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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20250989 Rt 9 / South Broadway Special Use Permit Response to CommentsCannie Law PLLC 4 Roberts Ln. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 518-350-4137 cannielawfirm@gmail.com March 10, 2026 City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board Attn.: Susan Barden 474 Broadway Saratoga Springs NY 12866 Via in hand delivery and email RE: Supplemental Submission – Response to Board Comments Special Use Permit Application - South Broadway, Saratoga Springs New York, 12866 – Tax Parcels: 178.-2-17.11 and 178.-2-17.12 Proposed Special Use: Multi-family Dwelling: Residential Only Hello Susan: As you are aware, this office represents Matrix BDC JV, LLC, (the “Applicant”) with respect to a Special Use Permit Application for Tax Parcels: 178.-2-17.11 and 178.-2-17.12 located on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs New York (the “Application”). The Applicant appreciated the Board’s comments on the Application at the workshop on March 5, 2026. At the workshop, it was requested that the Applicant confirm compliance with the Design Standards applicable or identify what waivers may be needed. Following is a list of the Site Design Standards contained in Table 4-I of the UDO, which apply to projects located within the GC-R zoning district. Below each standard is set forth in bold and the Applicant’s response as to how they intend to comply with those standards is set forth in italics. 14) Sites must be designed to ensure safe pedestrian and bicycle access from the public right-of-way, and safe pedestrian and bicycle circulation within the development. Due to South Broadway being a New York State owned right-of-way, pedestrian walkways are not located within right-of-way and instead exist on the project site. However, as required by UDO Section 4.6(B)(1)(d)(i) which applies to the +/- 3300-foot stretch of South Broadway south of Crescent Avenue, the pedestrian and bicycle access to the site will be in the form of a multi-use trail. This will prevent bicycle users from needing to utilize the state-owned right-of-way. Once on site, there will be appropriate pedestrian crossings through the driveways and within the parking lots to ensure safety between vehicular and pedestrian users on site. These are shown on the updated plan provided on February 5, 2026. The proposed concept plan conforms to the requirement of this design standard. 15) Vehicular and pedestrian circulation systems must reflect a rural character through the use of curvilinear forms that acknowledge and work to complement site features such as vegetation and topography. To the extent possible and practicable, the Applicant will conform to this design standard. Due to other site constraints regarding wetlands, and the Applicant’s wish to cluster the development of the site into one area, there will not be a need for significant vehicular circulation roadways on site. The majority of the vehicular circulation will be through parking areas, which due to the need of providing safe entry and exit into parking spots, does not lend itself to curvilinear forms. However, in an effort to provide such curvilinear forms and compliment the on-site vegetation, following its review and assessment of on-site vegetation the Applicant will reassess the layout of the multi-use trail at the front of the site. The goal will be to adjust the trail’s path to possibly wind in, around and through any of the existing mature vegetation to complement the same feel of the trails in the Spa State Park. 16) Off-street parking and traffic flow must not interfere with the flow of pedestrian travel or otherwise detract from the aesthetic character of a development or redevelopment. All off-street parking must be screened or aligned so that light from vehicle headlights do not adversely impact abutting properties. The Applicant’s concept plan meets this design standard. The off-street parking and traffic flow will have minimum impact on pedestrian travel or detract from the aesthetic character of the development. The Applicant has gone to great lengths to screen and reduce the visibility of the parking. Specifically, the Applicant is seeking to have covered parking, requesting this Board to approve land-banked parking, and placing as much of the parking as possible to the interior of the site. The goal is to have the parking be as minimally intrusive as possible, keeping it interior to the site if at all possible, to limit visibility from the right of way. Additionally, as to vehicle headlines, none of the proposed parking (aside from some land-banked parking) will have the headlights facing South Broadway. To the extent that some of the parking will face the Homewood Suite property to the north, the closest element of that Homewood site to the proposed parking is its own parking facilities. Additionally, there will be screening provided both by the retention of native trees and additional plantings. 17) Existing on-site vegetation and topography must be preserved to the extent practicable. Where topography must be altered, cut and fill slopes must be graded to mimic existing slopes, at a maximum of 1:5, and blend smoothly into the surrounding landform. The Applicant’s site was designed with this standard in mind. As stated above, the Applicant will be conducting a vegetation analysis to determine what trees may be possible to preserve within the 13+/- acre area of development – with a focus on those within the front setback close to the multi-use trail. Additionally, the remaining 42+/- acres will remain completely preserved in its existing state with all vegetation preserved. As such, over 85% of the on-site vegetation and topography will be preserved. Further, the 13 acre area of development is generally very flat, with nearly no grad changes. To the extent grade changes exist on site, they occur within the wetlands and wetland buffers and will remain undisturbed. 18) Site designs must employ techniques such as variation in the height and placement of buildings, as well as clustering of structures and vegetation to reinforce the rural character of the area, and to help preserve scenic views of the surrounding natural landscape. The Applicant has designed the site and selected the development area to cluster the buildings of the development, as requested by this standard. This helps preserve the remaining 42 acres for the benefit of on-site and off-site users. It avoids the need to provide roadways to deeper areas of the site. Additionally, by clustering it close to the already developed properties to the north, it preserves the scenic view of the southern portion of the site from both the State-owned lands further south and across South Broadway in the Spa State Park. 19) Shared driveways are strongly recommended with the minimum spacing between adjacent driveways on the same side of the street at 500 feet. Access connections on opposite sides of the street should be aligned or off-set so as to eliminate left-turn conflicts. The Planning Board, as part of site plan review, should evaluate the effect of proposed driveway locations on development of abutting properties. Proposals for shared driveways may require cross access easements. As previously noted, the project site is currently two separate lots and will remain so once developed with the multi-family and commercial planned to be on a separate lot from the hotel. The Applicant is proposing the current lot line be adjusted to carve out the hotel as a stand-alone lot with its required frontage and lot size as part of the final site plan. As such, there will need to be a various easements between the parcels for the shared site characteristics, including cross access easements. The Applicant is currently proposing two driveways, one for each lot, but with reciprocal easements for use by each eventual owner and their tenants, patrons and/or guests. The Applicant feels that having two driveways for the proposed number of residential units, plus the hotel and retail users will help with on-site traffic congestion. The current proposed locations of the shared driveways propose to be approximately 500 feet apart. The driveway closest to Homewood Suites would be about 300 feet from their driveway. The separation of driveway distance along South Broadway is relatively consistent at the 300-foot distance, as that is the approximate separation between the two driveways at Tree House, between Tree House and Homewood Suites and between Saratoga Honda and the Crescent Street intersection. As such, the Applicant will be seeking a waiver of that portion of this provision from the Planning Board with respect to multiple driveways and the recommended 500-foot separation. However, these waiver requests are consistent with the neighboring properties. Additionally, it should be noted that because the right-of-way is owned by the State, NYSDOT will have final approval as to whether these driveways will be permitted. The Applicant has started the discussion with NYSDOT on that issue and will report back to the Board when they have made a more formal determination. The Applicant looks forward to discussing the Design Standards and other comments with the Board on March 12, 2026. As always, please feel free to contact me directly with any questions. Very truly yours, /s/ John B. Cannie John B. Cannie, Esq.