, if a builder develops lot two, people can access the parking lot at any time. Mac Drive should no be used as a thru street. Engineer Laberge stated that there is no access to rear lot from Vly Road. The only available access points would be Hillside Ave and Chris Pl. Ms. Edgall stated that during lunch and rush hour traffic is backed up on Vly Road. She hopes that the lots would not be used as a cut thru. She added that traffic will affect the neighborhood and there will be many accidents. Ms. Edgall believes that there are too many houses proposed. Ms. Judy Canniff, 6 Chris Place: Ms. Canniff stated that there is lot next to 19 Maple Drive that is just used as green space and asked why that would not be considered as an access point. Chairman Dennis stated that that lot was on the map as a future street that never came to fruition. Currently, there is no proposal to make that a road. Ms. Canniff stated that there are already 75 houses in the neighborhood, and it is busy with the elementary school traffic. There are cars and buses lined up on the streets after school and all side streets get blocked. Ms. Canniff stated that it was poor planning to have only one way in and out at Saddlewood School. Ms. Canniff explained that the area is poorly designed, especially for emergencies. She shared an example of when a house on Sebring caught fire and cars could not pass through due to the water hoses, even the school could not dismiss the students properly. Ms. Canniff stated that it appears that the school is undergoing renovations and expanding, doubling the parking. With more houses, more families will move in and further crowd the school. Ms. Canniff stated that main concerns are the traffic, noise, and crowding of the neighborhood. Wildlife will have to go somewhere and who knows what the effect will be. Ms. Canniff stated that one application effects the other and she would like to know how the subdivision and future development will be accessed. Ms. Canniff stated that she does not want all the traffic to use the neighborhood as a cut through to and from Central Ave. Mr. Gregory Ketz – 25 Maple Drive: Mr. Ketz stated that there was once a blueprint of Hillside Ave. and in the backyard of houses showed a parcel of unplanned land owned by AT&T. Mr. Ketz asked if anyone knew anything about it. Mr. Costa stated that nothing like that came up on the survey of unclaimed land. There is a drainage easement out to Vly Road. Mr. John Moore – 4 Hillside Ave: Mr. Moore stated that he has lived on Hillside for 51 years when it was once a dirt road swamp. Mr. Moore stated that he attended several Town of Colonie Planning Board meetings Page 2 of 3 VILLAGE OF COLONIE PUBLIC HEARING PLANNING COMMISSION AUGUST 4, 2020 when Rosetti put up condos at 57 Vly Road. Mr. Moore stated that Rosetti proposed 18 units but negotiated down to 16 and moved the entrance to 155 from Vly Road. Mr. Moore stated that Vly Road is very dangerous and there has been a few accidents of cars running into the curve barriers. There are no sidewalks in the neighborhood. Mr. Moore explained that after 3:30pm it is very difficult to get out of Hillside Ave. when the traffic gets backed up. Mr. Moore also stated that there are several speeders on Hillside Ave. and some get up to 55 mph when going down the hill. Mr. Moore stated that at the other end of lot 2 is the elementary school and district offices he suggested that the district office gets notified of the proposed project. With the additional houses, there will be at least 70 more cars added to the streets with no where to go on Vly Road. Mr. Moore explained that the opening to Chris Place is wider than Hillside and if cars are parked on the street then it is impossible for traffic to pass. Mr. Moore stated that proposed lot two is the last large green space in the Village, wildlife currently there will have nowhere to go. Mr. Moore stated that several years ago a nursing home was proposed however the Village did not approve the project. He asked why that was. A resident in the audience stated that the neighborhood was against that type of development. Attorney Caponera stated that the project would have required a use variance which is extremely difficult to get. Ms. Brooke Ketz – 25 Maple Drive: Ms. Ketz stated that she received the letter and public notice and stated no one was given maps that are being shown tonight. Ms. Ketz stated that the neighborhood is good, walkable, and safe. Cypress Street is a paper street and people will be using it as a thru street from Central Ave. Ms. Ketz stated that the duplexes on Hillside Ave. are rented out and the police have been called on the renters a few times. The renters also shoot guns into their backyard. Ms. Ketz asks that the neighborhood is left as is. Without any further comment from the floor, Coordinator Hart read into record an e-mail received from Mr. Jim Elia at 19 Maple Drive. The letter is attached hereto. Attorney Caponera explained that the Planning Commission has a choice to either close the public hearing tonight or keep it open. Should the public hearing be closed, the Commission has 62 days to render a decision. Commissioner Martin made a motion to close the public hearing. Commissioner Hart seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous to close the public hearing at 7:04 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Alexandra M. Hart Planning Coordinator Village of Colonie Page 3 of 3