GUILDERLAND — At Tuesday’s meeting, the town board set a public hearing to discuss creating a law requiring that certain planning and zoning decisions in the town first get an opinion from the village of Altamont.

Any proposals for land in Guilderland that is within 1,200 feet of Altamont’s border or its infrastructure would first be reviewed by a village committee.

This is similar to what the town does with parcels that are within 500 feet of county highways or infrastructure. The Albany County Planning Board first votes on the project.

If the county planning board — or as soon may be the case, the Altamont committee — disapproves of the project, it needs a supermajority from the town’s planning or zoning board to pass.

The idea to include Altamont in the planning and zoning process came about from discussions between town planner Jan Weston and village officials, Runion said.

He believes the Altamont committee would consist of village planning and zoning board members, as well as public works and other officials.

The hearing to discuss this will be on Aug. 23, at 8 p.m.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Unanimously approved the Rural Guilderland Open Space and Farmland Protection Plan and Rural Guilderland Design Guidelines.
It also established local laws for: a country hamlet zoning district; a conservation subdivision; a "Rural 3" zoning district; and a "Rural 5" zoning district.

The plan and laws, drafted by Behan Planning Associates, took over a year of public discussion and debate to reach their final form. After a third public hearing on June 21, where members of the public voiced strong support for the plan, the board was convinced to approve it.

The laws, like a Planned Unit Development, will take effect when a developer receives planning and zoning board approval for such a project;

— Authorized Delaware Engineering to prepare a feasibility study for the Route 146, Weaver Road, Route 158, Chandler Road, and Church Road water loops.

The $16,000 study will outline different options the board has for the project. It should take 90 days to complete, Runion said;

— Awarded bids for the rehabilitation of the Farnsworth Drive pump station;

— Authorized the sale of a surplus generator to the village of Fishkill for $15,000, as recommended by Guilderland’s department of water and wastewater management;

— Set a public hearing to discuss transferring $18,000 from the town’s assessment revaluation reserve account to pay for expenses incurred from the 2005 reassessment.

The hearing will be Aug. 23, at 7:30 p.m;

— Declared that the Northeastern Industrial Park’s draft of its environmental impact statement is complete. The statement, when in final form, is part of the industrial park’s comprehensive plan.

The public has 45 days to review the draft of the environmental impact statement and will be allowed to comment on it after that. It is available at Town Hall and at the Guilderland library;
— Decided to install a "No Parking Here to Corner" sign on the southwest side of East Old State Road, within 200 feet of Luigi Drive. This is because there have been issues with parked cars blocking drivers’ visibility, Runion said;

— Entered into executive session to discuss a personnel matter within the transfer station; and

— Announced that its next meeting will be Aug. 23. The town meetings are on a different schedule in the summer months.