Three different housing styles would be near town park under plans
A developer is bringing to the Town of Bethlehem plans to build a multiple-housing-type subdivision to North Bethlehem.
Fiske Construction presented preliminary plans to the town’s Development Planning Committee on Thursday, Dec. 16. The development, if built, would contain 33 units and be located off of Russell Road, near the Indian Hills subdivision.
In its current form, nine homes would be larger, colonial-style homes similar to those found in Indian Hills, eight would be twin homes and the 20 lots closest to Russell Road would have smaller cottage style homes. The housing would all be in the same design style.
Francis Bossolini, representing Fiske, said market conditions were a factor in considering the mixed subdivision.
The $300,000 and $400,000 home is not something you can sell anywhere you want anymore, he said.
The colonial homes would likely be around the same price point as homes in Indian Hills, but the townhomes and cottage homes would be around $250,000 to $300,000, he continued.
The town recently approved another, larger housing project off of Fisher Boulevard in Slingerlands that has a variety of housing types.
`I think it’s consistent with our [comprehensive] plan, providing a mix of housing,` Director of Economic Development and Planning Michael Morelli said of Fiske’s plan.
The developer is proposing a conservation subdivision, which would have more open space than normally required in the zoning code. The fact a National Grid corridor bisects the property, however, might make meeting the special requirements of a conservation project difficult, as the open space requirement calls for the land to be contiguous.
`You’re going to have to show the board that the conservational layout is approvable,` Town Planner Jeffrey Lipnicky said. `I think the 33 [lots] is a stretch given the land constraints that you got out there.`
Bossolini, though, said he feels the plans are well within the spirit of the zoning code, and thinks review boards will see the separate National Grid corridor should be considered part of the project’s open space.
`I think there’s a lot of positives to a conservation design,` he said.
Among those pluses is it spaces out the distance between new homes and already existing ones, which the developer hopes would soften any issues that people living there now might have.
Another way to make the project more palatable would be to build a path leading to the town’s North Bethlehem Park across Russell Road. Morelli was adamant about the need for such a path.
`It would be very desirable to have a pedestrian or multipurpose path…over to the park,` he said. `The easier you make it to get to the park, the more utilized I think it becomes.`
Fiske will make some design changes suggested by the DPC ` an informal, preliminary review entity ` and return to the town.“
