GUILDERLAND — The town is seeking outside counsel as it considers a suit against a local developer.
Following complaints from two residents of the Fort Hunter area that developer Richard List buried "various construction debris and old tree stumps" in their backyard, the town has decided to act, said Councilman David Bosworth.

Supervisor Kenneth Runion told The Enterprise that he is unsure of the name of List’s development company, but said, after an executive session last Tuesday, the town board has voted in favor of seeking advice from the law firm of Wein, Young, Fenton, and Kelsey.
"At this point in time, we are just looking for counsel to give us some suggestions of what process to take," said Runion.
In what town board member David Bosworth has deemed an "unprecedented action," the town may help residents sue the developer for damages — an action usually left to individual residents.
"I don’t think the developer has been very responsive to the homeowners," Bosworth told The Enterprise. "This matter is outside the scope of the zoning attorney."

Runion said the town is taking up the cause because of the zoning code breach.
"It would appear to be a violation of town code," said Runion. "We’re only looking at the town code portion of it."
Bosworth said burying debris on residential property before selling a home is "clearly against the zoning code."

The matter was brought to the town’s attention after two neighbors in the Random Acres development on Lone Pine Road broke ground for in-ground swimming pools.
What they found not only angered them and made the excavation more costly, but they have also spent "thousands of dollars" in legal fees against the developer.
"We’re not just talking about a Christmas tree here," said Bosworth, who described the buried debris as "quite extensive."

Town board members also discussed insurance contracts and insurance quotes, according to Runion, but no action was taken during the meeting. Before the next town board meeting, on Dec. 5, two public hearings will be held on local law number 10 and local law number three, which both deal with senior citizen tax exemptions.

List could not be reached for comment yesterday before publication.

Other business

In other business, at November town board meetings, the board unanimously:

— Appointed Stephen Feeney, chair of the town’s planning board, to a committee that will study the Route 20 corridor from the Duanesburg town line to Route 158 in Guilderland. The study is being funded with a grant from the Capital District Transportation Committee.

Feeney is the final appointment to the six-person committee, which includes three members from Guilderland and three members from neighboring Princetown. Geoffrey Van Epps and Joe Abbruzzese are the other two Guilderland committee members.

Chairman of the town’s economic development committee, Donald Csaposs, wrote the grant submitted to the CDTC. The study is being done because of municipal water being developed in Princetown which could affect development in rural western Guilderland;

— Approved the request of Westmere Fire District to install a fire communications antenna on the Westmere Water Tower. Thomas Remmert, who is an alternate on the town’s zoning board and active in the town’s fire departments, told the board that standard-issue radios were hard to operate in "sprawling structures" such as Crossgates Mall and the Indian Quad at the University at Albany.

The Westmere Fire Department will match 5 percent, or about $4,000, for the project from its own budget.
"This is not a convenience item," said Remmert, calling the antenna a necessity for the town’s fire departments;

— Approved the installation of stop signs on East Christina Drive and West Christina Drive at the intersection with Jean Place;

— Authorized the supervisor to submit a grant application to the Quality Communities Grant Program for an open-space inventory;

— Appointed Kyle Haines as a telecommunicator from the Albany County Civil Service list; and

— Authorized the supervisor to sign a collector’s warrant for the Guilderland Water District.