Animal hospital, kennel looking to move to Rexford
CLIFTON PARK N.Y. >> A proposal to relocate a Niskayuna animal hospital and kennel to a prominent spot in Rexford has the Clifton Park Planning Board treading slowly due to its location and the potential for barking dogs.
Aqueduct Animal Hospital owner Dr. Matthew Pike and his representative, landscape engineer Scott Lansing, presented plans for the new construction to the board at its Oct. 23 meeting.
Pike is proposing to build an 8,250-square-foot building on a vacant wooded piece of land in the southeast quadrant of the Route 146 (Balltown Road) and Riverview Road intersection. The parcel is part of the hamlet’s busy four-corner intersection.
The 2.66-acre site is on the south side of Riverview Road across from the Stewart’s Shop and one of the Edison Club’s fairways. The entrance to the new construction would come from the already existing drive to the Riverview Medical Professional Park next door.
Lansing and Pike are proposing to put the building in the center of the lot with a covered outdoor play area for the dogs to the rear of the building. The trees and shrubbery that make up much of the site would be retained for buffering. Those trees nearest Riverview Road would be thinned to allow the building to be seen from the road and vegetation to the east would be removed for a parking lot.
The town Environmental Conservation committee asked that disposal of waste from the animals be tightly controlled due to a small stream that crosses the site, and that the potential noise levels from barking dogs be considered as part of the review.
The State Historic Preservation Office has given the site its approval after a Phase I archeology dig was conducted on there in September, which showed there would be no adverse impact on cultural resources.
The business, presently located at 2721 Balltown Road in Niskayuna, has drawn the attention of neighbors living in houses built in recent years immediately to the kennel’s rear due to what they say is continued barking.
The Niskayuna Town Board held a meeting in September to discuss a proposal to implement an amendment to the town code for continuous dog barking.
Pike and Lansing made their first appearance before the Clifton Park Planning Board in June. The business was started in 1956. Pike has owned it since 2009.
Comments from the Clifton Park Planning Board showed that the plan has been favorably received.
However, board chairman Rocco Ferraro told Pike he would like to have solid data in hand regarding noise levels from barking dogs in case there are questions from the public in the future.
“If the issue of noise is raised to what extent can we respond to that and show that it is not an issue,” he asked Pike.
Ferraro suggested Pike find a way to create the noise level of barking dogs and see how far the noise carries from the center of the lot, much like balloon tests for cell tower applications.
Pike said he will soundproof the building and had no problems with putting a solid fence up around the outdoor play area. He told the board the nearest house is 300 feet away.
More importantly for other members of the board was the location itself. The business would occupy a prime spot in the center of the Hamlet of Rexford, a community that is seeing a transformation as commercial enterprises slowly develop the land on Route 146 to the north and as the Edison Club considers putting housing on part of its property.
The animal hospital, kennel, and dog grooming site are zoned Hamlet Mixed-Use.
“This is one of those keystone projects that determines what Rexford will look like for coming decades,” said board member Andy Neubauer.
He asked that other departments within town hall be allowed to give input on the proposal.
No action was taken by the board at the meeting.