BETHLEHEM A 52-home development decades in the making is closer to getting town approval.
At the Brookhill development off Blessing Road in North Bethlehem, which already contains 27 homes, developers are proposing 52 more houses on land bordered by Krumkill Stables.
At the Tuesday, Dec. 15, Planning Board meeting with public hearing, applicants David and Dennis Quadrini presented their plans.
As Brookhill homes are only accessible from Broadhaven Road, off of Blessing Road, the planning and zoning boards a new roadway will be built, which aims to reduce traffic.
Possible locations include an additional fourth entrance at the roundabout on Krumkill Road or more likely, an additional street off of Blessing Road.
For decision on roadway allocation, plans were flagged to Town Board for discussion.
Children living in the Brookhill development attend Guilderland School District schools, attending Westmere Elementary School, Farnsworth Middle School and Guilderland High School, despite the development’s location in the Town of Bethlehem.
Existing homes are valued at over $500,000 and were built in the early 1990s.
In 2012 the Quadrinis were approved for 54 lots on 62 acres. The development itself was approved in 2000.
“A number of things including a town moratorium, failing economy and a traffic study held up the developers. Basically what I’m trying to say is that this has been around for a long time. This is not a new project at all,” said Town Planner Jeff Lipnicky.
The project has already come far, with preliminary plat approval achieved after negative declarations were given for environmental, geological, historical and traffic impact and a review from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation extinguished fears that the development would disturb habitats of the Karner Blue butterfly, an endangered species.
Since that time, however, preliminary plat approvals have expired, necessitating a second public hearing, where traffic concerns were brought up.
Since at least the 1990s the town has been examining traffic in North Bethlehem, as part of a master plan to reduce traffic town-wide.
One possible solution lies in creating a road to connect Blessing Road to Schoolhouse Road, bypassing Krumkill Road entirely.
“It’s really time to re-evlauate this intersection and consider whether it’s time to improve it,” said Planning Board Chairman John Smolinsky.
Smolinsky has recently been re-appointed to his position as Planning Board Chairman after Town Board sent notice in November for applicants for the position, as his five year term on the board expires in 2015. He has served as chairman for two years, with nine years total of Planning Board experience.