GUILDERLAND — The town of Guilderland, state Senator Patricia Fahy, and Assemblywoman Gabriella Romero have raised concerns about the nine acres of trees to be felled for a temporary parking lot at the NanoTech Complex just over the townline in the city of Albany. 

The facility, of which the University at Albany is a tenant, sits on a 72.5 acre site and is part of the state and semiconductor industry’s $10 billion investment in semiconductor research. The facility will include some of the world’s most advanced chip-making equipment.

Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber said at a March 18 town board meeting that he and Ellen Manning, president of the McKownville Improvement Association — the proposed parking lot borders the century-old McKownville neighborhood —  had worked to prevent paving federal wetlands.

“The applicant was not even looking at the most recent regulations … It’s no longer based upon maps,” said Barber of the state’s new wetland regulations adopted this year. “It’s based upon objective factors. What is on the site? Vernal ponds?”

Barber also said paving six acres would “contribute to the already problematic stormwater in that area. It’s really completely unnecessary. And right on the plan it said that there was a higher cost option that would move the parking and the disturbance back towards the NanoTech and away from town property.”

Asked if the town would issue a temporary restraining order, Barber said no because the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation “objected and said that there had to be much more adept study of the wildlife on-site. There’s rare and endangered species, both plants, amphibians and also animals on that 25 acre site. It’s also located in the city of Albany, which is very rare to have that sort of land in the city of Albany. Quite frankly, we seem to be caring more than the city of Albany cares.”

The letter from Fahy and Romero states the two legislators “are deeply concerned that serious environmental ramifications have not been thoroughly considered in this review process.”

Concerns were raised by the pair regarding the inadequate environmental impact evaluation of a project, specifically related to tree removal, potential flooding worsening, endangered species welfare, and wetland effects.

The project’s proposed parking-lot construction, Fahy and Romero assert, may exacerbate flooding issues, “particularly at the intersection of Western Avenue and Fuller Road located to the south,” and negatively impact residential neighborhoods with existing stormwater problems due to the removal of the forested buffer. 

The two requested any State Environmental Quality Review action be withheld until a complete and thorough Full Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF), site plan, and stormwater management plan are provided. 

The town in its letter states “that the FEAF and Draft Concept Plan are deficient and incomplete, and do not allow for a proper consideration of the significant and permanent environmental impacts that would arise from the construction of a temporary 750-space parking lot.”

It goes on to say that, in order to conduct a proper coordinated review, “additional reports, studies, plans and site plan stamped by a professional engineer must be provided, with sufficient time for all involved agencies, including the Town, to review the updated submission.”

The town also said additional agencies should be in the coordinated review, including the state’s Department of Transportation, its Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Thruway Authority, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Jason Conwall, the director of marketing and strategic affairs for NY CREATES, the public-private entity overseeing the development, said in a statement to The Enterprise, “Due to ongoing growth at Albany NanoTech, the site has lost nearly 750 parking spaces. NY CREATES’ facilities operate 24/7 and average more than 1,350 employees on-site each day as most jobs require individuals to be on-site, not working from home.

“To ensure uninterrupted operations and accommodate employees, over the past year NY CREATES has spent significant money on off-site parking and shuttle service. Due to the loss of on-site parking, NY CREATES is pursuing authorization to expand its F Lot by up to 750 spaces.”

Conwall went on to say, “No construction-related activity has commenced, and no action will be taken until all necessary approvals are in place. NY CREATES follows all laws and regulations, including those related to construction and growth of the site.

“As required, we are following the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPP) processes, during which relevant local, regional, and state government agencies examine the potential environmental, social, and economic considerations of a project. For example, detailed planning will ensure that stormwater runoff will be directed to a detention area to deter potential flow onto adjacent properties.”

Guilderland’s stance 

The town, in its letter, said the clear-cutting of nine acres, six of which will be paved, for “a temporary 750-space parking lot will cause permanent and significant environmental impacts that, at a minimum, require extensive investigation and input from involved agencies.”

The town said the project’s FEAF acknowledges several significant negative environmental impacts, including the clearing of trees that currently buffer the project site from the adjacent Mercer Street residential area to make way for the proposed parking lot, but fails to offer any mitigation for the substantial impact. 

