The Clifton Park Town Board approved a new leash law for the town at its Monday, Sept. 15, meeting. Long in the works, the law requires dog owners to leash their pets anywhere in town except for their own property and two of the town’s parks.
The law will go into effect on Oct. 30, at which time dog owners will need a $30 permit to let their dogs off leash at either Mary Jane Row Dog Park (where the fee was already required) or Kinns Road Park. The former will still be for town residents only, while applications for Kinns Road will be accepted from all over the county.
The law has been controversial ever since it was proposed months ago, with proponents arguing the law provides safe opportunities to dog owners and detractors saying they don’t want Kinns Road overrun by roaming dogs.
Town Board members say that the law strikes a balance between those positions though, and that potential unruly behavior or unauthorized use by canines can be controlled by putting the user fees toward the animal control office.
All those fees that come from this are going to go into our animal control office, said Councilman Scott Hughes.
Supervisor Philip Barrett called the fee `moderate and appropriate` in light of efforts to keep town taxes at a minimum.
`The changes are not only for the betterment but also for the safety and enjoyment of all residents who use Kinns Road Park and all parks in town,` said Barrett.
The board noted that the town has other parks available for residents who don’t care for the off-leash environment, and more are on the way with the upcoming Route 146 Park.
The board will revisit the leash law in six month to make sure it works properly in Kinns Road.
`This is a positive step for the town and I hope it works well,` said Hughes. `If not, we’ll have to look at it again.`
Communications law passes
The Town Board passed another piece of controversial legislation with a revision of the town’s communications towers law. The 1998 law was also modified in 2000, but this iteration places further restrictions on where and how communications companies can erect towers in Clifton Park.
The vote occurred just days before the expiration of a moratorium on cell tower applications set for Sept. 18.
Town officials praise the law as a way to protect the town from overdevelopment as the demand for wireless service rises, and say it is as strong as federal regulations allow.
`We have literally done everything in our power to protect our citizens while adhering to FCC regulations,` said Councilman Hughes.
The law now requires new towers to be placed at least 500 feet from residential properties. It also bolsters the application fee to $5,000 for new towers and encourages providers to use collocation, or placing antennas on already existing towers or other structures.
While many residents who have spoken on the law in the past supported it, industry representatives have criticized some provisions as excessively constrictive and even illegal. Town attorneys took an extra week to review the law before Monday’s unanimous vote.
According to Barrett, the goal of the law is to strike a compromise between interests. `What we are really trying to do is provide a balance between the Federal Communication Act and the protection it provides to cell-phone providers, the need for service and the residents of Clifton Park,` he said.
Preliminary plans for Route 146 Park
The town is on its way to utilizing a 150-acre open space off of Route 146 as a park. An open space subcommittee has been studying options.
Frank Palumbo of the design firm CT Male presented the committee’s suggestions to the Town Board. Comments from the public were collected at a Thursday, Sept. 11, meeting and will be incorporated into future designs.
It has been the town’s desire to develop the park for year-round passive use, and to that end, Palumbo sketched out 3.75 miles of trails that would wind through the park and range from easily accessible asphalt paths to maintained foot trails. The park is bordered to the north by Saratoga PLAN open space property, so there might be trail linkage in the future.
Most of the park’s facilities would lie in the southern portion of the property, near Route 146. In its `very conceptual` rendition, the park would have a large playing field, a playground, skating pond, sledding/tubing hill, parking, an outdoor amphitheatre and a number of pavilions of various sizes.
The pavilions themselves would be built in a style complementing the historical area. `We could take selected architectural style from farm buildings so that the scenic character of 146 could be maintained,` said Palumbo.“
