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Home My WebLink About20190815 The Grove at Neumann Correspondance (10) From the desk of Sheri L. Berger, DVM, DACVO 10/3/19 To the attention of: - Bradley Birge, Administrator of Planning and Economic Development - City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board Members: Mark Torpey, Chair Jamin Totino, Vice Chair Robert F. Bristol Lexie Bonitatibus Todd Fabozzi Ruth Horton Sara Boivin Amy Ryan, Alternate Shawna Jenks, Alternate My name is Sheri Berger and I have resided in the main (original) building of this complex located at 233 Lake Avenue since May 2018. I am a veterinarian — retired from clinical practice — and work from my home-based office operating a website. I also own a dog. There are other pet-owning tenants who also inhabit this particular building / section of the property — in total there are at least 8 pets under this roof that I am aware of (6 dogs and 2 cats). There are a number of other pets living in other quarters located on this property. A site modification plan for 233 Lake Avenue has been submitted for your consideration and review. Specifically, to add nine dwelling units to the existing complex in the Urban Residential — 1 District. These nine units are to be additions to the main (original) building in this complex. Approximately one half of the people residing in this development are 70 years of age or older, and the remaining are (or are nearing) retirement age. A small number of the residents here are younger. On 6/21/19 an email communication was sent by West Side Management of Saratoga, LLC to The Grove residents stating: "Neumann Bldg., LLC has been approved for the addition of 9 more apartments. Construction is expected to commence in September." This written communication — dated 6/21/19 - unequivocally stated that a construction project was approved and imminent. Meetings were subsequently called for and held with The Grove residents on 6/24/19, 7/30/19, and 8/7/19 to explain and inform residents on various aspects of the planned project. Since then, Management has also held private meetings with individual residents to discuss "rent concessions" in relation to the impending construction. In contrast to the notices and communications that have been delivered by West Side Management of Saratoga, LLC to residents of The Grove - the City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board has NOT yet approved this project. Further, a communication on record dated 10/1/19 from Patrick Cogan —Zoning and Building Inspector City of Saratoga Springs to Susan Barden Principal Planner City of Saratoga Springs - indicated that "comprehensive asbestos survey is still required of the builder and has not yet been performed."Further, a mold survey is required "due to the previous issues with water infiltration and concerns over airborne health hazards." I'm writing this letter to inform you of the recent past and most current state of affairs as you contemplate this request regarding site modifications at 233 Lake Avenue. Since moving into The Grove on 5/1/18 I have verbally communicated and submitted written communications - to West Side Management of Saratoga, LLC - regarding a number of environmental concerns including: 1) On 6/7/18 I wrote regarding: "a pretty strong smell of cigarette smoke in my apartment for several days," indicating that the smell was coming in through the ceiling vents in my living room. 2) On 7/30/18 I wrote about very loud noises that occur whenever the HVAC unit/ thermostat hits the desired temperature and the system cuts off ... "Wondering if you have spoken with Westside about the loud NC noise issue and asked if they can get their HVAC people here to evaluate it?" 3) On 8/21/18 I wrote again: "Nobody has contacted me yet about coming by to survey the NC noise. Who can I speak with to schedule a day and time?" In that same communication I also expressed concern about an ongoing parking issue ... I wrote: " ... question about cars and parking. A few times now I have had to park at the far (East) end of the building as there have been no parking spots closer to my end. This place seems to be filling up with more people and I am aware that some apartment dwellers have more than one car. Between the increase in occupancy, some renters having multiple cars, and undesignated parking areas for visitors ... I believe this is leading to a growing problem with trying to find parking around here at times. Does Management have a policy about cars and parking? Have they ever considered assigned parking spots for residents? Is there someone I can talk to about this?" - West Side Management of Saratoga, LLC subsequently sent a representative to survey the NC noise situation. I was given a roundabout explanation and ultimately told that there was probably not much that could be done. I expressed that this was not an acceptable response and requested that this be escalated to someone else to examine the situation further. 4) On 9/18/18 I wrote: "It's been a few weeks since you were here - wondering when the HVAC people can come to survey the noisy NC ventilation issue in my apartment? ..." In that communication I also reiterated another annoyance ... "whenever there is any conversation taking place in <the office> downstairs (located underneath my apartment) I can hear it - loud and clear. It's as if there is a megaphone installed between <that> ceiling and my bathroom. I'm hoping that they can also survey the duct system or whatever dead space is there and do something to insulate that area ... or close off my vent ..." Subsequent to that communication a team of 3 people sent by West Side Management of Saratoga, LLC came to assess the HVAC system. During that visit they adjusted the vent openings throughout the apartment to "even out" the flow of air through the duct across the length of the apartment. They indicated this would take some kind of"load off when the pump / thermostat cuts off. In fact, this did not resolve the issue of the loud noise whenever the HVAC unit reaches temperature and cuts off. The consequence to what they did, however, was that the distribution of air flow was significantly altered and inconsistent throughout the living space. Vents were blasting very cold air in one end of the apartment but air flow in the opposite end (where the bedroom is located) was (and remains) poor to imperceptible. 5) In late February / early March 2019 I filed a work order as I noticed that my clothes dryer was not drying loads of laundry properly. Cycles had been set to high heat on a full cycle but clothes were not drying. On or around 3/18/19 a workman was dispatched who tested and found no problem with the dryer. He indicated a likely issue with the venting ... that maybe it was clogged and causing the heating mechanism in the dryer to cut off as a safety mechanism. Several days later a West Side Management of Saratoga, LLC employee attempted to vacuum out the line from my apartment. This did not resolve the problem. He indicated he would try to vacuum the line from the roof (egress) side. He initially indicated to me that he could not locate that egress site. I don't know whether he did or did not eventually locate that and complete that effort. 6) On 4/24/19 I wrote again regarding the persistent issue of being able to hear noise / conversations taking place in the office beneath my apartment. 7) There was severe leaking into the main (original) building during the Spring of this year—with the onset of a thaw and melting of snow. Water seepage occurred through the ceiling just outside of my apartment for at least a couple of days. There was quite a lot of damage to the walls and efforts were undertaken for days to try and dry out affected structures. Tarping or other protective elements had been applied to the damaged roof structure and some of the interior walls were subsequently scraped and painted. In the past couple of weeks, new water damage has become evident in an area that had been "repaired." There is bubbling of the paint on one wall in the hallway — adjacent to my apartment - and a neighbor has indicated water damage is evident in the ceiling of his apartment. Over these past 6 months, I have had several "colds" that I have attributed to bad luck. Between episodes I have experienced allergy-like symptoms - very uncharacteristic for me. Furthermore, my dog who has a history of severe allergy issues has been experiencing flare ups — the likes I have not seen with him in over 5 years. I am very concerned that all of these issues are tied to collateral damage from the water penetration problem here at The Grove as well as HVAC issues in my apartment. City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board Members ... I respectfully request that you suspend a decision regarding the site modification request before you pending an independent evaluation of the current state of affairs at 233 Lake Ave. Including but not limited to assessing the damage associated with water penetration in the main (original) building, the current status of air quality at The Grove, and compliance with EPA and/or building code HVAC standards. Respectfully Yours, - Sheri L. Berger