VOORHEESVILLE — On Tuesday, the planning commission heard more about an 11-lot subdivision by Route 85A and Crow Ridge Road, and approved signs for the Ballston Spa Savings Bank near the roundabout in Voorheesville.

Engineer Kathryn Serra, with C.T. Male Associates, working on behalf of the planning commission, outlined some of her concerns with James Cillis’s subdivision, which he calls Serenity. She said her preliminary review was to see if the plans met village codes and complied with state standards.

Serra noted there were wetlands on the property and also said a document review would have to be done to see if the land had “any potential for prehistoric sites” and that the long-eared bat was the only potential endangered species that might inhabit the property.

Mark Jacobson, an engineer and owner of Insite Northeast, working for Cillis, responded, “SHPO [State Historic Preservation Office] and Threatened and Endangered Species have been done and submitted to the Army Corps.” He also said the Army Corps of Engineers is aware of the wetlands.

Jacobson said, too, that once the plan is finalized, it will be submitted to Voorheesville’s fire chief for review.

Serra also said the development’s proposed road would need to be widened four feet to comply with the village minimum of 28 feet.

“This project is not unlike what we did on Prospect,” said Jacobson. “The thought then was to keep [the road] narrower.”

“There is some discretion,” said Richard Reilly, the village attorney, of road width.

“From an engineering standpoint, it makes sense to lessen roads,” said Serra.

“Our basic concern is stormwater stuff, erosion of slopes, and safety,” said Georgia Gray, chairwoman of the planning commission.

Jacobson said that slope stabilization “will be part of our ultimate plan.”

“Slopes on the site make it tricky,” Serra said. “You want the slopes to have vegetation and hold.”

During construction, Jacobson said, jute mesh would be placed on the slopes, which will eventually degrade; the mesh allows “turf to stay in place,” he said.

The plan calls for four basins to hold water, Jacobson said.

“Will you fence them in so kids don’t get in?” asked commission member David Pendergast.

“If someone were to fall in, it’s not deep,” responded Jacobson.

“There are negatives to fences,” said Serra, noting they can create “a real maintenance issue.” And, she said, people who want to get in “just climb the fence.” She said the basins, which are four to six feet deep, only fill when there is a storm.

Commission member Kathryn Scharl asked if there were issues related to climate change. Serra said that the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation had made changes in its regulations because of climate change. For example, a 100-year storm now is considered one that rains seven inches in 24 hours — “You didn’t even see that with Tropical Storm Irene,” said Serra, calling such rainfall “intense.”

“We designed this system over and above,” said Jacobson.

“The basins will be oversized for most storm events,” agreed Serra.

Both Pendergast and Scharl expressed concerns that traffic on Crow Ridge Road could be blocked by construction vehicles as the development is being built. Jacobson responded that flagmen could be posted to conduct traffic.

In answer to questions about water, Reilly said that Barton & Loguidice, the village’s former engineering firm, “did an analysis that showed 11 taps are OK,” using village water.

Jacobson concluded, “We’ll give C.T. Male a set of plans to check out before we come back to the board again.”

Bank signs

The commission unanimously approved two signs for the Ballston Spa Savings Bank, which remodeled a former bank near the Maple Avenue roundabout.

The wall sign will measure 30-by-121 inches, and the monument sign, on a stone base, will measure 38-by-77 inches.

“The sign is going in the same spot as for First Niagara,” said Glenn Hebert, the village’s building inspector.

Gray noted that Hannaford Supermarket in the nearby plaza closes at 11 p.m. “We’d like the lights off then,” she said.

It was agreed that the illumination would be darkened at 11 p.m.