On Tuesday, Feb. 6, the Rotterdam planning commission unanimously voted that, under the state environmental quality review act (SEQRA), the proposed Helderberg Meadows would not have a significantly adverse effect on the environment.
The 314-acre parcel of land, located north of County Line Road, south of the Thruway and bisected by Guilderland Road, is being developed by several parties calling themselves Helderberg Meadows LLC. The plans consist of 161 single-family lots and 100 condominium units broken up into two parts.
The plans have been before the planning commission since 1997 and have changed several times, including the elimination of a golf course and several lots. The project’s current plan would set aside 63 percent of the land for conservation.
At the Tuesday, Feb. 6 meeting, the main concerns about the project were about Masullo Estates, the neighborhood next to the project. Masullo Estates has had many problems with high water tables and flooding in the past.
Planning commission mem-bers said they had no reason to believe Helderberg Meadows would have any adverse effects on Masullo Estates and would pass all aspects of SEQRA.
Planning commission vice chairman Frank Renna said, There is no way I would be in favor of the project if I wasn’t assured that there would be no negative impact to Masullo Estates, and I have been assured by three different engineers that it wouldn’t, so I’m changing my opinion.
Engineer Brett Steenburgh assured the planning commission and town residents that the project’s storm water management plan would ensure that no more water would back up into Masullo Estates and Joel Bianchi, the town’s independent engineer, agreed.
Residents were not convinced, and many voiced their opinions during the public hearing. Their main concerns were about water, additional traffic in the area and the safety of the development.
Water has been a major concern throughout this whole project.
Lee Harrison, a resident of Masullo Estates who said he had a Ph.D. in civil engineering, was upset about Helderberg Meadows’ water management plan. He was afraid that development in the area would hinder the plans for fixing the water problem in Masullo Estates.
The developers of Helderberg Meadows paid for a study to test the effects the proposed subdivision would have on Masullo Estates. Steenburgh said the study found that the development would have virtually no impact on the existing neighborhood and in fact may help it because proper drainage would be in place and maintained on the property.
The study also found that groundwater travels northeast to southwest from Masullo Estates toward the proposed development.
The project also calls for a sewer line through the subdivision, which residents of Masullo Estates would be able to hook up to at a later date.
Steenburgh said the development would cause an additional 250 trips per hour around the area, something that residents were not pleased about. Because both County Line Road is a county highway and Guilderland Avenue is a state highway, the decision as to the safety of those roads is up to the county highways department and the state Department of Transportation, both of which have given this project conceptual approval.
Steenburgh changed his plans to accommodate both fire districts that would be serving this area. Steenburgh said fire and emergency services personnel wanted the water mains to be 10 inches wide instead of the original eight inches.
Resident Michael O’Connor said, `We are looking at a type of project that defies engineering. I guarantee there will be some future problem with this project, whether it’s water or traffic and safety.`
Planning Commission Chair-man Lawrence DiLallo said that because no one on the commission is an engineer, it is the commission’s job to rely on the expertise of other people and then weigh the facts.
`We rely on the expertise of the applicant, and we rely on the expertise of the town-hired engineer and the state DOT and we weigh the evidence,` DiLallo said.
DiLallo said all the studies that have been done in the past years have given the commission no reason to issue anything but a negative declaration, allowing the project to go forward. “
