HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190808 Geronimo Subdivision Correspondance (2) Lori Soderlind
311 Old Ballston Ave.
Ballston Spa, NY 12020
Oct. 2, 2019
To the Saratoga Springs Planning Board
and board chair, Mark Torpey
In the matter of the subdivision application submitted by Morgan J. Gazetos, 301 Old
Ballston Ave., Tax Map #201.-1-37,to be heard at your Oct. 3 meeting:
I have owned the house at 311 Old Ballston Ave. for 20 years. I have always considered
myself incredibly fortunate to have found a neighborhood with neighbors who love and
respect the land in Saratoga so deeply, and who are such good stewards of this land and
value it far, far beyond its worth as real estate.
I lived in my house year round until my work changed and I had to commute to a new job,
150 miles south. My true home is Old Ballston Avenue,where I hope to return in retirement
in the near future and where for now I am able to spend about half the year; for most of the
past 20 years, I have shared care of the house with Suzanne Parker,who teaches in New
Jersey but spends about half of her time in Saratoga too. I tell you this because I wish, first
off,to dispel any notion that the neighbor of the property in question is an absent
landowner or somehow less invested in this place than a fulltime resident would be. (I am a
professor and I teach on Thursday evenings; I cannot cancel class to attend this meeting.)
My property is adjacent to the property owned by Morgan Gazetos,who recently renovated
the house nearest mine on our street—and did so very nicely. Something beautiful was
made of what was in such poor shape, and I am grateful for the care put into that work.
I have been notified that these neighbors now intend to build a new house across Northline
Road and that they believe this can be done without rezoning, as they own parcels of land
divided by roads and railroad tracks that add up to the four-acre minimum required for
two houses.
I am writing because I do not think this plan is in the spirit of the law that requires two
acres for each house, and I am certain that another house in that sliver of land on Northline
is going to bring too much pressure on our local environment,which is unique - and fragile.
Of course I understand that the law is the law,though bad laws can be changed and
regulations do exist to correct uses that violate other principles, as I think this subdivision
does. I don't think the cobbled-together sum of several pieces of land divided by roads and
railroads qualifies as a 2-acre lot to build on; I doubt this meets the letter of the zoning law,
and I'm certain it does not meet the spirit of that law.A 2-acre cushion is stipulated to
preserve the rural use and character of this place. Houses built directly beside other houses
create a density that the land can't sustain. This land is cut by roads into patches, and is
already under pressure. It is enough.
Our neighborhood faces extreme environmental pressure in all its forms—air, noise, light,
traffic, flooding.We are a perfect microcosm of the siege being laid to Saratoga by
developers who see it as ripe for growth and naked profit. Farms turn into multi-family
developments almost overnight. The farmland that surrounded Saratoga Springs to make it
"the city in the country" is evaporating, and there is no plan to stop it. Ballston Spa, our
nearest town center,turned back a Walmart to preserve its small,warm character;
residential sprawl is proving harder to stop. The rapid dense growth of Milton in particular,
to our north, has put enormous pressure on the area, particularly adding traffic to our
roads—including, especially, Northline Road,where the house in question would be built
(on Old Ballston Avenue,but cornering Northline.)
On Old Ballston Avenue,we have had to work endlessly to keep at least this one small part
of our region open. That work includes significant financial investment by my neighbors
the Zetterstroms,who have invested much of what they have in keeping Saratoga beautiful.
Here is what my neighbors and I have over 20 years faced: Idling trains that sat in my
backyard belching diesel round the clock(recently abated; thank god). Development-
spurred traffic that leaves Northline Road in gridlock two hours every work day and near
that on the weekends. Flooding in fields that were once planted—the water has nowhere to
go. Commercial development on Route 50 — in particular,there is a car wash behind my
house now with red and green flashing lights that blink in its turrets 24/7.This is a form of
light pollution that seems so absurd and pointless.
Farther down Northline,the fields along the Kayderosseras Creek once owned by the
Seaman family have been bought up by local government to keep that corridor open, and as
I'm sure you know,that stretch of land is very nearly connected enough to complete a rail
trail out of Spa Park. There is a park now along the creek with a walking trail. That is the
kind of vision for"developing" our region that enriches us all—economically, aesthetically,
spiritually, all of it. That is consistent with the vision of our region as a place to attract
visitors, not a place where anyone can make fast money by throwing up houses. I fear this
second type of development is winning, and once done cannot be undone.
I know you will do your best in your decision on this subdivision. I hope your best will take
the full picture into view, including the various types of environmental pressures we are
under, and the desire we all share maintain the beauty and character of this space—and
not only for ourselves,but for those who visit our community, and for generations to come.
Very truly yours,
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Lori Soderlind