Judge rules for council in lawsuit

Decision says Common Council has power to amend zoning code

An Albany County judge ruled Friday that the city Common Council did have the power to amend the city zoning code in its effort to prevent a blood plasma collection center from opening in the Upper Washington Avenue neighborhood.

The decision, one of several Judge Patrick Lynch made on the issue of the proposed center, answered a larger question on development in the city when it comes to the powers the council has as a separate branch of government.

Lynch ruled that the attorneys for the development group trying to build the center misinterpreted the city ’s zoning code and that their interpretation — which was shared by Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s administration in her veto message on the council’s zoning ordinance — would give the city ’s chief planning official and the city Planning Board power over the council when it comes to zoning amendments.

The council and the city were sued earlier this year after the council amended the city ’s zoning code to provide, among other barriers, a 1,000-foot setback from any schools, churches or parks for a potential blood plasma collection center.

The question on whether that 1,000-foot setback is arbitrary and capricious as the developer’s attorneys alleged, is still outstanding as Lynch requested more information on the topic before issuing a ruling. The council’s attorneys are expected to file papers on that question later this month. An attorney for the developers could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The project calls for CSL Plasma to open an 11,000square-foot blood plasma collection center in the Hannaford Plaza on Central Avenue. The 1,000-foot setback requirement would limit the number of properties within the city the developer would be able to use for the project.

Plasma collection involves drawing blood from donors, spinning the blood to remove the red blood cells, and keeping the remaining liquid — which is mostly water and proteins. That plasma is then used in therapies and medical procedures.