Cabana plan sparks outcry
Saratoga Springs residents worry over eastside’s future
A Massachusetts developer has just won approvals to take down a home on Mitchell Street to build a private cabana with pool and clubhouse for a future homeowners association, a move that has prompted some residents to question how their eastside neighborhood will change.
“We are talking about development of a segregated neighborhood,” George Street resident Kelly Chabot told the Planning Board in March. “What we are talking about is a segregated space. I have a concern about that. Are we going to have families here year-round or is it going to be a summer party place that is segregated from the rest of the community ... It just feels very different from the other neighborhoods in Saratoga.”
Matthew Jones, the attorney for Hanley Development, disagrees. He said the private club, an amenity for the new homes that will be built on Union Avenue and Mitchell Street, “will provide a sense of community and social interaction for the residents and their guests.”
Tim Maloney, however, is skeptical. He told the Planning Board that residents on Mitchell and George streets were “spooked” by another new structure in his neighborhood, 78 Mitchell St., which he said is essentially vacant most of the year except during the six weeks of the racing season. Without a year-round investment in the neighborhood, Maloney said the cabana and its subsequent homes, which will go on seven parcels, could become noisy, party places during the race track meet.
“We are worried about a seasonal hardscape sitting there vacant most of the year,”
Maloney told the board. “I don’t know how it cannot adversely affect the existing neighborhood. … There is a fair amount of residential complex just to the west of the proposed amenity ... we live in a pretty quiet neighborhood. We don’t know what is going to go on there. That’s a concern for us, a pretty big concern.”
The homes that will have access to the cabana and two-story clubhouse, which will be built on 0.3 acres, will rise on vacant lots that are now used as parking for patrons of Saratoga Race Course and King ’s Tavern. While the area at the corner of Union and East avenues will remain a parking lot, the rest of the lots on Union Avenue will be transformed with the association’s private homes. Owner of King ’s Tavern, Patrick Fitch, said that will cut down on his business’ foot traffic.
“There is a lot of traffic congestion,” Fitch said.
“With having not so many cars parked over there, it’s definitely going to make it more difficult for us to get people in the door during track season. It’s something we are ready to overcome.”
Developer Jay Hanley initially offered to speak to the Times Union about the project. Last week, he said he wanted to wait to speak until after he closes on the property. He did not say when the sale of the lots will close.
The homes that Hanley wants to build on Union will have to be approved by the city’s Design Review
Commission as it is in the city’s historic district.
The Planning Board, at its May 5 meeting, looked at the clubhouse and pool’s designs. Member Ruth Horton said she thought “the project looks good.”
Maloney said he remains concerned about noise from the cabana, which is slated to be open until 11 p.m.
“If people want to move to Saratoga and be part of the community, it could be a good project,” Maloney said. “But I don’t think anyone is under the illusion that it will not be just for the race track.”