Town needs to take a hard look at plan

At the Planning Board meeting in Schodack on June 18, it was revealed that Amazon plans to be the tenant in a million-square-foot distribution center with about 30,000 square feet of office space being built by an Indiana developer.

The developer has so far refused to do an Environmental Impact Statement, which is clearly called for. The Planning Board has been silent on this. A building of such mammoth proportions would need such a study. That the developer hasn’t already agreed to one and that the board hasn’t required it is worrisome.

The developer, Scannell Properties, on Amazon’s behalf, has argued property values will go up, and the buildings will have adequate fire suppression but offered no evidence for either.

Audience reaction was mixed at the June 18 meeting. Amazon’s presenters know how to weave their requirements into a narrative that is appealing to some. Many could see through their glossing over of the facts, however.

Amazon’s developer is pressing to start construction soon; the pressure is on the Planning Board if they decide to be pressured. The Federal Reserve rate hikes looming might have an expensive impact as will trade wars.

Meanwhile, the Rensselaer County Industrial Development Agency, which had been keeping the prospective tenant secret, said it planned to offer the developer a 50 percent cut on its property taxes over a 10-year period. Issues of traffic, noise, water use and taxes were downplayed by Amazon’s developers.

Schodack needs to take a long, hard look at the drastic change this project will bring. As one speaker mentioned, even our logo will have to be changed: the bucolic scene replaced by a supersized big box.