In split vote
Over neighbor’s objections, zoning board approves variance for restaurant



GUILDERLAND — Several residents cried after the zoning board, in a split vote last Wednesday, allowed three variances for an Italian restaurant to set up shop in their neighborhood.

The restaurant proposal for 2026 Western Ave. brought out many of the same Guilderland residents from the Cornell and Sumter avenue neighborhoods who attended the previous zoning board meeting. The five-to-two ruling handed down by Chairman Peter Barber, allows Connie Ware to build a 500-square-foot addition to the old Phoebe’s Flower Shop. She is allowed 45 parking spaces, and was given a side-yard variance.

Board members Charles Klaer and James Sumner dissented. Both members agreed with neighboring residents that the variances to convert the existing building were excessive and would hurt the neighborhood.
"We are dedicated to being good neighbors, and have taken many steps to ensure this," Ware told the board.

One resident asked the board for a traffic study, but the zoning administrator and chief building inspector, Donald Cropsey, said that the area does not warrant an official traffic study.

Residents speak
"No one has met with us as neighbors during the last two weeks," said Betty Shields, a Sumter Avenue resident.
Another resident echoed similar concerns saying, "My main concern and annoyance with this process, since it is obviously going to be approved"is that we have not gotten a call. That is unprofessional."
During the first meeting, Barber suggested that Ware speak one-on-one with local residents and discuss issues brought up during the public hearing. Ware’s husband, Mitch Ware, told the board he asked his wife not to speak with neighbors because they were acting "hostile," and he said that many neighbors were still acting hostile toward them at Wednesday night’s meeting.
"How many variances can you put on one piece of property before you say enough is enough"" asked another resident.

It was this argument that Klaer sided with.
"This particular applicant is benefiting, I believe inappropriately, from previous variances," said Klaer. "They’re taking advantage"That’s too bad for me and for [neighboring residents]."
"A house, a florist, a restaurant. What’s next"" Asked one angry neighbor.

Not everyone at the public hearing spoke out against the proposed business.
"I think, as a business owner, it would be good for business"I think Connie would bring nothing but professionalism," one local business owner and resident told the zoning board. "I would suggest that you rule in favor."
Another supporter, who lives on Johnston Road and is a 20-year Guilderland resident, said a fine-dining Italian restaurant is very different from a typical restaurant. He added, "The town has to grow" We’d like to see it grow a little bit more," and that he would like to see the restaurant built.

Local residents neighboring the proposed restaurant did not voice a similar sentiment.
"I don’t think we even have a restaurant here in Guilderland with valet parking"If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it," one resident said.

Other neighbors voiced concerns over the proposed bar in the restaurant and removing the Route 20 entrance and creating one on Cornell Road instead.
"I really don’t understand this service bar"I really don’t understand this Cornell Road entrance," one resident question the board.
"Yes, there are a lot of restaurants along Western Avenue that have been here a number of years," Barber explained, saying that Albany County Department of Transportation does not want businesses to use Western Avenue entrances because it slows down traffic. The D.O.T is phasing out Western Avenue access to business along Route 20, according to Barber.

Cropsey told residents that he will call the Albany County D.O.T. to check on the regulations, but said that a Western Avenue entrance would meet none of the department’s requirements at that location.
"Is eight seats a service bar, or is eight seats a real bar"" another resident asked the board, saying she was concerned for the safety of children playing in a neighborhood with a nearby bar and no sidewalks.
Mitch Ware responded to these concerns saying, "The people who will go to our restaurant are further along in life"They don’t hang out in parking lots together." Mr. Ware added that he has spent 18 years in the restaurant business, has opened many restaurants around the nation, and that he knows what type of clientele to expect. Drinks will only be served with dinner or to those waiting to be seated, according to Mr. Ware.

The Wares told residents they will do everything they can to mitigate possible traffic problems in the area and tried to abate their concerns.
"At most, we’ll have 70 seats," said Mrs. Ware. "This does not mean there will be 70 people with 70 cars at 5 o’clock."
"You are going to have accidents," one resident told the board. "Please take that into consideration"

ZBA response
"We are not the town board; we are the zoning board," Barber told residents, who were asking why the area could not be re-zoned to exclude businesses like the restaurant. "The town board looked at this area and denied a re-zone."

Zoning boards serve a quasi-judicial function, interpreting laws passed by the town board.

The restaurant is a permitted use and properly zoned for its location, Barber reminded residents attending the meeting.
"What is over-development"" asked Klaer, who said the neighbors think the restaurant is over-developed for that site. Klaer said the restaurant might be technically manageable on paper, but that is not always the case when it comes to affecting people’s homes.

Referring to Christ the King, Klaer also asked what the impact would be on a neighborhood already dealing with a church doubling in size and a large school associated with it, and he also questioned the off-site parking.
"Off-site parking within 300 feet of the building is just as good as on-site parking," Barber responded, with which zoning board attorney Janet Thayer agreed.

When the decision came down to a final vote, Klaer asked for an amendment to the variances, saying he wanted to look more at the parking situation, but no other member seconded his motion.
"I don’t object to you voting no; everyone votes their opinions," Barber said to Klaer.

Board members Susan Marci, Michael Marcantonio, and Patricia Aikens all voted in favor without giving detailed reasons as to why.

Board member Sharon Cupoli said, at first, she thought the restaurant was a great idea, but then she started siding with the neighbors after hearing their complaints. Cupoli told neighbors that she understands their situation but could not come up with a concrete reason to deny the business’s variance applications.
"I’ve fought the fights for neighborhoods"I have to vote with my heart," said Cupoli. "I have to vote in favor."

Sumner said that he studied the issue for two weeks and tried to look at both sides of the argument. Eventually, he said, he sided with residents and voted against the motion.

Klaer also voted against the motion, saying that he doesn’t believe residents were getting a fair deal and that variances were being exploited.

Barber made several suggestions to the Wares, including: putting up private stops signs in their parking lot; having employees park furthest away in order to free up spaces for customers closest to the building; eliminating parking closest to Cornell Avenue; replacing the chainlink fence in the back with a six-foot stockade fence; moving the covered Dumpster 15 feet away from its current location; and including as much landscaping as possible.

Other business
In other business, the zoning board:

— Unanimously approved the parking variance and 25,000 square-foot conversion of the old Price Chopper at 1881 Western Ave. into a multi-use office building; and

— Listened to a variance request by Ronald Carlisle of 1475 Western Ave., to allow additional signs to be placed at T.G.I. Friday’s at Stuyvesant Plaza. The variance request asked to allow four signs with a total area of 317 square feet. The maximum amount allowed is two signs with a total of 50 square feet.

The drastic difference between the two numbers are a result of miscommunication between Cropsey and Carlisle, and the board voted to continue the application until the next meeting on March 29. Members of the McKownville Neighborhood Association were present to voice concerns about the sign variance and adequate pedestrian access to the plaza.