HomeMy WebLinkAbout20240682 25 New St. Subdivision Public Comment (6)Outlook
Online Form Submittal: Land Use Board Agenda Public Comment
From noreply@civicplus.com <noreply@civicplus.com>
Date Thu 11/13/2025 2:56 PM
To Mark Graham <Mark.Graham@saratoga-springs.org>; Susan Barden <Susan.Barden@saratoga-springs.org>
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 Michael White
Email Address FriendsofRRRun@gmail.com
Business Name Field not completed.
Address 2 Joseph Street
City Saratoga Springs
State NY
Zip Code 12866
Phone Number 5186504019
Project Name McNeary Group 25 New St. Subdivision
Project Number 20240682
Project Address 25 New Street
Comments Please find enclosed comments for November PB workshop
meeting.
Attach Photo (optional)25 New Street Proposal Public Comment.pdf
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11/13/25, 3:25 PM Mail - Mark Graham - Outlook
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City of Saratoga Springs Planning Department
Re: Public Comment for 25 New Street Subdivision Proposal
Distribution: Saratoga Springs Planning Board, City Council, Saratoga Plan, Friends of Railroad
Run, Saratoga County Trail Committee, Capital District Transportation Authority, Bikeatoga,
City of Saratoga Springs Open Space Advisory Committee, Saratoga Sustainable
The development proposal at 25 New Street will forever alter the character of the Railroad Run
trail and will result in the loss of significant tree cover along more than 50% of the trail's entire
eastern edge.
It is the responsibility of the Saratoga Springs Planning Board and Planning Department to
ensure that the proposal's impacts to Railroad Run are FULLY mitigated in every manner prior
to any approval.
The city’s Railroad Run Trail was created in 1996 and just next year in 2026 will be
celebrating its 30th anniversary of providing year-round natural beauty and directly supporting
a high quality of life for thousands of residents, visitors and renters each year.
Railroad Run is a vital and unique linear park that is a ‘one of a kind’ core city resource that is a
key economic driver that contributes directly to the “City in the Country” experience.
Railroad Run strongly supports Saratoga Springs as a livable city and desirable tourist
destination and acts as a gateway for the City of Saratoga Springs welcoming those arriving
from the Spa State Park, SPAC and future trail connections.
The phenomenal success of Railroad Run over the past 30 years is a DIRECT result of past
Planning Boards, City Planning Departments and City Council's taking action to
protect Railroad Run from inappropriate development and T4 rezoning. Taking actions
that required critical buffer plantings, deed restrictions and/or no cut zones on ALL
residential development along the entire western edge of Railroad Run.
With the city poised to celebrate Railroad Run's 30th anniversary next year, the 25 New Street
proposal that is in front of the Planning Board threatens to not only forever alter the character
and nature of Railroad Run but to also subject future residents to significant health and safety
issues.
Previous Planning Boards and the Saratoga Springs City Council UNANIMOUSLY rejected
previous attempts to build residential housing on this parcel due in large part to
significant concerns regarding the health and safety of future residents. Conditions for this
parcel are such that a 10 foot-high wall was originally proposed as part of the previous housing
PUD application for this parcel, yet residential housing was still unanimously rejected. There
have been NO improvements to any of the health and safety concerns associated with citing
residences immediately behind the Route 50 commercial strip mall - in fact issues have only
worsened.
Some of these health and safety concerns that would impact future residents include:
• 24/7 commercial truck traffic, docking and unloading operations,
• Overnight idling trucks and emissions 100 feet from proposed residence windows,
• Price Chopper 'Off Road' Turkey reefer unit running 24/7/365,
• Rotting refuse, overflowing dumpsters and stockpiled/leaking waste piles in direct view
of proposed residences,
• Overflowing waste oil dumpsters in direct view of proposed residences,
• High intensity security lighting in direct view of proposed residences,
• HVAC, chillers, air handlers and emergency generators running 24/7,
• Commercial snow removal and stockpiling in direct vicinity of residential
homes. Children are killed each year when playing on stockpiled snow, when trapped
inside stockpiles or when crushed by snow removal equipment.
In addition to significant health and safety concerns, these bullet points represent
substantial liability for commercial business operations adjacent to residences and these
concerns will be expanded upon with detailed photography documenting each health and
safety concern for the 11.20.25 scheduled public hearing. During the first and only Planning
Board preliminary plat review meeting in November of 2024, it was suggested that obvious
noise concerns could become an enforcement issue against Price Chopper's reefers and HVAC
equipment. Residents on Joseph Street have dealt with noise issues from the strip mall for
years and the city has repeatedly failed to address any of them. It was also incorrectly
theorized by Planning Board members that cutting down and replacing all the trees on the
parcel could actually address noise concerns. This goes against every tenant of
acoustic engineering and decades of sound mitigation studies.
The city's UDO UR-3 zoning for this parcel requires quintessential Saratoga Springs front
porches and tree lined streets (both sides) similar to the existing residential neighborhoods
along Elm Street, Joseph Street and Empire Avenue in the Railroad Run corridor. Not a
'neighborhood' with the back of a strip mall 'across the street' and overflowing dumpsters for
neighbors. Yet, during the first and only Planning Board preliminary plat review meeting in
November of 2024, incredulously, it was stated that if things got bad enough for future
residents, the solution would be for residents to simply not use their front porch and not look
out of their front windows. Is this now a new low for the planning process in Saratoga Springs?
