It may have taken over a year, but a Malta family living in an R-1 residential zone will soon have their horse living on their land.
The Town of Malta Planning Board approved a special use permit to allow Jim and Mary Pellerin to keep one horse on their 10-acre property located at 404 Eastline Road. It brings to a close a long journey that began when they purchased a quarter horse for their daughter, only to find the town didn’t allow equines to live in residential areas.
The entire family was in high spirits after the Tuesday, Aug. 19, decision.
I was holding my breath the whole time, said Mary Pellerin.
She said that if Gus gets lonely, she might consider coming back with another application (although two horses would be plenty for her).
The family is eager to bring Gus to his permanent home. The Pellerins appeared numerous times before the Town Board before it decided in July to allow R-1 residents with at least 3 acres of land to apply for a special use permit to keep a horse. The decision was applauded by local equestrian advocates.
The Pellerins moved ahead quickly with a permit application, securing a spot on the agenda at the next available Planning Board meeting.
Several neighbors of the Pellerins came to the meeting, which allowed for public comment.
Kate Bailey, who lives on Eastline Road and is active in the equestrian community, spoke not only of the Pellerins’ situation but the need to allow equestrian use in general.
`The Pellerins have been seeking the best advice possible on the management issues,` she said. `This is a positive use of land, and I don’t see how it would be detrimental to the vision of the Town of Malta.`
The board was primarily concerned with how Gus’s manure would be handled and the effect it would have on nearby wells. It was decided that the proposed manure pile was in the proper location though, and discussion was closed quickly.
Mary Pellerin said that she hopes to bring Gus home before her daughter turns 11 on Sept. 10. All that remains to be done is the installation of some fencing, and then the quest will be at an end.
There are currently no other special use applications before the Planning Board, but Bailey expressed hope that more horse-loving residents will come forward now that the door has been opened.
`I think now people have the idea that it’s not a massive undertaking,` she said. `If people have a plan, do the research and try to do it the right way, it can be done.`
Bank headquarters plans
The Planning Board also heard a proposal from an Oneonta-based bank for a regional headquarters to be constructed on Route 9 in Malta.
The banker is now entering the approval process after meeting with town officials several times before, and the board got a chance to see its vision for the structure.
Though Wilber National Bank has branches across the state, its presence in the Capital District is not overpowering. There is a branch in Halfmoon, newly opened last May.
`If you didn’t go to college in Oneonta, you may have never heard of Wilber National Bank,` said Robert Hayes, senior vice president of mortgage lending and market development for Wilber.
Wilber has plans to `add additional support` in the Capital District, however. A part of those plans is the three-story regional headquarters. The first floor will house a full spread of banking operations, complete with a three-lane, drive-through teller, while the second and third floors will accommodate company offices.
Wilber wants to build the structure at 2439 Route 9, right next to the Saratoga Village entrance. The preliminary plan calls for about 150 parking spaces, which some board members felt was excessive, especially considering the headquarters would lie within the boundaries of Malta’s burgeoning downtown.
`Part of the concept of creating a downtown is that there is a pedestrian orientation rather than a car orientation,` said board member Carrie Woerner. Accordingly, it was suggested the entrance should be placed out front instead of near the parking lot.
Hayes said that some 30 employees can be expected on each floor of the building, though not all will be new hires.
A number of mobile homes to the south would lie close to the parking lot in the proposed plan. The Planning Board will have to decide how to best contact the renters about the project, since notification of such matters goes to land owners.
A more detailed version of the plan will most likely appear before the Planning Board in October.“