Several Birchwood Drive residents spoke out against plans for a home-based therapeutic massage business on their street, during a Wednesday, July 2, zoning board meeting.
Ruth Brown, an Air Force veteran, and her business partner Debbieanne Vigneri faced opposition to their plans to run a therapeutic massage business out of 125 Birchwood Drive in Guilderland because residents said the increase in traffic would be a disruption to the neighborhood.
They currently run their business out of space in Stuyvesant Plaza, but Brown said they need more space.
In order to run their business out of 125 Birchwood Drive they need to get a special permit from the zoning board, since Birchwood Drive is a residential neighborhood.
Residents of Birchwood Drive cited an increase in traffic as the key reason for opposing the business.
Rita Hesler has lived on the Birchwood Drive for 56 years and said her family strongly opposes the permit.
Let these people put their business in a commercial area. Not a residential area, said her husband, Tom.
She also read a fax from her son Mark Hesler, whom she said used to sit on several local town boards.
`There are other conforming alternate locations within the town,` Mark Hesler wrote.
`This is a residential community. We have never, in my 50 years here, had a business,` said longtime resident Charles Welge. `When [they] say we won’t have any cars on the road, that’s a lot of baloney,` he said.
Others pointed out the residents don’t oppose the business itself, but the affect it will have on the neighborhood.
`No one is questioning the honesty and integrity of this business. You’re missing the point. This is a residential area, and you’re allowing a business to come into the area,` said Anna Tariello, who also lives on Birchwood Drive.
Brown said she studied the traffic patterns of a four-person family ` two teenage kids and two parents ` and said the traffic is comparable to their busiest day of massaging.
Peter Barber, chairman of zoning board, said he was concerned with the width of the driveway. It only fits one car at a time. He asked if it would be a problem for clients blocking each other in.
Brown said they schedule the appointments with a half hour in between so there is no chance of an overlap of clients.
`We do four-handed massages, and couples massages where there would be only one car at a time,` Brown added. `We show up for our clients. There’s never any waiting in our business.`
Clara Lassale, another Birchwood Drive resident, said she is skeptical of Brown’s claims.
`You wouldn’t be generating anywhere near the amount of traffic speculated by the applicant,` Lassale said.
She said there would be more traffic because most of the families on Birchwood are elderly and do not have children living there anymore.
Some residents were concerned with the economic implications of allowing the business.
Longtime resident Don Nolte said he was worried the value of his property would go down if a commercial business were permitted into the area.
One longtime client vouched for the massage team.
Nathan Kendzierski, who attends sessions with his girlfriend, said they provide a valuable service.
`I work on concrete all day long. On a whim I went to Stuyvesant Plaza, and for the first time I felt amazing,` he said.
One client of Brown and Vigneri’s sympathized with the Birchwood neighbors, but said in the long run, the move will be for the better. She said the scenic view in her backyard was compromised by a residential business.
`Sometimes progress is scary. It’s progress. I dealt with it. It’s not so horrible,` said the client who asked not to be named. `This is a legitimate business, which is clean and upstanding. They go out there to help out the community.`
`I have a lot of things wrong with my body and these things respond well to massage,` said Nancy Heirs, Brown’s landlord.
Brown said she is aware of the stigma of people who practice massage, but pointed out they screen all potential clients.
`It’s about character. We work on one person at a time, we’re not a spa,` she reassured local residents. `We’re not working with people who are dangerous.`
Brown said they never work on people who are under the influence of alcohol because that is illegal.
`It has nothing to do with sex. It is just a therapeutic massage that helps mind and body. They do wonders for people,` said client Carolyn Rand.
`I’m not surprised that there were a lot of fear and concerns. When they really had to bring it back to reality it was about traffic,` Brown said. `We really do want to be a part of the community.`
The board’s decision will rest on if it will generate more traffic than a normal residential house.
A decision will be made at the next meeting of the board on Wednesday, Aug 6. The board will take a closer look at similar permit requests and decide if the traffic generated would be comparable.
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