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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20230216 118, 121-125 Woodlawn Special Use Permit Public Comment (14) June 19th 2023 Hi Planning Board Members, I am opposed to the approval of a special use permit for 121-125, and 118 Woodlawn as a private social club. I have reviewed the information posted online at, https://lf.saratoga- springs.org/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=435594&dbid=0&repo=SaratogaSprings&cr=1 along with the recording of the meeting from June 15th, https://saratogaspringsny.new.swagit.com/videos/245216 and I have many concerns about this special use permit for a social club. If this is approved it will negatively impact our quiet neighborhood because this social club would be functioning like a restaurant that is open 100 hours a week serving food and alcohol, which would bring increased safety concerns to our neighborhood due to the increased traffic, smells, noise, and alcohol consumption. Based on all the information I have reviewed from the group applying for this special use permit they like to cherry pick and distort information to fit the narrative they need versus what is reality. How can we trust this group? Below are some examples: • The applicant compares their social club to other social clubs that they say are similar, but they are not similar. For example, they compare the 118 Woodlawn social club to the Principessa Elena Society. The Principessa Elena Society does not have traditional dining service. They have a kitchen and serve food for specific events and occasions, but there is no daily breakfast, lunch, or dinner service. Also, the Principessa is accessible to the neighbors in that neighborhood at a fee of $25 per member. • The applicant says it is a social club, not a restaurant, but in their presentation (ex. Maxx London’s and Forno’s) and traffic study they identify it as a restaurant. The special use permit does not allow restaurants. • The applicant says the social club would improve the safety of our neighborhood, because they will be repairing the Church. The applicant is adding to the neighborhood more traffic and introducing a bar along with an operation kitchen (a potential fire hazard). This does not improve safety. It is more likely to reduce safety. • The applicant is distorting the nature of this residential neighborhood saying there are businesses operating within the neighborhood, but these are not comparable to the hours and operation of this proposed social club. On Van Dam St (adjacent to the neighborhood) there are 2 small mom and pop businesses: a Barber Shop and Retail Shop with limited hours and no food/alcohol service. This social club is not similar. • The applicant states their business will not increase the traffic any more than that of the Church. How is this possible when the social club will be open 100 hours a week, whereas the Church had services on Sunday mornings and a few other random gatherings? • The traffic study said the impact was not enough to need a detailed off-site intersection analysis and the impact would not result in significant increases in traffic. This traffic study if flawed. The floor plans accommodate seating for roughly 120 people, yet the traffic study used a comparison of a Fine Dining Restaurant for a maximum of 40 seats. Then they used 12 people for dining and 6 employees. I don’t see how this data aligns with a floor plan of 120 people, 200 members and their guests (which they have not outlined any limitation on the number of guests). Based on this flawed analysis the traffic study said during peak times there would be 31 trips. The traffic study even went on to say the Church would generate more trips, at 104 trips. Here are questions I would like the planning board and applicant to address: • If this gets approved, what is the mechanism to ensure the applicant ’s representation and assurances are enforced? Assurances such as there will be no events, no weddings, no sleeping quarters, no outdoor activities, no bands, snow removal will not be pushed into city streets, etc. • For the 200 members how many guests can they have? Can 1 member bring 10+ guests? • Who will run this Not for Profit? • Can they provide more information about membership criteria and fees? • How many employees will there be and where will employees park? • How often and how many vehicles are expected to provide deliveries to provision the restaurant and bar? • Where will these vehicles park? • What help will be available to the residents if they find they are not able to find parking? • Is there a possibility in the future the parking lot could be sold or no longer be used as a parking space for this social club? • Are hours fixed? Can they extend them? • What happens if they don’t comply in the future? • What enforcement is available? • Can you revoke a special use permit? • What are the plans for the vacant house and lot next to the parking lot. Will they also apply for a special use permit for these lots? They need to identify what is the plan for these lots. • How can we be assured this is not the following which is prohibited in the Special Use Permit description? “Not including clubs organized primarily for-profit or to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.” • The applicant is Lisa Moser part of the Prime Group Holding LLC. Has there been a review how the Prime Group follows zoning and building rules? A neighbor relayed a conversation she had with someone onsite at 118 Woodlawn saying if the historical society would make them save the stain glass windows, there would be ways around this, like a ladder accidently going through a window. In conclusion the applicant is compromising the safety of our neighborhood for someone who is not a resident in our neighborhood. I doubt the Mosers or anyone else involved in the application approval process would want this in their neighborhood. This does not add any benefits to the neighborhood, it only adds safety concerns. There are better uses for this property that would fit within our neighborhood. The Mosers have purchased the Fingerpaint building at 269 Broadway. Why don’t they put their social club there? Regards, Jackie Santacruz 6 Alger St Traffic pictures taken on a weekday in June around lunch time. This is not even prime time since the track season had not started and it’s a weekday, not during rush hour. Adding 30+ cars per the traffic study (which is using selective criteria) is not safe.