GUILDERLAND — First Columbia’s plans for a new nursing home at Mercycare Lane off of Western Avenue were easily approved last Wednesday.

Residents at a July zoning board meeting had expressed concerns about added traffic at a busy and sometimes dangerous intersection.

The plans now include opening the barricaded part of Windingbrook Drive, a town road that runs from Western Avenue almost to the back of the facility’s Mercycare Lane property. Vehicles will be encouraged to leave the nursing home by using Windingbrook Drive, which has a traffic light at its Route 20 intersection, instead of using Mercycare Lane, which does not.

Work must be done first, however, to upgrade Mercycare Lane, now owned by the Mercycare corporation, to meet the specifications of a town road. The town board then must adopt the lane as a town road.

After hearing from a town-designated engineer last Wednesday that First Columbia’s plans look safe and well-designed, the zoning board granted the company a special-use permit.
The permit is for an "assisted-living facility" with 84 beds on Mercycare Lane, behind the already-existing Our Lady of Mercy Life Center. The new building will be two-and-a-half stories, accommodating three floors.
A plan for a similar facility, to be called Rosewood Estates, was approved by the town in 1998. First Columbia had "partnership issues that fell through," said representative Mark Bette earlier of why the first project was never built.

At the first public hearing on the new project, in July, the board heard from some residents and representatives of the Guilderland Public Library, which is on Western Avenue and accessed by Mercycare Lane. They said that, while they supported the project, they were worried about adding traffic to the already busy intersection.

Robert Ganz, president of the library’s board of trustees, said then that a librarian’s car had been hit as she tried to turn onto Route 20 from Mercycare Lane. She spent five days in the hospital, he said.
"We must have the town or state prohibit left turns from Mercycare Lane...If they don’t do that, we’ll all meet at funerals," Ganz had said.

Laurel Bohl, who lives on Western Avenue, 100 feet from Mercycare Lane, had told the board at the July meeting that she was in a serious car accident trying to turn into her driveway. Her mother, too, was in a similar accident, she had said.
"A good solution is to extend the median strip in the middle," Bohl had said. "You can’t divert traffic from Mercycare Lane without a light or a median. New signage to direct people to Windingbrook Drive won’t do it."

Mercycare Lane, off of a busy stretch of Route 20, is a dead-end road that currently serves the Our Lady of Mercy Life Center, the St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center, and the Guilderland Public Library.

Town planner Jan Weston and zoning board Chairman Bryan Clenahan suggested earlier that Mercycare Lane become a town road, a suggestion that the corporation ultimately adopted.

Making Mercycare Lane a town road has been discussed for years, highway superintendent Todd Gifford told The Enterprise in July. Work must be done on the road first, he said, but he was not opposed to the idea.
"The ball is in their court," Gifford had said of the corporation that owns Mercycare Lane.

This week, Gifford told The Enterprise that the corporation has agreed to bring Mercycare Lane up to town specifications. This means it will have to be totally reconstructed, he said.

After the corporation pays to do this, Gifford said, the town board would adopt the lane as a town road. The town would then be in charge of regular maintainence on the road, he said.

Gifford said earlier that a connection exists between Mercycare Lane and Windingbrook Drive. That path has to be upgraded to accommodate vehicle traffic, he said. Most of Windingbrook Drive is a town road.

Mercycare Lane is a block from Windingbrook Drive, which leads to the Fairwood Apartments and the Guilderland YMCA and ends at Nott Road.

Last Wednesday, Ken Johnson, of town-designated Delaware Engineering, first said he felt that traffic problems at the intersection of Route 20 and Mercycare Lane are minor and sight distance trouble could be fixed by simply trimming hanging tree limbs.

At first, board members were confused by this.

Clenahan asked Johnson twice if he were sure about this. Johnson said he was.
"You’re indicating that turning west on Western Avenue has only minor vegetation issues"" asked board member Sharon Cupoli. "I thought there was quite a bit of site distance issues. People who lived in the area said they had car accidents....I’m a little confused."

Johnson then explained that drivers will be encouraged to leave the facility by using Windingbrook Drive. They will be able to turn safely onto Route 20 from there, he said, because the intersection has a traffic light.
"You feel confident that Windingbrook Drive can handle extra traffic"" asked Clenahan.
The town upgraded Windingbrook Drive a few years ago, Johnson said. "I don’t think there’s a lot of lighting there, but the road is okay," he said.
"And there’s no question Mercycare Lane is going to be a town road"" asked Clenahan.
"No," said Johnson. "That’s what makes the whole thing work."

Johnson also said he was fine with First Columbia’s plans for water, sewer, and stormwater management. With no public comment, the board unanimously approved the project.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Continued the application of Renaissance Floral, of 1561 Western Ave., to amend its special-use permit to allow the display of garden statues and other items outside.

David Michael Schmidt, owner of the company, has previously been before the zoning board on this issue. Board members have said that the many statues on the lawn and parking lot of his business make it look cluttered and distracts drivers.

Board member James Sumner has been especially adamant about not wanting to grant Schmidt a permit amendment since he’s been violating the conditions of his original 2002 special-use permit by the outside displays and other issues.

Schmidt spent some time arguing with Sumner last Wednesday about difficulties he’s having finding space for his displays.

The board then agreed to continue the application for Schmidt to provide a more detailed plan showing the exact plotting of green space, parking, and displays; and

— Granted a variance to Roberto Santucci, of 7333 Church Road, to construct a garage in a side yard.