GUILDERLAND — A two-lot subdivision planned for Hawes Road was disapproved by the county’s planning board since it would put a parcel in a floodplain. The Guilderland Planning Board unanimously decided an in-depth environmental review is not needed. The applicant plans to use the land for hunting, not building.

Another rural subdivision proposal, of five lots, on Route 158 has raised concerns among some neighbors about how their water would be affected. The town’s conservation advisory council found no major concerns with visual impact.

The proposal calls for dividing 22.6 acres at 7168 Route 158, near the intersection with West Old State Road, in western Guilderland, into five building lots.

Neighbors say that they are concerned about protecting their private well lines, which produce good and abundant water necessary for their farms, and are also worried about who will clean out a culvert the builder installed on the property. 

M. A. Schafer Construction plans to extend public water to the five lots and to install private septic systems that will need to be approved by the state’s department of health, the town’s planning board heard several weeks ago.

Two of the five lots are proposed to be accessed from Route 158, and three from West Old State Road.   

At a public hearing on Sept. 11, two neighbors said they were concerned that their well lines need to be protected. 

“We still want our water as good as it is,” said Mary Beckmann of 2238 West Old State Road. 

Michael Della Rocco, of 2272 West Old State Road, said that either the neighbors should be provided shielding of their existing well lines or a planned driveway should be moved. 

Discussion also centered on a culvert all agreed that developer Mark Schafer had put in on the property, within a state Department of Transportation easement, with one neighbor, Helen Vadney, of 2273 West Old State Road, calling it “unpermitted” and “hastily built.” 

Vadney said a DOT representative told her that the DOT would not take responsibility for cleaning out debris from under the culvert. Vadney said that water from Route 158 drains into the gully and she asked who would be responsible for cleaning out the culvert so it does not become clogged. 

Town Planner Kenneth Kovalchik suggested making cleanout the responsibility of the homeowner. 

After touring the property in July, the Guilderland Conservation Advisory Council had issued a report that included, “GCAC feels that the development of this acreage should not cause any major concern related to visual impact other than having more new houses in an area of the Town where there appears to be a gradual increase in homes and businesses.” 

The planning board is waiting, next, for more detailed plans from the project’s engineer and for information from the Army Corps of Engineers about the proximity of driveways to wetlands on the property. 

Harrington subdivision 

This proposal would divide 29.4 acres at 6096 Hawes Road into two lots, the first with an existing single-family home and outbuildings on 12.7 lots, and the second undeveloped land of 16.7 acres. 

The majority of the second lot is within a flood zone defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; a small area adjacent to the intersection of Frederick Road/Meadowdale Road has been identified by FEMA as a building envelope outside the flood zone, Kovalchik wrote in a memo to the planning board.

The proposal includes bringing in a private sewer and well. 

The Albany County Planning Board reviewed the proposal in August and recommended disapproving it without prejudice, Kovalchik told the planning board. The county planning board commented that the subdivision would create a parcel of land almost entirely within a 100-year floodplain, he said. 

The new lot would be served by private well and septic. The Albany County Department of Health would need to review and approve the design of the septic system when a building permit is applied for.

To avoid the floodplain, the site plan proposes a septic system within a front-yard setback at a higher elevation than the house, and a house within the floodplain, Kovalchik’s memo says. 

The planning board heard at a public hearing on Sept. 11 from Steven Walrath, land surveyor for the project, that the applicant is the nephew of the current landowner, Beverly Harrington, and wants to buy the land to use it only for recreation and hunting. 

Walrath said the applicant is willing to put into the deed a restriction stating that there can be no further subdivision of the second lot. 

The board unanimously voted to give the project a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, stating that it would have no significant negative impact on the environment. It then opened a public hearing, but no one spoke. 

Kovalchik said that he would like to hold the matter for two weeks for approval and a decision.