To the Editor:

My name is Laurel Bohl and I am running for a seat on the Guilderland Town Board. For the last three months, I have been traveling all over town, trying to meet as many of you as possible, and that has been my true privilege.

I am a lifelong, third-generation Guilderland resident, who appreciates what a wonderful town this is to grow up in and raise a family. My father was the postmaster of Guilderland and my mother was the postmaster of Guilderland Center while I was growing up.

I am a graduate of Guilderland High School and the University at Albany. I attended Rutgers Law School, then returned to Guilderland to work as an attorney to help people. I have worked as a state attorney for the last 17 years, four in fighting for educational rights for disabled children, and the last 13 in property law.

I am a lifelong Democrat and a first-time candidate for office, and I am humbly asking for your vote.

About a year and a half ago, I learned that a development was going in near my property and I began attending planning, zoning, and town board meetings. I listened not just to the project that affected me, but the projects that affected my neighbors as well.

I heard their arguments and began to take a new interest in what was going on in the town. I watched with others as an unprecedented explosion of growth began to go through all three boards with little or no resistance, which very few people knew about, and it concerned me.

It was not just that I thought the residents’ comments and views were not being given due weight, but that there was little if any consideration given to what this was doing to permanently change the character of the town, as well the irreversible damage it was doing to the environment. 

Due to the upswing in the economy, and the changes made to the zoning code in 2016, the applications were coming fast and furious (there are now 30 projects proposed, approved, or built in the last year or so).

Many residents also complained they were not getting legal notice, which concerned me greatly as a lawyer.

I joined an effort to start a grassroots group designed to support the residents and educate them on what was going on, and advocate for strengthening the zoning code to protect residential areas, protect the environment, enforce the master plan against spot-zoning and too readily granted variances, and to involve the residents more in the direction they wanted their town to go.

When I found out last April that the Democrats were running no one for one of the two open seats on the town board, I decided to run, to try to help people and make a positive change.

All towns need growth to survive, and in many areas of west Guilderland there are residents who would welcome this for their area. Small businesses in particular need our support.

However, development needs to be carefully planned, especially in the case of large developments.  Clustering them all in areas like Winding Brook Road (three new developments with a total of 47 new buildings, 315 new housing units on a dead-end street), or in areas where traffic is already at a dangerous level, like the proposed massive Pyramid expansion on Rapp Road (two five-story apartment buildings and three townhouse-style buildings, totaling 222 new units) is not smart planning.

Both of these areas are extremely environmentally sensitive unique parts of Guilderland: One is the home of the National Natural Landmark of the Pine Bush Preserve, and one is a beautiful winding country-like road, lined by mature 100-year-old trees, that provides one of the only parklike settings in central Guilderland.

What happens in these areas will have a critical effect on our infrastructure, our environment, our ability to travel the roads safely, and our quality of life. There are no “do-overs.”

When a project is proposed, the parties start out on unequal footings. The developers come to the table with enormous financial funding and power, which creates an unfair imbalance.

How do we, as a town, bring in and put equal value on the environment and the residents’ vision for the town and build in a balance?

First, I am advocating creating the position of environmentalist (with a degree in environmental science) to review each new project and issue a report showing the full short-term and long-term environmental effects that each project will have. This has to be a critical part of any review.

The environmentalist would have real input into the approval or denial of each plan, and would write conditions into all rezones, special-use permits, and variances, backed by enforcement provisions (such as monetary penalties), and continuing compliance provisions.

As for the voice of the residents, everyone can’t drop everything and come to the town hall for every meeting; everyone has lives, families, and daily demands that take precedence.

Hence, to bring in the viewpoint of the average resident on whether a proposed project meets the master plan (a resident-driven tool which, by its own terms, envisioned ongoing public participation), I am advocating doing what many other towns have done and create a Residents’ Advisory Committee.  The residents deserve to have their own committee and have their unique interests represented.

It’s not larger government; it’s the opposite: giving more of the power back to the people. The committee would be a group of five people selected by diversity, area of location, longevity in the town, and commitment to the future vision of what the residents want for the town.

This Committee would meet and review all projects at the pre-application phase, canvas residents, and issue a report to the three boards on whether or not it is in keeping with the master plan and the character of the town, as seen from the residents’ perspective; the committee would also issue advisory opinions.

These are only a few of my ideas to ensure Guilderland continues to be the kind of small town (not big city) in which people want to live, work, and raise a family. We are at a crossroads now.

We can either look more like Colonie, or we can do what towns like Bethlehem are doing, and preserve our natural resources, plan development carefully based on impartial need studies, and make sure the residents have a real voice in their town decisions.

For these reasons, I am asking for your vote on Nov. 5. If elected, I promise I will work hard to help keep Guilderland a growing, vibrant, and beautiful town we can all be proud to leave for our children, to love and cherish for years to come.

Laurel Bohl

Guilderland