HomeMy WebLinkAbout20260091 Lexington Rd & Bemis Heights Rd Subdivision Modification Public Comment (12)Outlook
Lexington Road / Bemis Heights Subdivision Modification: Fire Access Review and Complete
Subdivision Plan Showing Phases 1, 2, and Modified Phase 3
From Independence Square <independencesquaressny@gmail.com>
Date Wed 5/6/2026 1:16 PM
To leverhart@mmshlaw.com <leverhart@mmshlaw.com>
Cc Susan Barden <Susan.Barden@saratoga-springs.org>; Mark Graham <Mark.Graham@saratoga-springs.org>
Dear Ms. Everhart,
I am copying Planning Board staff so this communication is transparent and can be included in the
project record if appropriate.
I am writing regarding Project #20240614, Lexington Road Subdivision, and Project #20260091,
Lexington Road & Bemis Heights Road Subdivision Modification.
I am raising this issue now in the hope that any record issue can be addressed before final action,
avoiding unnecessary procedural issues or additional work for the Board, City staff, the applicant, and
members of the public.
I understand that you serve as Counsel to the Land Use Boards, and I am not requesting legal advice or
any private determination. I am raising this issue in a procedural and record-based manner.
The administrative record indicates that the pending application is being reviewed as a modified Phase 3
amendment to the original subdivision. Because of this, I am concerned that any Fire Official analysis
and determination should be based on a complete subdivision plan showing the proposed modified Phase
3 together with Phases 1 and 2 of the original subdivision.
It is not clear from the record whether the Fire Department reviewed the project as an amendment to the
existing subdivision, or as a new application. If the Fire Official was provided only with plans showing
the proposed new construction, this distinction may not have been clear from the materials provided.
My concern is a narrow record issue: whether the Fire Official reviewed the project as an amendment to
the existing subdivision, and whether the Fire Official had a complete subdivision plan showing the
proposed modified Phase 3 together with Phases 1 and 2 in a form suitable for review by the Fire
Official.
If the Fire Official’s review was based on the materials provided at the time, and those materials did not
include a complete subdivision plan showing Phases 1, 2, and the modified Phase 3, the Planning Board
may have a reasonable basis to request additional information from the applicant and refer the complete
plan back to the Fire Official before relying on any Fire Department review or approval.
5/7/26, 4:15 PM Inbox - Mark Graham - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/inbox/id/AAQkAGIxYTcxODdiLTE4ZmUtNDdlMy05MTNlLTA4ZjY5NTFhMDAzMQAQALlmqRaTEH5NlZiyGyn%2Fd…1/2
I have also submitted limited FOIL requests to clarify the administrative record on this issue. Those
requests are intended to determine what materials were provided to the Fire Official, whether any written
Fire Official determination exists, whether any written fire access analysis exists, and whether the City
possesses a formal complete subdivision plan showing the proposed modified Phase 3 together with
Phases 1 and 2 in a form suitable for Fire Official review.
If the record does not contain this information, the record issue may still be addressed before the Planning
Board takes final action.
I am not asking the Board to reach any particular conclusion at this point, only to confirm that the Fire
Official had the complete information needed before the Board relies on the Fire Department review.
Respectfully, I ask that the Board consider requiring the applicant to submit a complete subdivision plan
showing the proposed modified Phase 3 together with Phases 1 and 2 of the original subdivision in a form
suitable for Fire Official review. I also ask that the Board consider referring that complete plan to the Fire
Official with clear direction that the pending proposal is being reviewed as an amendment to the existing
subdivision before relying on any Fire Department review or approval.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Nathaniel Reals
2 Bemis Heights Dr.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518 879-7647
5/7/26, 4:15 PM Inbox - Mark Graham - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/inbox/id/AAQkAGIxYTcxODdiLTE4ZmUtNDdlMy05MTNlLTA4ZjY5NTFhMDAzMQAQALlmqRaTEH5NlZiyGyn%2Fd…2/2