The New Scotland commercial zone advisory committee presented the Town Board with a progress report at the Wednesday, Aug. 14, meeting and suggested a moratorium extension might be necessary.
The committee outlined some of its proposed guidelines, including the desire for a mixed-use overlay zone, which would allow for some residential development while preventing commercial establishments with a regional draw. The committee also stressed a need for a cap on commercial building size and having provisions that provide leniency for exceeding the cap. It has not, however, agreed on a building size cap.
New Scotland currently has a moratorium on commercial development, meaning no new commercial buildings over 30,000 square feet can be constructed until the moratorium expires on Nov. 21.
The moratorium was put in place in response to public outcry against the proposed $4 million development of a 179-acre plot of land known as the Bender melon farm. Sphere Development LLC, a company based near Syracuse had plans to develop the land owned by MLF Enterprises, but the Town Board decided to place a moratorium on large commercial developments until the town could study the comprehensive plan.`
The advisory committee has been charged with overhauling the commercial zoning regulations to better fit with the comprehensive plan, set forth by the town.
The `comprehensive plan` lays out the overall vision as to how New Scotland should be zoned.
`Everyone seems to be content with our progress,` said John Biscone, one of the advisory committee members.
Biscone said the advisory committee will most likely be finished with its final recommendations for meshing the zoning regulations and the comprehensive plan within the next two months, however the Town Board might need additional time to review those recommendations, extending past the end of the moratorium.
`We’ll probably be done [with our recommendation] in 60 days,` Biscone said.
He said, though, that by the time the Town Board reviews their recommendations and conducts its own public hearings, it could be an additional 60 or 90 days. They then have the option of extending the moratorium or reviewing the committee’s recommendation without extending it beyond its deadline.
New Scotland Town Supervisor Tom Dolin said an extension on the moratorium is `50/50` at this point.
`I don’t think we’ll know until September,` he said. `It’s a matter of how fast [the advisory committee] gets their report in.`
He said he does not expect it will be more than three or four months before the advisory committee makes their final report and the town board conducts its own reviews.
Once the town gets past determining an appropriate building cap, Dolin said, it will have gotten over its biggest challenge.
Bob Prentiss, a resident and former state assemblyman, has been an outspoken critic of the proposed commercial development at the Bender melon farm site. He said he supports the moratorium and careful examination of the zoning laws, as discussed at the meeting.
He also said he hopes New Scotland, after it makes its changes to the zoning laws, does not let the area become overrun with traffic and regional commercial structures.
`Clearly, the comprehensive master plan recommends against ‘large, regionally drawing commercial operations,’ identifies ‘small-scale stores as the preferred type of commercial development,’ and allows for mixed-use buildings to meet local residents’ needs,` he said in a written statement.
He said Crossgates, Glenmont and the Colonie Shopping Plaza are within 10 minutes and can accommodate large regional commercial needs.
`After reviewing the comprehensive master plan, existing zoning regulations and the Commercial Zone Advisory Committee’s Report, I therefore would join with other citizens tonight in supporting at least a 50,000-square-foot building size cap on all retail and wholesale trade,` he added. “