Stewart’s proposal’s impact eyed
Locals share concerns on plan to expand shop, flatten funeral home
The proposal by Stewart’s Shops to build a new location at a busy Schenectady intersection passed a major hurdle on Wednesday when city planners allowed the City Council to consider a zoning change.
But the decision came after a lengthy debate between the planning commission and Stewart’s representatives over how far the proposed convenience store and gas station, which would replace the existing Sunoco and Jones Funeral Home at the corner of Union and Mcclellan streets, would bump up against the back of homes on Rugby Road.
The answer: If rezoned, Stewart’s
would be allowed to construct their building 37 feet closer to residences than current use allows.
Right now, the funeral home is roughly 125 feet from the back property line, and the parking lot roughly 37 feet away.
Exact project details remain in development, and the proposal still requires site plan approval from the planning commission, which would require Stewart’s to present more concrete details, including the scope of the building and gas pumps, green space and other key design elements.
“I do think the site plan is going to be some pretty heavy discussions,” said Planning Commissioner Chairwoman Mary Moore Wallinger on Thursday.
The plan for the estimated 4,000-square-foot project requires a change in zoning designation from residential to commercial for the funeral home parking lot. Without the zoning change, the project would endanger the effort, said Marcus Andrews, the Stewart’s Shop project manager who presented the proposal.
“To be honest, I don’t know if we’d be able to continue the project,” Andrews said. “It’d be tough to justify.”
Several residents voiced concerns during the 90-minute discussion, which forced to commissioners to sketch out diagrams on the back of poster boards and engage in back-ofthe-napkin arithmetic.
“It’s very quiet,” said a Rugby Road resident who didn’t enter his name into the record. “We live a very quiet life in this neighborhood. With Stewart’s Shops, we expect a lot of booming and zooming from car radios, a lot of noise — a lot of this stuff going on, so this is why we’re concerned.”
Tom Carey, president of the Upper Union Street Neighborhood Association, was quick to point out that he isn’t opposed to the project, and residents generally
like Stewart’s. But he said the expansion is out of sync with the neighborhood’s character, which sits in a transitional zone be