BERNE—After months of bitter protests from citizens who objected both to new zoning and to a Stewart’s in the hamlet, the Stewart’s company has withdrawn its proposal to build a convenience store and gas station in Berne.

Also, the town supervisor is filing a complaint against a town judge for accusing him of colluding with Stewart’s.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Town Supervisor Kevin Crosier and the town board, Stewart’s cited the strictness of the town’s zoning as a reason for its withdrawal.
"The ordinance that was passed requires restrictions that we believe limits our ability to successfully operate our business," wrote Tom Lewis, who headed up the project for the company.

Crosier told The Enterprise the withdrawal was a victory for the zoning ordinance, a massive revision of which was passed earlier this year.
"These design standards worked exactly the way they were supposed to work," Crosier said.

The zoning ordinance requires any new construction in the hamlet to meet standards intended for it to blend in with the historic character of the hamlet.
"It is the strictest zoning in the county," Crosier said.

At a meeting last Thursday, Lewis and the company’s lawyer met with the Berne Planning Board to discuss the proposal, which was to cover two parcels of land on Helderberg Trail. The town’s planner, Nan Stolzenberg, had prepared a memo, listing the ways the Stewart’s proposal violated the ordinance.

Stolzenberg’s list included the sign height, the flat-roofed canopy over the gas pumps, and the fact that the front façade was not parallel to the street. She also requested that Stewart’s submit additional information, including a traffic study, the width of the lot at the building line, and a description of how the building is in the historic context of the neighboring buildings.

At the time, Lewis said Stewart’s would be able to comply with Stolzenberg’s list and would return to the planning board next month.

This week, however, Lewis said Stewart’s had given up on the Berne plan and is not currently considering any other sites in the area.
"Any town has a right to make any rules they want," Lewis said. "I’m not opposed to that." However, he said, if Stewart’s were to meet the standards, it would not be able to run the store profitably.

For example, Lewis said, restrictions on hours of operation would be bad for business. Also, the company prefers having parking lots in front of its stores rather than to the side or behind, as the zoning dictates.
"Our customers need to have access right up front," Lewis said.

Lewis said Stewart’s made its decision to withdraw based on the zoning regulations and not the vocal opposition of some hamlet residents.

Bunzey ethical"
There has been strong opposition to Stewart’s in the hamlet since the proposal was made public. Last Thursday’s planning board meeting was packed with concerned residents wearing green T-shirts that read, "Why here" Why now" Why Stewart’s""

The same group of people opposed changing the zoning ordinance and has placed much of the blame for Stewart’s on Crosier and the other two town board members who voted for the changes, Joseph Golden and Mark Huth. The terms for all three are ending.

At last month’s town board meeting, Kenneth Bunzey, a town judge and Berne-Knox-Westerlo teacher, who lives next door to the proposed Stewart’s site, said Lewis told him Crosier and his father, planning board Chairman John Crosier, solicited Stewart’s to move into the hamlet.
"He has accused me of colluding with Stewart’s. He has no actual proof of that," Crosier said.

Crosier told The Enterprise Wednesday morning he was sending a complaint about Bunzey to the state’s Judicial Ethics Committee that afternoon. Crosier said he feels it is unethical for a town judge to tell lies publicly.

At last month’s town board meeting, before he addressed the board, Bunzey identified himself as a teacher and a judge.

Bunzey stands by his story. He was not lying, he said.
"I only repeated what Tom Lewis told me," Bunzey told The Enterprise. "He can certainly [file a complaint] if he feels he has a case."

Bunzey said he does not feel he has abused his office in any way and that he waited to make public comments about Stewart’s and the rezoning until it directly affected his property.

Lewis told The Enterprise he never told Bunzey that Stewart’s was solicited by the Crosiers.
"I did not say that. It is not true," Lewis said.

Lewis said he had never even met John Crosier until a few weeks ago, when Stewart’s made its application to the planning board.

Stopping sprawl

Crosier said he doesn’t think the residents who oppose the zoning ordinance have read it.
"If you read the zoning ordinance, you’d see it was anything but written for Stewart’s," Crosier said.

Instead, he said, it was written to protect small business, strengthen the town’s rural economy, and to protect open spaces by placing businesses in a central location.

As the Tech Valley movement threatens to bring a population explosion to the Capital Region, Crosier wants Berne to be prepared, he said.
"Tech Valley means one thing to Berne," Crosier said. "It means sprawl. Where do these people think these families are going to live" Once you start to get sprawl in this community, it won’t stop."
With businesses centered in the hamlet, people may come into Berne to spend money, but, Crosier said, "at the end of the day, they’ll go home."