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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20260091 Lexington Rd & Bemis Heights Rd Subdivision Modification Saratoga Law Response Letter to Planning Board 04.22.2026Chair Pingel and Planning Board Members Page 4 of 6 April 21, 2026 4 proposed 13 lots (excepting the two estate lots) are between .291 acres and .595 acres in size, which is entirely consistent with the existing neighborhood. As it relates to the precedent that a favorable decision will set on future decisions of the Planning Board, we believe it’s important to keep in mind the context of the proposed project. There are 39 currently approved building lots on the 21.78 - acre project site. Absent the project moving forward, the 39 approved building lots will remain on the assessment map. Given the volatile status of wetland regulation at both the state and federal level and wetlands being dynamic by nature, it is far from a certainty that this plot of land could not be fully developed as originally approved at some point in the future - without any Planning Board review. Instead, this project provides an opportunity to forever protect 17.1 acres of the site and restrict it from further development. It is doubtful that any other project on any other plot of land would come before the Planning Board with a similar set of facts, making this project entirely distinguishable should the Planning Board believe that is a concern.. Fencing and Permanent Signage to Denote the Conservation/Deed Restricted Area The letter from Ms. Anderson and Ms. Gavert states that “[t]he suggestion at the last Planning Board meeting that fences and/or signage could be erected to indicate the boundary with the deed restricted areas is not a reasonable solution in either the short or long term.” However, the Planning Board’s Conservation Area and No Cut Buffer Policy adopted in 2018 requires exactly that –fencing and signage – to designate conservation areas, along with deed restrictions or conservation easements to protect them. Here, the applicant is proposing a split rail fence with signage spanning the rear of the lots so there is no question as to where the conservation area begins and ends in these locations. Prior precedent of the Planning Board shows that markings and signage along with deed restrictions or conservation easements represent the standard operating procedure for subdivisions that implicate wetlands or other designated conservation areas. Examples include the Kaydeross Avenue East Conservation Subdivision – Project # 20200926 (15-lot subdivision approved by the Planning Board on April 19, 2021) and the 104 Old Schuylerville Road Subdivision– Project # 20180786 (3-lot subdivision approved by the Planning Board on March 7, 2019.) More recently, the Planning Board approved the 3-lot conservation subdivision at 247 Kaydeross Avenue East (Project # 20250089) where a conservation easement was required but a review of the approved plans shows no evidence of markings and signage to denote conservation areas. Importantly, none of those projects called for the developer to create an HOA to hold title to the conservation areas. Most often, the conservation areas were spread across multiple lots and the property owners each had a right to enforce the restrictions along with the City of Saratoga Springs, exactly what is being proposed here.