It was also stated during the first and only Planning Board preliminary plat review meeting in
November of 2024 that the known health and safety issues would be swept under the carpet
and housing on this project would simply be labeled 'market driven housing' which really means
only the city's poorest of the poor will end up living here.
The computer-generated images associated with this application are misleading and ignore the
reality that exists 24/7 adjacent to the proposed residential housing units.
Finally, this project was characterized as 'cute' by the Planning Board. This project is neither
‘cute’ nor beneficial for the city. The current proposal for 25 New Street will easily become a
'poster child' and case study of the worst of poor planning for use by planning agencies and
urban planning programs around the world. Honestly, what kind of city rezones the back of a
commercial strip mall with 24/7 commercial truck traffic to high density residential housing and
then subjects future residents and their children to readily obvious and well documented health
and safety impacts?
Imagine the social stigma for the city's children having to live in this project. Imagine the
stigma of students waiting for the school bus and getting picked up next to overflowing
garbage dumpsters, refuse and tractor trailer trucks while other students look on at the
ongoing junk stored behind the strip mall. The back of the strip mall is a disgusting mess that
most customers would abhor and avoid if they saw it - it should not become someone's front
yard.
Saratoga Springs and the McNeary's can and should do better.
The most viable and responsible development concept for this parcel would be a PUD similar
in size and scope to 246 West Avenue with 18 apartments located on the southernmost
section (entrance) of 25 New Street and an appropriate number of non-residential, 2 story
office buildings appropriately landscaped and buffered from Railroad Run
similar to Airosmith Engineering at 318 West Avenue. BOTH of these projects at 246 and 318
West Avenue benefit from and at the same time support Railroad Run Phase II.
A PUD concept represents the best and highest use of the 25 New Street parcel and could
substantially mitigate health and safety issues and impacts to Railroad Run while providing a
substantially greater financial return and reduced maintenance costs.
We ask that the City of Saratoga Springs and the McNeary Group seriously consider
protecting and leveraging the amazing aesthetics and beauty of the Railroad Run corridor
while building a signature project rather than succumbing to poor planning by B. Birge and
ignoring the obvious impacts to future residents.
With regard to the current 25 New Street proposal and on behalf of the thousands of city
residents, visitors, renters and existing homeowners along Elms Street, Joseph Street and
Empire Avenue who enjoy Railroad Run year-round,
on behalf of all future residents of 25 New Street,
and on behalf of the City of Saratoga Springs,
Friends of Railroad Run submits the following (INITIAL DRAFT) concerns as public comment for
the record and requests the following as a condition for any approval of the 25 New Street
proposal. Further documentation and concerns will be provided prior to the 11.20.25
scheduled public hearing.
• Require detailed plans to mitigate noise, fugitive dust and visual impacts to trail users
and existing residential homes during all phases of construction.
• Require phasing and visual screening during construction.
• Restrict the storage of construction equipment and materials within 50' of the Railroad
Run property line.
• Restrict the stockpiling of soil, tree roots and brush piles within 50' feet of the Railroad
Run property line and only for limited time periods.
• Restrict any land clearing, soil disturbance and grubbing inside of the tree line/dripline
for trees on city property along Railroad Run.
• Deny all requests to cross Railroad Run for any sanitary sewer connections.
• Substantially increase landscape buffering (density and size) since properties will be
substantially closer to Railroad Run than existing residences and trees on public
property are in danger of being lost to disease, old age and insects.
• Substantially increase landscape buffering (density and size) since work on the 12" high
pressure gas pipeline that runs along the edge of Railroad Run may require the
complete destruction of the evergreen buffer in the future.
• Substantially increase landscape buffering (density and size) in areas where no
evergreen buffer was originally planted.
• Restrict any decks within 25' feet of Railroad Run.
• Require conditions of approval and/or deed restrictions on residential storage units,
fences, yard waste dumping and no cut zones.
• Require removal of existing chain link fence associated with the 25 New Street parcel
that is currently located on city property.
• Require a second (year-round) EMS/Fire ingress/egress access connection (Aletta Street)
with the required turning radius for fire trucks.
Further, given the immense impacts to 1) a vital Saratoga Springs resource, 2) thousands of
trail users, 3) existing homeowners and 4) future residents it is requested that Public Comment
remain open until all impacts have been thoroughly investigated and mitigated.
And again, we ask that both the City and applicant consider a more responsible and innovative
development plan that could provide a substantially greater financial return while at the same
time protecting the health and safety of future residents and their children.
Residents who have lived along the Railroad Run corridor, in some cases for over 2 decades can
certainly attest to the inappropriateness of UR-3 zoning for this parcel and the impacts to
future residents who will be subjected to living on this parcel behind a commercial strip mall.
Respectfully submitted,
Friends of Railroad Run
c/o M. White
2 Joseph Street
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866