HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210755 269 Broadway Site Plan Public Comment (23) February 11, 2022
To: Saratoga Springs Planning Board
Design Review Commission
Mayor Ron Kim
Commissioner of Public Works Skip Scirocco
Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino
Re: Planning Board Workshop 2-10-2022
269 Broadway Proposed Mixed Use Commercial Building
We left the above referenced Planning Board virtual workshop both encouraged and disturbed.
Encouraged? Yes, because new members (two regular and one alternate)and one long time member demonstrated that
they are trying hard to educate themselves and/or evaluate serious legitimate public concerns that have been left
unaddressed.
1.) The original GeoTech report envisioned a 5-story building with no excavation below the water table. But the
proposed project has always been for a 6-story building with two underground levels below the water table. This
creates significant risk for neighboring buildings,sidewalks, streets, and underground utilities.
2.) The GeoTech report was updated earlier this month, but only after we raised this issue in writing and a
professional engineer with relevant experience contacted Clough Harbour. The revised GeoTech report indicates
significant risk for neighboring buildings, sidewalks, streets and underground utilities created by excavation for a
two-story below ground garage. As a result:
a. SEQR needs to be revisited. It was approved on November 15, 2022 based on the original GeoTech report
stating that there is no or little impact on land where depth to water table is less than 3 ft.
b. The Planning Board must secure guarantees from the developer that the recommendations in the
GeoTech Report will be incorporated to secure the safety of neighboring buildings, sidewalks, streets and
underground utilities.
c. Consider scaling back the project to eliminate the Geotech issues.
3.) The applicant's Traffic Report (also incomplete and/or inconsistent)skewed the SEQR response to Part 2 because
it does not include Broadway.The address of this building is 269 Broadway. There is no doubt that traffic to this
address will exacerbate existing traffic, delivery and parking issues.
4.) It remains difficult to search the archives.
Disturbed? Yes, because staff and the land use boards as a whole have not adequately heard or addressed serious public
concerns to date.
1.) The opportunity for the public to address serious concerns at public meetings has been severely limited and,
perhaps due to the voluminous applicant submissions and/or difficulty searching the archives, it has been obvious
that many board members have been unaware or have misunderstood those concerns. Our concerns are not
nimbyism. We live in this neighborhood and, along with other public commentors, know and understand the
existing challenges of this neighborhood and city infrastructure that will be exacerbated by this overly massive
project.
2.) The professional engineer,who alerted Clough Harbour about the original GeoTech report, registered for the
virtual meeting last night but his raised hand was ignored. We understand that the public has been allowed to
comment at some workshop meetings. If he had been allowed to speak, he could have clarified the confusion
about the GeoTech report. If he had been allowed more than three minutes, he could have explained that,
although the revised GeoTech report now reflects the mass of the project,the potential negative impact remains
with the two-story underground excavation.This will be risky for the neighborhood and city, even if the required
expensive construction process is followed properly.
We recognize and appreciate that land use board members are unpaid volunteers who generously spend many hours of
their valuable time in public service.This project has been under consideration for two years and there have been some
improvements as the result of land use board efforts. But please don't let quality materials,green roof, energy efficiency,
Green Belt use of the civic space and other positive minor improvements distract you from the major negative impact of
such a massive project in this location on the surrounding neighborhood and city infrastructure.
Please take a fresh look with open eyes. Don't dismiss public concern as nimbyism. Give us the same respect that you
extend the applicant. It is not your job to work to yes. Although the zoning code allows this project, sometimes the
answer needs to be a significant scale back.
Respectfully,
Kathleen Sonnabend
Maree Fox
Myles Gombert
G Larson
Carol Obloy
Robert Sponzo