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Village creating a master plan to replace old zoning

ALTAMONT — The village’s zoning laws are outdated, said Trustee Dean Whalen, so he and a small committee are creating a master plan to help guide the future of Altamont.

Within 10 months, the village hopes to have created a plan, he said. To do so, it is looking for a planning consultant, creating a survey for residents and business owners, and preparing to hold public workshops.
"We have to make sure we’re open to what the village wants and part of that is to ask questions," Whalen said. "What do the people want" What do developers want""

In September, the village board adopted a one-year building moratorium.

Whalen and his committee will do most of the work in creating a village plan, he said. But, he said, it’s a large project that will involve almost as much work as Guilderland’s planning process.

Altamont is a century-old village, located in the rural western part of the suburban town of Guilderland. The square-mile village with a population of 1,800 is largely developed.

In 2001, Guilderland adopted a comprehensive plan, which took two years to create. It involved many surveys, public hearings, and roundtable discussions; the town hired outside consultants to do the work.

For Guilderland, a handful of areas were to be examined within the plan: farmland and open-space conservation, and the master plans for Guilderland neighborhoods, including Guilderland Center, the Westmere commercial area, and the rural Guilderland hamlet.

In July, a separate plan for rural western Guilderland was adopted and, last month, some zoning changes were made in accordance with the plan. The rural plan had much public debate and, at times, opposition, as it was being created.

Altamont, with public water, is the only area of concentrated development in rural western Guilderland. The Open Space Institute this year released a report documenting sprawl in the Capital Region and noting that the state allows five planning methods for municipalities, including a comprehensive plan.

In February, The Enterprise initiated the discussion of Altamont’s creating a comprehensive plan. Each candidate in the spring election was asked if developing a master plan was a good idea and why.

Whalen and Kerry Dineen, then candidates for trustee, and mayoral candidate James Gaughan, all said that they advocated creating a land-use plan. All three were elected.

Planning begins
In May, a committee was formed "to do broad master planning," Whalen said. The committee first met once a month and it now meets twice a month.

Along with Whalen, members of the committee include: Harvey Vlahos, village trustee; Stephen Parachini, village planning board chairman; Maurice McCormick, village zoning board chairman; and Kate Provencher, a village zoning board member.

Also contributing to the committee are: Donald Cropsey Jr., the village’s zoning administrator; Timothy McIntyre, the village’s superintendent of public works; John Smith, a Maple Avenue resident who is retired from the state’s energy office; and Andrea Dean, a college student involved in many village activities.
Asked why the village should have a plan, Whalen said, "The prime reason is: It’s obvious and utilitarian."

The village’s zoning ordinance was established in the 1970’s. It hasn’t been studied or changed since then, Whalen said. He added that he doesn’t know yet if the laws have to be changed, but they should be examined.
"The mindset in the late ’70’s and early ’60’s was a suburban model," Whalen said. "A lot of it is written on that premise."
Now, he said, the committee must find out, "What is the vision of the village" What does the constituency want" How does the village itself reinforce that""

The group has been gathering information on the village, such as zoning, aesthetic desires, and the need for utilities, sidewalks and infrastructure, water, and sewer.

At its meeting on Nov. 1, the village board agreed to submit requests for proposals to local planning firms. The requests are to help the village find a consultant, to give it guidance, to make sure the committee is asking the right questions and heading in the right direction, Whalen said.

The village volunteers are going to do most of the planning, Whalen said.
"We’re taking on more to keep costs down," he said. "We’re trying to be more proactive."
Whalen got estimates that, if a consultant did most of the work, it would cost between $20,000 and $30,000. "Hopefully, we’ll be nowhere near that," he said.

The village is trying to get grants to help pay for the consultant, he said.

It will apply for one at the beginning of December, he said; but, if the village is awarded the grant, it won’t be until mid-April.

The requests for proposals are due Dec. 9, Whalen said.

Creating the plan

The master-plan committee will conduct a survey, of residents and businesses, to see what types of changes are desired.

Whalen, Dineen, and Gaughan served on a committee, formed in 2004 in the wake of villagers’ complaints that Altamont had too many police officers.

A survey created by the committee found that residents and businesses wanted fewer part-time officers — it had 16 at the time for a village of about 1,800; more community policing; and a police commissioner able to make arrests who is a presence in the village.

Since then, changes have been made in the department, including a new commissioner who is restructuring the force with fewer officers.

The village heard from 26 percent of residents and business owners when it conducted its police survey, Whalen said. This was very helpful, he said, and he hopes the planning survey will get even better results.

The planning committee will also hold three public workshops. The first will be to make an assessment of the village’s needs, Whalen said. The second will be to draft initial concepts before creating the plan, he said, and the third will be a presentation of a first draft of the plan.

Guilderland held a few workshops when drafting its rural plan. At least 100 residents attended and voiced their opinions on the plan.
"The workshops will be the key factor," Whalen said. "I’d love to see 200 people out for a village this size."

Whalen, an architect, said that, in his career, public workshops have helped him with designing projects. People often raise interesting points that he didn’t think of, he said.

Those uncomfortable participating in the workshops can have their voices heard in the survey, he said.

Whalen hopes that, 10 months from now, a plan will be adopted and the village will be ready to make legislation, if any.
"It’s a big project," Whalen said. Although the village is much smaller than the town of Guilderland, much of the same work is required in creating a plan, he said.
Whalen has his own ideas of how Altamont’s future should be shaped. But, he said, "Intentionally I’m trying to stay very open and objective...That’s hard, but I have to make sure I don’t lead people down a certain path."

The committee won’t be deciding what the plan says, Whalen said.
"We want to be facilitators of what the village wants," he said. "We don’t want to present something viable that people think came from a limited group of people. Then, it can’t move forward."

Other business

In other business at the Nov. 1 meeting, the village board:

— Renewed bond anticipation notes for $25,563.60 to finance police cars, and for $13,348, for a wheel loader, at the request of Treasurer Catherine Hasbrouck;

— Approved the request of Tony Kossmann, from the Altamont Free Library, to use the Orsini Park gazebo for the annual library lights fund-raiser;

— Agreed to participate in the Altamont Community Tradition’s annual Victorian holiday celebration on Dec. 4;

— Agreed to include the village in the Guilderland Police Department’s towing contract to insure uniform towing charges. The Enterprise wrote, in 2004, about complaints in Guilderland of overcharging by towing companies when police call them for an accident. As a result of the coverage, the Guilderland Police created a contract that the towing companies on its rotational list must follow certain rules, including a price ceiling; and

— Agreed to use up to $8,000, from the village’s water reserve project fund, to purchase a replacement emergency well pump.