To the Editor:
This is an open letter to Thomas Remmert, chairman of the Guilderland Zoning Board of Appeals.

We, the undersigned, residents of Hawes Road, wish to add our names to those previously listed in a recent letter [“The safety, health, and property values of town residents are at stake”] to the editor of The Altamont Enterprise (March 10, 2022) who are dismayed by the complacent attitude shown so far in the board’s reaction to the proposal for a contractor’s yard on Frederick Road.

We fully agree with the points raised, with special emphasis on the actively rural nature of our  neighborhood. All of us are walkers, some snowshoe and cross-country ski, some have children and grandchildren, and all of us are fully cognizant of the beauty of the area as it presently exists, which  includes wide swaths of hay fields, a Dutch barn, and views of the Helderbergs.

Another frequent activity is bicycling — this was pronounced by one group as the best area to cycle in Albany County. A previous letter referenced the track team practices that are one of the signs of spring.

And there are fewer and fewer locations in Guilderland in which the primary sound you hear is birdsong, but this is one of them. Yesterday, a 4-plus mile walk enabled a view of three horses in their pasture; two hawks soaring over the field beneath the escarpment; a herd of cows; two buzzards squabbling over a rabbit; Canada geese returning.

To say nothing of frequent deer sightings on other occasions and flocks of turkeys (and yes, often in the field closest to the proposed commercial site for Dumpsters). The possibility of even more extensive development of the property, perhaps leading to further encroachment, is also quite concerning.

Less and less of rural Guilderland still exists for residents to enjoy. There are many commercial sites or developing areas that might welcome an addition of such a business to their midst. This is not one of them, and it would seem that many residents of the area prefer that it remain that way.

As we have seen numerous spots around the town being developed (near Guilderland Center, Osborne Corners comes to mind immediately, plus Black Creek Estates; there is also the growing expansion of Staucet’s Nursery). Many of us are unhappy about the extensive tree cutting taking place.

At a time when climate change is a serious challenge to our future, it would seem a more judicious choice of what and where to build would be prudent.  

We hope that you will reconsider approval of this project.  

Carol J. Hamblin and

Robert D. Miller

Deborah Danz

Bonnie and Jim Schaller

Deborah Dzingle 

Editor’s note: All of the letter writers live on Hawes Road in Guilderland.