The letter states, “There are multiple reasonable and existing alternatives to the proposed permanent destruction of a heavily treed lot, with rare and endangered species, for a temporary parking lot.”

Guilderland’s letter goes on to say, while the FEAF concedes that the paved six-acre parking lot requires stormwater management, it “fails to provide even the most basic of details for its stormwater management plan,” other than noting a possible “higher cost option.”  

Also, the town asserts, the FEAF proposes a parking lot for 750 vehicles, yet it offers no analysis of potential traffic impacts on adjacent roads and intersections, including those in Guilderland. 

The FEAF, according to the town, also says that the parking lot will not cause “a substantial increase in traffic above present levels or generate substantial new demand for transportation facilities or services.” This is because, as Conwall told The Enterprise, the site lost nearly 750 parking spaces due to construction and the new spaces are to replace those.

However, the town notes, “The parking lot is intended to serve 700 additional new employees who will work at the Nanotech’s expanded campus until a parking garage is constructed. “

The town says the parking lot’s “impact upon rare and endangered species requires a careful review, including on-site expert analysis of impacted areas.” A licensed engineer’s stamped site plan is the first step in this review, the town says, the plan must include delineated disturbed areas, marked locations of protected species, and a jurisdictional determination of freshwater wetlands.

The project site, according to the FEAF, contains federally regulated waters and is located on or near a principal aquifer. Additionally, the town states, the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Environmental Resource Mapper suggests the possible presence of freshwater wetlands close to the proposed parking lot expansion area. 

The town notes that the DEC has recently updated its wetland jurisdiction regulations, moving from a map-based system to a classification system using 11 criteria to define “Wetlands of Unusual Importance.”

Based on the FEAF, site observations, and the DEC’s Environmental Resource Mapper, the wetlands on the project site potentially meet several criteria for classification as “Wetlands of Unusual Importance,” warranting further investigation under the new regulations, according to the town.

These criteria include:

— The wetlands are part of the 900-acre Krumkill watershed, which has a history of significant flooding;

— The wetlands are situated within the city of Albany, a designated urban area by the U.S. Census Bureau;

— The project site is documented to host rare plant species;.

— The project site contains a critical habitat for endangered, threatened, or special-concern species, including the Karner blue butterfly, frosted elfin butterfly, and northern long-eared bat;

— The project site contains federally regulated wetlands and overlays a “primary aquifer”; and 

— Site photographs suggest the possible existence of vernal pools, which are known to be highly productive amphibian breeding habitats.

The town asserts that  the “FEAF offers no traffic assessment on how additional 700 vehicles might impact adjacent highways and intersections at peak hours,” and that a comprehensive traffic analysis is required, which includes:

— Projected a.m. and evening p.m. peak hour traffic volumes;

— The distribution of generated trips across adjacent roads and intersections;

— A level of service assessment to identify intersections experiencing a 100-vehicle-per-hour increase, potential degradation, and necessary mitigation measures;

— Trip generation reports detailing existing employee traffic at the NanoTech complex and projected traffic from 700 new employees.

The town says it and other relevant agencies must be afforded the opportunity to review and provide feedback on all traffic studies and proposed mitigation strategies as part of the coordinated SEQR review process, and that the detailed evaluation of traffic impact must include Fuller Road, Interstate 90’s entrance and exit ramps as well as roundabouts, Washington Avenue, Executive Park Drive, Western Avenue, and Railroad Avenue.

Before proceeding with its environmental reviews, construction, and any potential environmental damage, the town says, NY CREATES should explore reasonable and available alternatives, such as:

— Continuing to use and expanding the existing park-and-ride option at Crossgates Mall, extending it to other lots there, and to Crossgates Commons;

— Evaluating parking availability at the University at Albany and Harriman Office Campus; 

— Utilizing the Capital District Transportation Authority’s Purple Line, which offers frequent and rapid connections to the Nanotech campus; or

— Incentivizing employees to use CDTA’s Universal Access, which allows employees to use CDTA services at a discounted rate.