By David S. Lewis

NEW SCOTLAND — In a packed hall Tuesday night, the planning board was divided, 2 to 5, voting against a moratorium on commercial building.

In accordance with state law, the New Scotland Planning Board was given a chance to make a statement on the moratorium. The moratorium was proposed after the Sphere Group expressed interest in buying 179 acres of the old Bender melon farm to build a 750,000-square-foot open-air mall.

Board members Beth Stewart and Chuck Voss voted in favor of the moratorium.  While Stewart did not make a statement on her position, Voss said that he thought the moratorium was necessary to step back and determine whether the zoning law was in line with the town’s comprehensive plan.  He pointed out that zoning laws were meant to follow the guidelines set in the comprehensive land-use plan, not the other way around. 

Voss, a senior planner for CT Male, said that, while he was generally opposed to moratoriums, he encouraged the town board to enact a “very brief moratorium.”

Every other member of the board — Chairman Robert Stapf, and board members Kevin T. Kroencke, Robert Smith, Lorraine Tuzzolo, and Cynthia Elliot — all voted against the moratorium.

Smith noted that the owners had been paying taxes on the property since they purchased it in 1976 and he blamed the townspeople for the degradation of the town’s character.

“As far as the character of this town, it was ruined by you people, as far as I’m concerned,” said Smith.

Smith said he had been in the town longer than most of the people in the room, adding that he had been a farmer and had spent much of his life in construction.

“The rural character has already been somewhat tainted,” he said, noting that his experience in construction had taught him that moratoriums were “generally ineffective.”

Kroencke was also outspoken on the issue, and said that he was frustrated with the way the issue had been handled on “both sides of the fence.”  He said he would not support a moratorium of more than three months.

“I’m going hold your feet to the fire,” said Kroencke.  He also spoke out on the danger of allowing residential development on commercially-zoned land.

“You can plant all the melons you want, you can plant all the corn your want; those are gone in six months.  If you build a house, that’s going to sit there,” he said.  He advocated for a moratorium that would encompass all development.

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” said Kroencke.

The next night, at Wednesday’s packing public hearing on the moratorium, Kroencke announced he was reversing his decision and said he was sorry for his vote.

Tuesday’s session, like two held earlier by the town board, was packed. As petitions circulate against the plan, lawn signs urging a “yes” vote on the moratorium have appeared in yards across town.

After the meeting, The Enterprise asked Stapf to whom he believed the yard signs were addressed, the elected town board officials or the appointed members of the planning board. 

“I think they are addressed to all public officials,” he responded.  He went on to say that he believed the planning board was adhering to the law, and that the moratorium was premature, repeating the conviction he expressed earlier, during the meeting.  He said that several long-time residents had thanked him for opposing the moratorium.

The Enterprise posed the same question to Councilman Doug LaGrange, who said that he thought the signs were to raise awareness for the citizens as well as appeal to the town’s boards. 

LaGrange said that the planning board’s advice had not affected his stance on the proposed moratorium.

“Chuck Voss articulated it well,” he said.  “There’s a murkiness in the law….”

A new kind of yard sign

At recent meetings, no one has spoken against a moratorium, which proponents say is needed to give the town time to align its zoning with its comprehensive land-use plan. No one has written letters to the Enterprise editor against the moratorium. And, until Tuesday night, no signs had opposed a moratorium.

Signs encouraging the town board to oppose the moratorium literally sprang up overnight; as no group advocating for the opposition had announced themselves, the source of the signs were a mystery — until Kristy York confirmed that they had been given out by representatives of the developer at a meeting at Bella Sera, a restaurant on New Scotland Road. 

The Enterprise called Greg Widrick, managing founder of the Sphere Group, to confirm the statement, but Widrick denied distributing the yard signs to the residents at the restaurant.  He declared that the Sphere Group had nothing to do with the printing of the signs, although Kristy York, who attended the meeting, said that members of the group were distributing them there.

Widrick recalled seeing signs at the meeting, but said he couldn’t remember exactly what they said.

“I definitely did not have them printed, or hand them to anyone,” he said.  He said the signs “may” have been printed and distributed by John D’Alessandro, his public affairs consultant from Zone 5, but he would not confirm it and deferred comment to D’Alessandro. 

Widrick acknowledged hiring Zone 5’s D’Alessandro but would not acknowledge that D’Alessandro was accountable to Widrick.

D’Alessandro told the Enterprise while last night’s public hearing was underway that Voorheesville resident John Jeffers had paid for the signs. “Mr. John Jeffers rounded up a bunch of like-minded residents and asked Sphere to present to them,” said D’Alessandro. He said that Zone 5 had printed the signs.

When asked if he thought the crowd of over 850 at the hearing represented the community’s wishes, D’Alessandro said he did not think it did.