Stewart’s plan raises neighbors’ concerns
Opponents of a project on Marion Avenue say it would transform a residential area into a commercial one and that the proposed planned unit development, or PUD, threatens the Loughberry Lake watershed and their enjoyment of their homes. They also argue it defies the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
As proposed by Stewart’s Shops, the PUD seeks to move its current Maple Dell store across Marion Avenue (Route 9) to the site of the existing Marion Avenue Mobil, which it also owns. However, the seven-acre proposal also goes further to expand the commercial area north into a residential one. It also includes a seven-unit cul-desac in a now forested area near the edge of Loughberry Lake, the city’s drinking water source.
“Right now we have a big stretch of vacant land,” Marion Avenue resident Deborah Lacombe told
the Planning Board last month. “(Stewart’s) is saying they are not vacant. I would encourage you to come and look at the properties. There is nothing but trees. What (Stewart’s) is saying is they want to create a commercial intensive area that directly abuts our property and influences our ability to enjoy our property … I’m very discouraged by what is proposed here.”
But Stewart’s Real Estate Representative and Project Manager Chuck Marshall said he can’t understand the opposition as the plan would take the old Stewart’s Shop, that has been on the hill at Maple Dell since 1971, out of that residential area and move it to an area that is already busy with traffic and commercial activity.
East Side Wine & Spirits, currently located next to Stewart’s at 11 Maple Dell, would also move to the new location.
Moreover, he says approvals will allow Stewart’s to build a sidewalk from Route 50 to the neighborhood on Maple Dell and Marion. He also said there is an effort to preserve a bit of the woods where a future developer, not Stewart’s, would build homes.
“It surprises me they are opposed,” Marshall said. “Right now, they have people who cut through the neighborhood to get to the store. Putting it on Marion Avenue eliminates that. … If it were me, I’d want the store moved today.”
John Iacoponi, a resident on Avenue A, said the problem is that Stewart’s is not developing the existing commercial property, but rather expanding it.
“We are not totally against redevelopment in the existing footprint,” said Iacoponi, vice president of the Maple Avenue, Marion Avenue and Maple Dell Neighborhood Association. “But commercial creep down Marion Ave. into the residential area is critical to us. We are homeowners and it’s a residential neighborhood … Further extending commercial activities into UR2 (urban residential) is pressure on us. We would ask that UR2 zoning stay UR2 and not be converted into commercial.”
Sustainable Saratoga wrote a letter to the city opposing the project, too. Wendy Mahaney, the group’s executive director, listed reasons why the Planning Board should reject the proposal, including that it “contradicts the provisions of the Comprehensive Plan” saying that the proposed housing development “clearly lies within the CDD” or conservation development district, where she said PUDS are not permitted.
She also said that the proposal for homes near the city’s reservoir is too dense. The cap is 0.5 units per acre. The proposal includes seven units on 2.4 acres.
Furthermore, Mahaney said, “intense commercial” is also not permitted in residential neighborhoods.
She also reminded the city that the area near Loughberry Lake is within the city’s “critical environmental area.”
“That means that a critical analysis of potential adverse impacts on Loughberry Lake watershed must be undertaken,” she wrote. “Such analysis appears missing from this application.”
“We ask the City to respect the integrity of the adopted Comprehensive Plan,” she continued. “The City must not allow land uses in the Greenbelt that would violate the clear guidance of the Comprehensive Plan and further do not comply with provisions to protect our City’s drinking supply.”
Marshall said he will return to the Planning Board this month with a revised proposal.
“What we are trying to do is come up with one development scheme for the Maple Dell side, the Marion Ave. side and the residential piece we own,” Marshall said. “It will be a more aesthetic value than what is there today.”