High anxiety over town approval
Some Guilderland residents oppose added stories on building
Town residents are upset over a Zoning Board of Appeals project approval that would make a Western Avenue building the tallest in the area.
The proposed project would add two stories to what is currently a one-story office building located at 2390 Western Ave. Eight apartments would be added to the additional stories, making the building mixed use.
Town code currently restricts buildings from exceeding 35 feet in height and/or two and a half stories, whichever is greater, measured from the front entrance. During a December meeting, the ZBA worked around the restriction by saying the rear of the building — which does not face Western Avenue — is the main entrance, as it is where the apartments would be accessed from.
As such, the determined entrance side, which faces the town golf course, would be 38 feet 6 inches tall, making the variance a mere 3 feet 6 inches. Meanwhile, the Western Avenue-facing side
of the building would be 45 feet tall. Because the building is situated on a hill, the door on the Western Avenue-facing side actually leads into the basement, which is not visible from the side facing the golf course — causing the difference in measurements from front and back.
“Our issue is that the zoning officer has made a gross misinterpretation of the code,” said Steve Wickham, steering committee chair of Guilderland Coalition for Responsible Growth. “(She) interpreted our code to allow for the measurement of the height of a building ’s main entrance, which she determined was in the back of the building, when our code clearly states that it should be from the front.”
A 2019 amendment to the town code specified that the building measurement would be determined from the front entrance. Throughout the course of the ZBA meeting, Jacqueline Coons, the zoning officer, was referring to the amendment in terms of a main entrance, which she said was from the rear both for the proposed apartments and for the current offices located in the building. However, town code stipulates that “the main entrance to a (mixed-use) building should be oriented toward the street and sidewalk.”
Town Supervisor Peter Barber defended the determination of the main entrance Wednesday.
“In the end, the question comes down to, ‘Is the interpretation reasonable?’” he said. “My view, so far, is it is.”
Barber added that what’s important is consistent interpretation, which he believes is present in this case.
But Guilderland Coalition for Responsible Growth members disagree. With the town code’s definition of a main entrance, they’re particularly concerned such an interpretation will set a precedent.
“I think that the zoning laws are just blatantly violated so often, and this one will just appear to be much more blatant than some of the others,” said member Iris Broyde. “Whatever developers want, they’ll get, and it doesn’t seem to matter what the laws are — they’ll just ramrod anything through.”