GUILDERLAND — The town board wants specifics on the $100 million New Urbanist community proposed for busy Route 20.

Focusing on traffic concerns, the board questioned developers of the Glass Works Village on Tuesday before accepting their draft environmental impact statement.

The town board set a public hearing for April 17 at 8 p.m. It will be the same night as a public hearing for bringing municipal water to the town’s west end.

Documents pertaining to Glass Works will now be available for public review.
"John Behan made a number of comments he thought needed to be addressed," Supervisor Kenneth Runion said about the town designated engineer. "But he thought it was clear enough to set a date for public comment."

Behan told the board that he wants to see more specifics on issues such as land-use, zoning and community character, economic and fiscal impact, municipal services, and the distribution of open space.

The project calls for 327 residential units — including condominiums, townhouses, and cottages — and nearly 200,000 square feet of commercial space to be built over six years, with construction to begin this summer. More than half of the 57-acre plot is slated to remain open space.

Linkage road

The library, located next to the proposed development, wants more specifics.

The Guilderland Public Library presented a letter to the board in December, questioning the creation of a connection road between Mercy Care Lane and Winding Brook Drive. Currently, a paper road connects the library, the nursing home, and the drug rehab center with using Route 20. The proposed road would run directly behind the library’s Literary Garden which was just built in October of 2005 at a cost of $76,000.

The library was given a $50,000 grant from the state, which was earmarked by Assemblyman John McEneny, for the project. The Literary Garden faces a wooded area and is completely open to give library patrons a relaxing environment to read.

Some of the library’s trustees think the road will hurt the tranquil garden setting, but they say they support the Glass Works proposal.
"The library is officially supportive of the Glass Works Village. It’s a community-oriented property that promotes pedestrian-friendly development," said the library board’s president, Robert Ganz. "I’m hoping to hear more specifics on the details of roads involved"We question whether this area is the best solution."

Ganz told The Enterprise before Tuesday’s meeting, "We understand that there are realities in moving development forward"We just hope the town leaders will sincerely take our concerns to heart."
"There was not enough documentation necessitating the linkage road behind the library," Runion said of the library’s concerns. Library trustees have met with town officials "several times," he said

Runion gave developers a copy of the library’s letter at Tuesday’s meeting.

Traffic concerns
Councilwoman Patricia Slavick said she thought the estimate of 139 peak morning traffic trips "was kind of low."
Developers told the board that the numbers used in the traffic study, conducted by Clough Harbor and Associates, was a "worse-case analysis." Frank Palumbo, who helped piece together the Glass Works’ DEIS, explained that, since everyone would not be leaving or coming home at the same time every day, the number used reflected a "worst-case" base.
"We’re using a fair base line," Palumbo told the board. "It’s peak hour of the system, not necessarily the peak hour of the Glass Works Village."

Councilman David Bosworth also questioned the traffic impact.
"The traffic situation is already problematic without the proposal and it can only make it worse"What is some of the mitigation you are proposing"" asked Bosworth. "I guess I would just like some reference"to this information."
Bosworth said transportation was "a very important issue" and also asked about character changes the project would bring to the community at large.
"There are some definite character changes for the hamlet of Guilderland as it’s now called," Bosworth said. "It’s going to have a big impact, both macro and micro, for our town."

Only eight intersections were mentioned in the traffic study, said Bosworth, and he asked about the impacts on intersections surrounding Glass Works.
"We have that fine pharmacy across the street, Walgreens, that people are still mumbling about," Bosworth said of the route 155 and 20 intersection.

Other concerns

Councilman Mike Ricard, the board’s longest-serving member, asked about specific data on coverage from local police and fire crews.

Glass Works would be located 2.2 miles from the Guilderland Police headquarters in Town Hall, further west on Route 20.
"The policing and EMS responses are needed," Ricard said. "I don’t anticipate this being a Wal-Mart or Crossgates, but it is a very large project."

The town police have a substation in Crossgates Mall, also on Route 20, to handle the frequent arrests, mostly for shoplifting.

Ricard cited unanticipated policing problems at a Wal-Mart plaza off of Route 9W in the town of Bethlehem; he said he didn’t want the same to happen with this project. To compound the problem, Ricard added, several police officers are scheduled to retire within the next 10 years.
"I would like to see some numbers behind it," he said.

Runion said he wanted to see less reliance on automobiles with the project and he wanted the pedestrian improvement plans.
Of the developer’s Planned Unit Development request, Runion said he didn’t see how "this PUD is going to result in less reliance on the automobile."
Continuing he said, "I’d like to see a little more detail"I’d like to see what those pedestrian improvements are."
Slavick asked developers about what they labeled as an "on-site recreation area."
They responded by calling it "passive recreation," meaning pocket parks, trails, and pedestrian and bike paths.

Palumbo thanked the board for their questions and said developers will start piecing together answers for public debate.
"We’ll work hard toward those answers," he said. "We do want to go back to the planning board"So you could see in greater detail what we are proposing."