GUILDERLAND — Emotions flared at Tuesday’s heated town board meeting when a unanimous decision was made to re-zone the Normanskill Flood Plain.

Angry residents complaining of over-development and the depletion of the town’s green space, who favored the re-zone, clashed with developers who said their investments would be ruined. The room’s tension boiled over after the town’s planner, Jan Weston, announced that 11 properties in the flood plain would not be included in the re-zone proposal.

Weston told the board she sent out notices to homeowners.
"I don’t have any notice that Miss Weston said she sent out," one resident yelled.

Supervisor Kenneth Runion told the crowd that, in addition to Weston’s notices, all of the town’s legal notices were published in The Altamont Enterprise and the Guilderland Spotlight.
"That’s really broadcasting it wide, isn’t it!" one person from the back of the room yelled. "It should be published in the Times Union," yelled another resident.
"That is all we are legally required to do," Runion told the crowd.

George Harder and Shelly Lupi, the two most outspoken developers against the re-zone proposal, asked the board if there was time for a petition to protest the zoning change.
"Not if we vote on it tonight," Runion said.

It was then that Runion asked Weston if she brought a map of the area in question, and, after she said no, residents once again became angry.
"How many excuses do we have to hear"" yelled one man.
"Do you have a copy machine" Let’s start running off copies," said another woman.

The hall then erupted into arguing as two men on opposite ends of the room began to yell at each other. The room was quickly quieted after the supervisor spoke up.
"If you can’t conduct yourself in a reasonable manner, you’ll be asked to leave," he told angry residents. No one was forced to leave and the meeting proceeded in an orderly manner.

The land, which runs along Guilderland and New Scotland town lines between Church Road and Schoolhouse Road, was changed from a residential zone with a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet, to a zone with a required minimum lot size of three acres for development, to conserve natural resources.

Many of the arguments heard during the meeting were similar to ones made during the May public hearing on the flood plain re-zone. Local residents complained about traffic congestion, over-development, environmental impacts and said how the re-zone would help maintain their quality of life in the area.

Developers maintained that the re-zone would ruin their investments and destroy the marketability of the land.
"I don’t want a piece of land that I can’t market," said Harder. He then told the board if it wanted agriculture, then it should zone the area agricultural so he could at least build chicken farms for eggs and manure.

Lupi argued that her property was oddly shaped, being long and thin, and would already be hard to develop under the old zoning, but under the new zone, her property would be useless. She said her family has owned the property for three generations.

Once she realized the board was going to re-zone the property, she asked if the town would be willing to buy her property to keep forever wild. The board never responded.

Weston said that certain properties could not be part of the re-zone because many of them are currently under the three-acre requirement and would be non-conforming uses.
"My goal is really to make a tool for the planning board to use in order to protect the land that needs protecting," Weston said, whose statement was followed by a roomful of loud applause.

Both the town’s planning board and Albany County’s planning board recommended re-zoning the flood plains.

After the public hearing was closed, board member Michael Ricard questioned why Lupi’s family did not previously develop the land when there were fewer state and federal regulations and requirements.
"The time to strike to develop that land was 30 years ago," Ricard said.

Harder tried to approach the podium to speak to the board once more but was booed down and told to sit because the public comment period was closed.
Runion made the motion in favor of the re-zone and Ricard seconded the motion. A unanimous decision then followed to re-zone the flood plains. Board member David Bosworth took a moment to "recognize the diligent work the planning board has done," and to thank Weston for her work on the recent long-term planning and re-zoning taking place throughout the town.
Runion said he voted for the re-zone because it was "environmentally sensitive land."
While taking a brief recess, as the meeting continued late into the night, a passer-by thanked the supervisor, who responded, "You’re welcome; I hope it helps."

Other business

In other business the town board unanimously:

— Approved setting a public hearing for July 11 on amendments to the Mill Hill Planned Unit Development on Route 155;

— Appointed Richard Savage as director of animal control from the Albany County Civil Service list. Savage, who already holds the post, was the only applicant to take the test for the position;

— Approved setting a public hearing for Sept. 5 on a local law allowing commerical car washes to use municipal water;

— Adopted the conveyance of property for a portion of road known as Newman Road in order to legally access fire hydrants on the road;

— Approved tax assessments from the town assessor’s recommendations;

— Appointed Jane Schramm, director of the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce, as the chamber’s representative on the Economic Development Advisory Committee; and

— Adopted a resolution in support of the Altamont Free Library grant application for renovating the former Altamont train station.