Malta eyes rezoning portion of Route 9

MALTA, N.Y. » The town recently hosted a workshop to discuss rezoning the northern end of Route 9.

The goal of re-zoning is to encourage economic development on the northern portion of the road, officials said.

There is already a mix of commercial and residential properties there, and the goal is to have the least amount of impact on existing nearby residential areas, as well as making it more attractive for future development. In a telephone interview, town Planning Coordinator Jaime O’Neill who took over in the role in February, said the prior committee had recommended changing the zoning from GC3 to a new designation — DT3.

DT3 zoning would be more transformative, officials said, giving travelers through an area with that zoning the sense that they are entering a “downtown” area. By opting to keep the GC3 zoning designation, which refers to “green corridor,” the northern corridor would retain its current features, while allowing for specific types of new commercial development.

At the workshop, O’Neill suggested a list of approximately 16 new types of service-oriented businesses that would be part of that zoning. Included in those recommendations were fitness studios, hotels, restaurants with no drive-thru features, theaters, galleries, parks or playgrounds, personal service shops such as salons and spas, garden centers or nurseries, pet grooming, and places of religious worship, commercial kitchen, and certain types of retail.

After discussions about changes to existing zoning mandates regarding types of borders, buffers and levels of opacity, the workshop concluded, with a public hearing to discuss the new recommendations set for June 26 at 6 p.m.

Town Supervisor Vincent DeLucia, who is also a business owner in the area under consideration, recused himself from the meeting. O’Neill came to the town as senior planner in November and, prior to that, she was with the Saratoga County Planning Commission for 16 years.