GUILDERLAND — The zoning board said yes to a gravel pit and a house-call veterinary office last Wednesday night, and told developer Jeff Thomas to come back in two weeks.

Charles Desch was unanimously granted a special-use permit for his sand and gravel mine proposed for Becker Road. The board told Desch that he could not start his operation until the road at Route 158 underwent reconfiguration.

Other stipulations have to be met, too, such as creating an escrow account for any damage caused to the road by Desch’s truck. Desch is only allowed to use a single-unit truck no longer than 30 feet.

Because mining permits are governed by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, the zoning board’s only authority was to issue a special-use permit. The DEC has already granted Desch a permit for the project.
"The DEC has pre-empted all zoning boards from mining permits," said zoning board chairman, Peter Barber.

Desch’s lawyer told the board the only real issue left is the re-alignment of the intersection.

Sue Green, a resident of Route 158, asked the board why four nearby neighbors were not notified by mail of the hearing.
"As you know, the only legal notice required is publication in a newspaper," Barber said. "We do the mailings as a courtesy."

Chief Building Inspector Donald Cropsey told Green he thought all of the residents had been notified by mail.
"If anyone has enough money to fix the roads, they can drive whatever they want"" Green asked the board, indicating the weight limit would be broken by trucks hauling gravel.
"Mr. Desch is only allowed to drive trucks to and from his gravel pit and Route 158," Cropsey told her.

Green was also upset that the board did not address the hours of operation in Desch’s application.
"The DEC said boards can make recommendations for the hours of operation," she said. "Did you make recommendations""

The hours of operation for the gravel pit will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
"By law, the DEC has exclusive jurisdiction over the hours of operation," Barber told Green. "I wasn’t involved."

There were several letters both for and against Desch’s application submitted to the board.

House calls
In a six-to-one vote, the board granted veterinarian Laurie Coser a special-use permit to operate an "administrative" office on 20 Shady Lane.
Board Member James Sumner voted against the application, citing too many residents were concerned over traffic that might be generated by an "animal hospital."

Because Coser performs chiropractic treatment, the town code defines the operation as an animal hospital, which is not allowed in a residential zone and not allowed as a customary home occupation.

There were several letters of opposition and support for the application.
"We do not endorse any critical comments directed toward you," Barber told Coser, adding that the board only looks at the legalities of an application through the town’s code. Because Coser’s profession falls within the description of an animal hospital, he said, her original application would need to be in an agricultural zone.
"I am willing to make the office completely administrative," Coser told the board. Coser said her operation will consist of house-calls and animal shows, but that no animals will actually be treated on Shady Lane.

Donald Reeb, president of the McKownville Neighborhood Improvement Association, spoke on behalf of surrounding neighbors about making sure animals were not treated at the office.
"It does worry neighbors about enforcement and adherence"It is a very difficult process," he said. "It puts a requirement on neighbors to serve partly as viewers as to what’s going on. That’s not necessarily comfortable."

Senior housing

Jeff Thomas and his architects presented plans for an 86-unit senior-housing complex at the former Bavarian Chalet. Thomas needs a special-use permit and an area variance for the project to move forward.

Last year, the town board re-zoned the site from local business to multiple residence in return for a town-designated senior center at the complex.

Revised plans presented to boards addressed previous issues brought up by concerned residents nearby. The project’s setback, emergency access, density, and landscape coverage were the main concerns.

One resident, Thomas Green, of 5080 Western Turnpike, lives next to the project and three sides of his property face the proposed complex. He brought up many issues at the last board meeting.
"I’m quite surprised at how little has changed," Green said. "With a few more variances we could probably get Giants Stadium in there"I don’t think there’s a development this compact with density in the entire Capital District."

It was brought up later in the meeting that the Mallards Pond development in town has a higher density with eight units per acre, compared to Thomas’s proposed seven units per acre.

Thomas Green was angry about the setback being so small behind his property and raised concerns about noise and traffic.

Mary Ann Zwicklbauer of Hoosick Falls, whose family sold the Bavarian Chalet, spoke in favor of the project.
"We’ve been there for a very long time," said Zwicklbauer. "It was important that something constructive be done with it."

Zwicklbauer went on to say that many of her family’s older friends are retiring and want to downsize their homes, but stay in the area. She said that Guilderland was in desperate need of such a project.

Thomas has proposed two other senior-housing projects — one in Berne to serve the Hilltowns, and the other on Brandle Road just outside of Altamont.

Despite what the Army Corps of Engineers said about wetlands on the property, Zwicklbauer told the board that her grandfather was the one who dug the pond and planted the trees in what was once an empty field.
With hundreds of weddings with up to 200 people, a community banquet, and lots of soccer events, she said, "Seniors cannot possibly be as noisy as we were when it was a bustling business."

The board asked for some more details from Thomas’s architects and planners, and told them to come back in two weeks, on March 21.