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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20230358 182 Excelsior Area Variance Public Comment (4)7/14/23, 10:28 AM Zimbra https://m.saratoga-springs.org/h/printmessage?id=16802&tz=America/New_York 1/2 From :noreply@civicplus.com Subject :Online Form Submittal: Land Use Board Agenda Public Comment To :julia destino <julia.destino@saratoga-springs.org>, aneisha samuels <aneisha.samuels@saratoga-springs.org>, susanna combs <susanna.combs@saratoga-springs.org> Zimbra julia.destino@saratoga-springs.org Online Form Submittal: Land Use Board Agenda Public Comment Fri, Jul 14, 2023 10:23 AM CAUTION: This email originated outside of the City network. Please contact IT Support if you need assistance determining if it's a threat before opening attachments or clicking any links. Land Use Board Agenda Public Comment SUBMIT COMMENTS REGARDING CITY PROJECTS Thank you for submitting your comments. Your feedback will be forwarded to the City's Planning Department and Land Use Board members. NOTE: Comments submitted later than 12:00 noon on the day before the Land Use Board meeting may not be reviewed prior to their meeting. All comments will be added to the project file in the Planning Department. Land Use Board Zoning Board of Appeals Name Laura Rappaport Email Address LYRappaport@gmail.com Business Name Field not completed. Address 22 EXCELSIOR SPRING AVE City SARATOGA SPRINGS State NY Zip Code 12866 Phone Number 5182481391 Project Name 182 Excelsior Avenue Project Number Field not completed. Project Address 182 EXCELSIOR AVE 7/14/23, 10:28 AM Zimbra https://m.saratoga-springs.org/h/printmessage?id=16802&tz=America/New_York 2/2 Comments Neighbors oppose the area variance application, as creating too much density. Comments from Excelsior Neighborhood Group attached. Issues of traffic, open space, neighborhood & community charactor. ZBA is not to base its decision on an applicants' economic interests. Attach Photo (optional)ZBA PH Comments on 182 Excelsior. Rappaport.docx Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. July 10, 2023 RE: 182 Excelsior Ave. ZBA application for area variance. Submitted by Laura Rappaport, for the Excelsior Neighborhood Group 22 Excelsior Spring Ave. 518-248-1391 The Excelsior Neighborhood Group does not oppose the project per se. We want the developers to scale it back and fit the current zoning regs. We ask you to deny the application for an area variance. And we ask for community dialogue. The proposed project is located at a very tricky spot: a hill, a blind spot, a T- intersection with only one stop sign. 36 new units will only increase the confusion and safety risks here. I refer you to the comments submitted today by neighbor Daniel Berheide, an experienced planner. I suggest you take the time to digest his insightful comments and not vote on the variance until some of his queries are answered. However, if the variance is granted, it must be made conditional on street and infrastructure improvements made by the applicant and/or the city. Excelsior Spring Avenue is notoriously dangerous. Cars speed with no regard to pedestrians/bikers. The road has been on the city complete streets & greenbelt trail map for a while now. This is the perfect time to make the upgrades & connections. Especially with the new bike path on Excelsior Ave. In our 23 years living on this road, we've seen traffic increase in speed, volume, and recklessness. According to traffic data, in the past 10 years, there have been 71 accidents on these 2 roads. I’ve witnessed several of them. The City Zoning and Building Inspector denied the area variance application in June, citing UDO articles 3,4,5 or 8. (document dated June 29, 2023). At its last meeting, however, the Planning Board voted unanimously to give a positive advisory opinion to the ZBA. We believe that the resulting increased allowable density, TEN units, nearly 30 %, above the Comp Plan max for this zone is too dense and sets a poor standard and bad precedent. Our city’s UDO and comp plan were hashed out over many years of thought and deliberation. This piecemeal approach is not good planning. The area variance would create a parcel much smaller than required for the number of units proposed. It would allow just 2228 square feet per dwelling unit, which is 772 square feet or 26% smaller than the 3000 square foot minimum required in the UR-4 District. This means the developer can fit 36 dwelling units in a space the regs say can only handle 26. We implore you to keep the number of new units to the allowed 26. We respectfully disagree with the Planning Board’s view that preserving the existing historic apartment building with 9 or 10 units, is worth what amounts to a density bonus. As to neighborhood character: The surrounding neighborhood is mostly single- family homes. Indeed, all of Excelsior Spring Ave. is single family, except for the former water bottling plant, which is buffered Saratoga PLAN open space land. This part of Excelsior Ave., except for the school, is also all single family. And the property abuts conservation land. Therefore, we also -- respectfully -- disagree with the Planning Board’s SEQRA Neg Dec that this multi-family development will not substantially change the character of the neighborhood. The whole community values the open space and the Spring Run Trail that runs behind the property. 36 new units on this land right next to a valued community natural resource will most definitely change the character of the neighborhood. And will absolutely have an impact on road safety. To grant an area variance, the ZBA must “balance the benefits to the applicant and the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood and community.” The ZBA is not supposed to consider the economics of a project; it is not your job to make the project economically feasible for the developer. Excelsior Neighborhood Group believes that granting the area variance skews the balance in favor of the developer and away from the neighborhood and community.