Landowner wants her property zoning returned to industrial
A Colonie resident is asking the Town Board to not vote for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission’s agenda after accusing the organization of creating its own moratorium in the preserve area, as well as down-zoning areas near her family’s home.
Suzanne Perry-Potts said the commission down-zoned 800 acres in the preserve from industrial to single-family residential and commercial properties.
Potts currently has a resolution before the Town Zoning Board to change to zoning of her property back to industrial, where her family owns 25 acres of land, or Business E. She added that there are approximately 60 owners in the 600-acre area that want the zoning to be changed back to industrial.
The Pine Bush Preserve Commission’s plan will go before the Town Board on Sept. 16, for a vote. If the plan is accepted, it will be posted on the town’s Environmental Notice Bulletin on Sept. 22, for consideration from the public for at least 10 days. The commission will then meet on Oct. 7.
According to Potts, some of the area Pine Bush Executive Director Christopher Hawver and Neil Gifford wanted to preserve included the residence of former Town Board Member Ulderic J. Boisvert, whose property was raised to industrial from Business E, a move she felt was wrong.
`They allowed Boisvert to go to industrial so he could vote yes,` said Potts. `Since he was getting a benefit, he shouldn’t have even voted. It also went against the comprehensive plan that said no property would be intensively zoned.`
Potts said the commission was not acting effectively.
`They should have spoken out on the increase on Boisvert’s property, but they did not,` she said. `It kind of makes you wonder why they didn’t. Mr. Gifford was there and he did not do his job.`
Potts also said the commission changed figures for their survey. She said she fears this act of down-zoning will drastically reduced the property value of some of the homes around the area, according to Potts.
`They do this to make the property cost less so the preserve can purchase land at a lower value,` she said.
As a property owner, Pine Bush Preserve Commission Executive Director Christopher Hawver said he understands Potts’ concerns, but said the rezoning of the areas was done by the Town Board.
`We never asked to have the area rezoned,` said Hawver. `We’re not interested in down-zoning to develop property, that’s just wrong.`
Potts also said Gifford had created a moratorium on residential development in the Pine Bush Preserve area during the Comprehensive Planning process in 2005, which Hawver said was discussed with the commission but was never implemented.
On the commission were a group of residents, the Save the Pine Bush group and the town attorney. Hawver said the idea of the moratorium was to hold off on any residential development until they were able to come up with a `new vision` and use it as a road map to move forward.
The commission’s next quarterly meeting will be on Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m. at the Discovery Center at 195 New Karner Road in Albany.
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