GUILDERLAND — Marantha Ministries wants to build a church on Curry Road, but much work needs to be done before the zoning board will consider approving the project.

Several neighbors of the property, which is near the Guilderland and Colonie border at 2787 Curry Road, said they were concerned about added traffic and about their wells. The area does not have public water and some residents worried that the church would decrease the amount of water in their wells.

Last Wednesday, after hearing preliminary plans from the proposed church’s minister, the zoning board appointed a town-designated engineer to study the proposal.

Pastor Richard Frank, on behalf of Marantha Ministries, is asking for a special-use permit to construct a 9,900-square-foot church on a 9.5-acre parcel. The church will be accessed by Curry Road Extension.
Marantha Ministries was founded in 1994. The religion’s main objectives are "to bring people to Christ, proclaim His second coming, and uphold the word of God," according to its website.

Because the church’s purchase of the property is contingent on building approval, Frank said, his engineer began by creating a preliminary draft of the project plans. The engineer will add more detail as the board requests it, Frank said.
"We’re going to try to walk the tight rope between what’s good and what’s convenient for the neighbors," he said.

The church will be used twice a week — on Sunday mornings for one service and on Wednesday nights for a one-hour Christian education class, Frank said.

He will have an office in the church, but will primarily work from home, Frank said. He may build a parsonage on the property later, he said.

The planning board reviewed the proposal earlier this year. At first it was against recommending it, but then gave it conceptual approval with conditions.

As a result of planning-board suggestions, Frank said he agreed to move the building 300 feet off of the road and to add more trees and landscaping between the church’s and neighbors’ properties.
He also agreed to install "downcasting" light poles, so that neighbors won’t be disturbed by bright lights at night.

Some neighbors had earlier complained about the church’s parking lot being close to their homes.

Zoning Chairman Bryan Clenahan asked if the parking lot could be moved anywhere else.

The parking lot could be moved to the right of the church, rather than the left, Frank said. But, he said, this would make the parking spaces further away from the building.
"It’s not impossible," Frank said and added, laughing, "I guess we could make the young people park the furthest away."

With the lot on the left, he said, it would be 60 feet from the nearest property line. An ample buffer of trees will be planted, he said.

Later, Fred Thompson, of Hembold Drive, said he encourages moving the lot to the right.
"It would give us a bigger buffer..." he said. "They have so much property on the other side."

According to the town’s zoning law, a church is required to have one parking space for every three seats or eight feet of bench length in the main sanctuary. One parking space is also required for each member of clergy.

Frank is proposing 84 parking spaces for his church.

Other concerns

Bill Kanas, chief of the Fort Hunter Fire Department, said he has many water concerns. There are no fire hydrants in the area, he said, and he’s concerned about how the department would fight a fire at the church.

A nearby school installed an underground water tank for the fire department, Kanas said. Perhaps the church can do this, he said.
"There’ll be a significant amount of people in this building," Kanas said. If there was a fire, he said, the Fort Hunter department would have to call tankers in from the South Schenectady and Pine Grove fire departments. It could take these departments 20 or more minutes to respond, he said.
"I appreciate the concern," Frank said. The building will be constructed of metal, he said, which may alleviate some of the fire department’s concerns.

Clenahan asked Frank if he’d be willing to consider installing an underground water tank and he said he would.

Thompson and three other neighbors said they, too, have water concerns, but of a different nature.
"Our wells are at risk and that’s all we have," said Carol Seeley, of Curry Road Extension.

Thompson encouraged the board to be vigilant about getting a stormwater-management plan. In the spring, he said, a puddle of water lies on the property. His daughter used to ice skate there, he said.
"Runoff from the parking lot is going to be carrying oil, antifreeze. It’ll affect our water and it’s our only source of water," Thompson said.

Two neighbors said they have fought soccer fields and shopping centers that were proposed for the site. Worse things than a church can go there, they said, and, although they have concerns about water, they aren’t against the project.

Thompson also said that a detailed traffic study should be created. Much traffic, including trucks and school buses, come down Curry Road, he said; at times, residents have trouble getting out of their driveways.
"It is wild out there," Seeley said. "Everyone goes down Curry Road but Amtrak."

While she’s not against the proposal, she said, the area is not conducive to more traffic.

The zoning board then appointed Spectra Engineering to examine issues such as water and septic, stormwater management and drainage, landscaping, lighting, and traffic.

Clenahan asked Frank to contact the Pine Bush Commission for its opinion, since the property is on the border of the Pine Bush study area. He also asked for a final landscaping plan and Frank said that his engineer is creating one.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Granted a variance to Terry Way, of 6003 Johnston Road, to construct a 14-by-24 foot, two-story addition to the side of his house;

— Continued the request of Robert Muscanell, of 3481 Carman Road, to build a 40-by-40-foot storage structure in his yard, to house a motor home, a boat, and several other things.

The board thought Muscanell’s request, to have a three-foot variance for the height, could be achievable by other means. It asked that Muscanell meet with Donald Cropsey Jr., the town’s chief building inspector and zoning administrator, to discuss other alternatives, such as building the shed with a differently-pitched roof, so that a 12-foot high motor home could still fit inside; and

— Granted a special-use permit to Nick St. Louis use 1,000 square feet of vacant space, attached to a Japanese restaurant at 2027 Western Ave., for a retail cellular phone store.