NEW SCOTLAND — An application for a mixed-use development off of Route 85A and Route 85, near the site of the old Bender Melon farm, was again tabled at the planning board meeting last Tuesday.

According to town building inspector Jeremy Cramer, the board went over designs presented by the applicant representing Schenectady-based company ABD Engineers, but agreed to have the applicant go in front of the board at next month’s meeting. Cramer predicted that, if the application is approved, it would not occur until next month or the month after.

The area is about three acres off of Route 85A and Route 85, according to Luigi Palleschi of ABD Engineers, between Falvo’s Meat Market and Stonewell Plaza, and is being proposed as a site for construction of buildings for both businesses and residents.

At a June 7 planning board meeting, Palleschi described the how the incorporation of both residential and retail buildings would include a two-story building with a boulevard-type entrance, retail buildings with a drive-through entrance, and 111 parking spots shared by residents and customers. If the application goes through, development is planned to begin sometime next year.

The now vacant land was the center of a controversy eight years ago when the Cazenovia-based firm, The Sphere Group, had said it would buy the 179-acre Bender melon farm, located off of Route 85A, and build a 750,000 square-foot mall. Citizen protests led to an eventual size cap on retail space.

Permit for mobile snack bar approved

The planning board also approved a special-use permit for a “mobile concession trailer” to be set up as a snack bar for Indian Ladder Farms off of Thacher Park Road. According to Tim Albright, who submitted the application to the board, it is still necessary to obtain a building permit and meet at least 15 different conditions required by the planning board. The trailer must measure 6 by 10 feet, certain noise levels must be maintained, and a barrier must be placed between an embankment and the parking lot where the trailer while be. According to Albright, the process involved will mean that the trailer will not be set up anytime soon, but once it is set up it will likely sell similar products as those sold at the farm on Route 156 such as apples, pumpkins, jams, jellies, and possibly baked goods.

“The parking lot was there historically because of a snack bar at that time,” said Albright, “So it’s not a new idea.”

He added that there is also an opportunity to serve the reportedly over 300,000 visitors to John Boyd Thacher Park and Thompson’s Lake Campground, who often enter the park going past Indian Ladder Farms.