GUILDERLAND — Neighbors came out, again, to oppose the four-lot subdivision of 1.13 acres on McKown Road, but the planning board approved the request. Residents decried both the engineering work proposed and that already done, while the daughter of the ailing applicant scolded the neighbors for their harsh criticism and delaying tactics.

Town Planner Jan Weston told the board that the biggest issue with the application was water drainage, but that the proposed swale and improvements to the present drainage system had been approved by the town-designated engineer.

Board Chairman Stephen Feeney said that TDE Barton & Loguidice sent a letter recommending final approval of the subdivision.

The proposal has been before the board for more than a year as drainage issues and possible oil tank leaks were examined.

Engineer Zareh Altounian said that one lot has an existing house, and that the three new lots meet town standards. A 12-inch pipe will be installed for drainage along one side of the road, and an existing 8-inch pipe on the other side will be improved to a 12-inch pipe to prevent flooding. Altounian’s plan calls for a swale, but neighbors insisted that a swale is the same as a ditch and would clog with debris.

“These are calculations based on unknowns,” said neighbor Henry Tedeschi.

“Based on engineering,” said Feeney and board member Thomas Robert.

Tedeschi said that the applicant should build the proposed drainage system, and, if it works without affecting homes with habitually wet basements, houses could be added to the property.

“That would be putting the cart before the horse,” said engineer Nadine Medina of Barton and Loguidice.

“They don’t build a bridge and put a car on it,” said Robert, who is an architect. “They use engineering principles.”

“This may, in fact, make it better. It can’t make it worse,” Feeney said.

One resident asked for a pool of money to be set aside for neighboring homeowners who might have legal issues if their homes flood after the subdivision is approved. She said that the residents want a one-year moratorium on building on the lots. She also said that the proposed swale would “cheapen the look of the neighborhood.”

Robert said that the swale system is better than catch basins because of its small slope.

“This system has been very carefully looked at,” Robert said. “What is there now, we can’t fix. What is being created, the developer is required [by town standards] to make it better than it is now.”

Medina said that a closed-drainage system would be less efficient than a swale at the site.

“It’s going to be a very subtle slope,” Medina said. She said that a person can walk across the swale and mow it easily.

Sue Brown, of nearby Westlyn Place, asked if the engineering records were available for inspection.

“It is available,” Feeney said. Plans submitted to the board can be viewed by the public, he said. Brown asked if she could see the actual work calculations. The board explained that the work done by the applicant’s engineer was reviewed by an engineering firm hired by the town to oversee the work.

Weston said that the town also hires an independent engineering firm to oversee construction as it takes place.

“Barton and Loguidice is a very good firm,” said board member Paul Caputo. “We’ve had very good success with them.”

Carol Doolittle, of Ithaca, scolded the roomful of neighbors. Her mother, Mary Strassburg, needs to sell her property to pay for her nursing home, Doolittle said.

She said that the plan had been “nit-picked,” even though two engineering firms had been employed over 18 months.

“This is an environmentally-friendly plan,” she said. “It’s beautiful, not a ditch. I kind of resent people talking like this.”

She said that her nephew hopes to restore the Strassburg house to “bring back beauty to an original” home in the town. Doolittle said that her mother’s health has deteriorated further.

“She needs the money now to continue her care,” she said.

“This wasn’t just casually done,” Robert said. “It was carefully looked at. We’re not pro-developer. We’re pro-Guilderland. I think this was done very thoughtfully.”

Board member James Cohen asked if the town could create an enforcement process for new homeowners to prevent the swale from being filled in.

“The town has the authority to go in and remedy a situation if the swale is not being maintained,” Feeney said.

The board approved the application. The storm water management system must be installed before building permits can be issued, the board said.

In other business, the board:

— Recommended a proposal to rezone 22 acres on Old State Road from single-family residential with 30,000 feet to townhouse zoning. Amedore Homes wants to build 42 town homes on the property at the intersection of Carman Road. A public hearing was held Tuesday. (See related story); and

— Approved James Besha and Susan Thomas’s request to cut a 12-acre portion from 29 acres at 4770 Western Turnpike. The board also recommended that the rear 12 acres be rezoned from industrial to residential.