CONCERNED NEIGHBORS
Saratoga Concerned Neighbors group express concerns with proposed hospital zoning change
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> On Thursday, May 2, the city of Saratoga Springs Planning Board met and reviewed a litany of applications under consideration.
Although each one was discussed and reviewed, none has been the object of the degree of reactivity and resident response as the proposed zoning change for Parcel #1 of the March 2019 Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).
The almost 8-acre site in question is currently zoned UR-1 for residential use. Saratoga Hospital is driving a campaign to see that zoning changed to an OMB (office-medicalbusiness) designation that would allow for a medical office building.
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 16, at 6 p.m. at the Recreation Center, located at 15 Vanderbilt Ave. At that meeting, there will be a public comment period. It should be reiterated that the site is just one of 18 where zoning changes are proposed throughout the city to bring the city into legal compliance with a 2015 Comprehensive Plan.
Throughout the process, Saratoga Hospital has mailed a letter to neighbors of the hospital dated February 27, 2019, from President and CEO Angelo G. Calbone, as well as
soliciting letters from employees mailed to the Planning Board declaring their perceived sense of necessity for the construction of the proposed three-story, 75,000-square-foot building, and 300-space parking lot.
The project would be built on the property immediately adjacent to homeowners in the Birch Run and neighboring residential developments.
Surgeons and physicians working for Saratoga Hospital have also presented their support during the public comment periods set aside at recent Planning Board meetings, claiming relocating close to the hospital would reduce their operating costs. Some currently practice at 1 West Ave.
Residents impacted by the proposed zoning changes have also expressed concerns that Saratoga Hospital officials and spokespersons have hosted and contributed to the campaigns of city politicians running for office.
Some of those neighbors have organized into a group called “Saratoga Concerned Neighbors.” The following is a conversation with several neighbors immediately impacted by the proposed changes. Those residents included Dave and Jaime Evans, Amy DeLuca, Jack Despart, Lynwood O’Cain, and Tim Riley. Their homes were originally valued on average in a $400,000 range, with each investing further over time.
Dave Evans is the Regional Vice President, Capital, Central & Northern NY Regions for HUNT Real Estate ERA and is one of the group’s leaders. Recently, his wife, Jaime Evans, observed surveyors at work on the adjacent parcel that has a clear view past the Evans’ rear porch into the dining area of their home.
Evans: “The Saratoga Springs City Council is planning to rezone our quiet, beautiful residential neighborhood as commercial and turn it into a suburban office park that will upend the lives of the people who have lived here for many years. The letter sent to residents doesn’t include that the hospital has other options. They could build upward from their existing single-story buildings.”
DeLuca: “We are not opposed to the hospital growing and being the best institution they can be. None of us oppose that. Be great. Just not there. Do it somewhere else. It should be up, not out.”
Evans: “Their letter says it all. They talk about widening streets, drilling, and blasting, sidewalks. If any Saratoga Springs resident truly read this and understood the consequences to our neighborhood - that’s the message.”
O’Cain: Prior to moving in here, I checked into the zoning here -whether it was residential, it was, and I didn’t expect it to change. I purchased my home about 2007. I put a lot of money into my home as did everyone else. We have been told our property values will drop as much as 40-50 percent, which is a huge drop. And why? Would you want a parking lot in your backyard? It’s a peaceful, quiet neighborhood.
“The hospital pays no taxes. The city will receive less from us as homeowners as our property values decrease. This is an office building, not the medical building that is proposed.”
Riley: “I believe several of their pre-existing single, or two-floor buildings can go up to five floors. Their decisions now are based on poor decisions made in the past.”
Despart: “Once they get in here, no one can fight them. This is just a shoe horn, only the beginning.”
Following the Planning Board Meeting on May 2, the following comments were obtained from Saratoga Concerned Neighbors attorney, Claudia Braymer, Esq., and Saratoga Hospital attorney, Matt Jones, Esq., providing perspective from both sides of the issue at present.
Braymer: “I’m very happy to see that the Planning Board is taking the process very seriously. They want to have the documents in front of them; they want to take their time. They’re looking to get an extension of the time, but it sounds like the City Attorney (DeLeonardis) may have discouraged them from taking the time they need to do a good job on all 18 of the parcels. It’s a big process.”
Which of the 18 parcels you’re speaking of is the one immediately adjacent to the Birch Run residents?
Braymer: “That’s Parcel 1 that is near their homes. The biggest message I want to convey is that they’re very upset that the City Council is looking at changing a residential zone and just instantly converting it to an intense commercial business zone. This could happen to any of the neighborhoods in the entire city.
“If they don’t take the time to protect this residential zone, what is going to stop them from instantly changing any of the other zones in the entire city?”
Are you saying this case could set a precedent for the future? There were several references that the possibility was there.
Braymer: “Right, there are more changes that are going to be coming down the pike. One of the Planning Board members asked about spot zoning and I think that’s a very good question because there is in the background Saratoga Hospital representatives pushing and advocating for this because they want to put an office medical building there.
“There is no question about it that that is why this is happening. No one is saying they shouldn’t be able to expand their operations. There are other options available to them on the property they already own or other places. They are already moving up to Exit 18.
“It’s being said that they could build up on some of their existing single-story office buildings on Myrtle Street, for example, instead of what they’re proposing on Parcel 1
Jones: “I’m very pleased and not at all surprised at the depth with which the Planning Board got into the issues. That’s one of the benefits of living in our community. They’re very knowledgeable and very thorough. I was impressed with the questions and the responses that came from the City Attorney, Vince DeLeonardis, who is wellschooled in this area. Overall, it was a very informative night for the public.”
This application is in its early stages. Is there anything else Saratoga Hospital wants to say about things as they are at this stage?
Jones: “We encourage the Planning Board to continue that thorough analysis, which they are on course to do. That will lead into weeks, and further information will be requested for them and they’re going to make a decision on whether they’re right to vote that night or seek a brief extension from the City Council. This is all part of the normal zoning process described in the zoning ordinance, so we’re very pleased.”
“In the larger sense, this is part of a citywide rezoning. We obviously have an interest in the outcome, but so do the other 28,000 people who live here about the zoning map and how the future of the city will develop. This is part and parcel of that process and I commend the city for doing it.”