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Home My WebLink About20230773 182 Excelsior Site Plan Public Comment (4)12/13/23, 10:08 AM Zimbra https://m.saratoga-springs.org/h/printmessage?id=23151&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>, susan barden <susan.barden@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 Tue, Dec 12, 2023 08:15 PM 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 Planning Board 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 12/13/23, 10:08 AM Zimbra https://m.saratoga-springs.org/h/printmessage?id=23151&tz=America/New_York 2/2 Comments Comment on proposed 182 Excelsior Ave development attached. Reflects the opinion of many local residents. I am a neighbor of the project site, have lived on Excelsior Spring Ave for 23 years, and am a former planning board member. Thank you for your consideration of my thoughts and ideas. I think we have the opportunity to make this a good project, but we all need to think a bit more creatively. We welcome any opportunity for dialogue with applicant. Attach Photo (optional)182Excelsior Comment12.12.23.docx Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 182 Excelsior Ave. Site Plan Review. PB meetfng 12/14/23 We contfnue to have concerns about this project’s potentfal detrimental impact on Traffic and Pedestrian Safety; Neighborhood Character; and City-owned Public Recreatfon Space. We offer a few suggestfons that we hope the Planning Board will consider and recommend to the developer. I am a former PB member. The project does not really respect the local topography/landscape. Its design shows lack of awareness of the surrounding neighborhood. As presented, this site plan is too dense and will create traffic and pedestrian hazards on Excelsior Spring Ave., a winding, hilly parkland-style road, and the potentfal for backups on Excelsior Ave. 1. ROAD HAZARDS: A. Driveways: Move the driveways from Excelsior Spring Ave. to Excelsior Ave. As stated in previous public comments, Excelsior Spring Ave. is already a dangerous, slippery, and blind-spot road. Unsafe for pedestrians. With the City-built Spring Run Trail and new Bike Trails, adding TWO curb cuts through City-built sidewalks will create real danger for pedestrians and cyclists. In the past, PB has typically discouraged new curb cuts. Creatfng entry and exits at this T intersectfon on a hill, will create hazards for drivers, pedestrians, bikers on both Excelsior Spring and Excelsior Aves. Crosswalk and handicapped access are inadequate here. B. Complete Streets: The Complete Streets form filled out by the developer is inadequate. It indicates the project contributes to the city’s ongoing effort toward complete streets. But it does not. Indeed, creatfng TWO curb cuts through city sidewalks, actually subverts the effort. Per the City’s Complete Streets manual, to even achieve “Bronze level” improvements, Excelsior Spring Ave needs 4’ or wider striped shoulders on both sides of the road, or a 5’ wide sidewalk, posted and Operatfng speeds of 30 mph or less, ADA compliance for all sidewalks, ramps, and crossings. C. There is no public CDTA bus stop or safe school bus stop. D. Applicatfon incorrectly says there are sidewalks all along Excelsior Spring Ave, but the City-built and partfally maintained sidewalk only goes along city ROW a bit past Spring Run Trail access. There are no sidewalks or shoulders from here on up either side of Excelsior Spring Ave., and none at along the side of the road opposite the proposed development. E. Traffic Mitfgatfon: As a conditfon of approval, Planning Board MUST require developer to create worthwhile traffic and pedestrian safety measures on Excelsior Spring Ave., and Excelsior Ave. These could include bump outs, speed bumps, shoulders, sidewalks. With community input! 2. REORIENT THE DEVELOPMENT: Consider redesigning the project so the townhouses front onto Excelsior Avenue. This would create a nice streetscape in keeping with the “Hamlet” apartment complex (near Fresh market plaza) and 130 Excelsior Ave. apartments. Why put a plot of townhouses in the back lot off the street, facing a dreary parking lot? Good city planning -- and what the city has been advocatfng for years -- creates streetscapes. With the townhouses on the frontage, the historic buildings would move to the rear lot where residents can enjoy some space and distance & a view of Spring Run Trail. Instead of just squeezing as many units as possible out of this historic lot, try to make the development fit the landscape and neighborhood. This area is considered historic, the project ought to honor that. 3. TRAFFIC STUDY: A. Respectiully disagree that the project will have little or no impact on traffic. 45 new units is a very big increase on a road that has just a dozen homes. Please submit new, current traffic study. The one submitted is nearly 4 years old and is from the Excelsior Park development. Excelsior Park has been built out even more since this study was done and so there is more traffic in this corridor than the study indicated. B. Numbers: Study indicates only 12 or so vehicles in and out at peak tfmes. But with 45 or so units how can this be? Does developer antfcipate other residents will be staying home all day? C. Again - No consideratfon for the treacherous conditfons on Excelsior Spring Ave. 4. PRESERVING the HISTORIC BUILDINGS: If the City grants the buildings historic status, what guarantee is there that they will actually be moved and preserved as recommended by the DRC at the urging of the Saratoga Springs Preservatfon Foundatfon? Developer was granted a density bonus in exchange for agreeing to preserve the buildings, but that work should occur before or in conjunctfon with the constructfon of the new buildings. Too often, we see developers agree to terms that have no teeth then walk back their commitment and move forward as they see fit. I agree with the Foundatfon’s objectfon to the rehab of the 2 historic buildings being contfngent on the Certfficate of Occupancy of 4th new structure. Site plan approval should require rehab of the main house and carriage house be contfngent on ANY approval of the whole project. It’s quite possible this project will stall or not be carried out as planned and possibly abandoned. City needs guarantee (maybe in the form of a bond?) that the buildings will be protected. 5. ADD MORE MASSING IMAGES: No images in the applicatfon include the view from Excelsior Spring Ave. Please add images from Excelsior Spring Ave. so residents can see what it will look like from this vantage point. 6. ADD GREEN FEATURES: Please consider green roofs, rain gardens, other features that creatfvely ADD to vegetatfve beauty while somewhat stemming adverse environmental impacts from new development that replaces green space with impervious surfaces. Consider pollinator gardens. Plantfngs should be only natfves. Mature trees that will be eliminated must be replaced with good natfve MATURE trees. For buffering and to respect the land & the City-owned Spring Run Trail. 7. CONSIDER WINTER HAZARDS: Snow, ice, and water runoff flow down Excelsior Spring Ave., often creatfng ice buildup. Very dangerous. What mitfgatfon measures are proposed? 8. CONSTUCTION VEHICLES AND NOISE: What will be constructfon ingress & egress? Constructfon vehicles should use Excelsior Ave not Excelsior Spring, which, as a dangerous and residentfal roadway is not suitable to heavy truck traffic. 9. LIGHTING PLAN: this project should use only lightfng that protects the night sky. This neighborhood is home to bats, owls foxes and other nocturnal animals. Their habitat should be respected. Also the night sky here is one of the last places to see stars inside the city. Developer should keep lightfng to a minimum. 10. Short EAF form: Indicates no remediated area. I might be wrong here, but wasn’t the Spring Run Brook remediated as part of the cleanup of the NiMo plant? Wetlands: does the brook & its banks not count as wetlands? Natural resources: public walking/biking trail. Thank you for your consideratfon. Laura Rappaport 22 Excelsior Spring Ave. 518-248-1391