GUILDERLAND — The owner of Carman Plaza, David Fusco, hopes to build two apartment complexes between Old State Road and Morningside Drive. The complexes would sit at either end of the shopping mall that is home to businesses including Kidz Korner daycare and Corner Ice Cream.

The town board voted Tuesday night to hold a public hearing on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. on Fusco’s request to change the zoning of these two properties, located at 3760 and 3800 Carman Rd., from local business to multiple residence, to allow the construction.

The vote was 3 to 0. Patricia Slavick was absent, attending the wake of her mother. Lee Carman abstained, because of a business connection with the developer.

On the plaza’s north side — the end nearer Old State Road — would be a two-story, 16-unit building.

The south side, located mainly where Korandace Pool Builders now stands, at 3800 Carman Rd., would feature two eight-unit buildings.

The public hearing scheduled for January 2018 is actually a continuation of a public hearing held in June. At that hearing, several residents of Parkview Drive, which is behind the shopping mall’s south end, expressed concerns about commercial buildup in the area and the need for buffering to provide the neighbors with privacy. Town board members and the supervisor also raised concerns about setbacks and greenery.

In response, Fusco has made a number of changes to the site plan, Luigi Palleschi of ABD Engineers writes in a letter that is on file at Guilderland’s town hall:

— Modifying the 16-unit building to allow a 100-foot setback from the neighboring property;

— Moving the garages further from the rear property line; and

— Providing a one-way drive lane and angled parking within the site.

A traffic assessment filed at the town hall estimates the trips to be generated by the addition of the complexes at 16 in the morning peak hour, and 20 in the evening peak hour.

A report on accident history for the area of Carman Road from Old State Road to Morningside Drive included in the materials at the town hall shows there were 25 accidents between 2012 and February of this year. Fourteen of those accidents were at the intersection of Carman and Old State roads. Three were within 30 meters of Morningside Drive.

Other business

In other business, the town board (in votes that, unless otherwise noted, 4 to 0):

— Selected Industrial & Utility Valuation Consultants to provide professional services for the 2019 revaluation of real property and authorized the town supervisor to sign a contract for not more than $250,000 with the company, as recommended by town Assessor Karen Van Wagenen.

The board agreed to a town-wide revaluation after a dramatic change in its state-set equalization rate caused tax hikes for Guilderland residents not in the Guilderland school district.

Van Wagenen spoke at the meeting, saying, “It is a small field,” and noting she sent out the request for bids to three companies, in addition to publishing it. GAR, she said, initially bid $135,000, but the town soon realized that this bid excluded “a large amount of what we would need,” she told the board. “No remodeling, no smoothing. I could probably do it, but I would prefer to have a second opinion, at least,” she added.

At the meeting, retired real-estate appraiser John Haluska read aloud parts of a lengthy letter on the need for and the difficulties of getting the public to accept a town-wide revaluation. (See related letter to the Enterprise editor.)

This vote was 3 to 1, with Lee Carman voting no. Carman said, during the vote, “To be consistent, since I voted against the reassessment, I’m going to vote no”;

— Scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. on a proposed local law to eliminate the 10-year limitation on the Cold War Veteran town-tax exemption, as recommended by Van Wagenen. Town Supervisor Peter Barber told the board that, townwide, the total exemption, from town taxes for Cold War veterans is “a very small amount,” about $217;

— Voted to provisionally appoint Taylor Mead as recreational programs and activities coordinator, as recommended by the director of human resources;

— Voted to authorize demolition of the Crounse House, a historical residence at 759 Route 146. The town and village of Altamont bought it together for a total of $40,000 more than a decade ago. (See related article and editorial);

— Authorized retiring the debt owed by State Farm Utility Corp. to NBT Bank;

— Authorized the zoning board to consider an application by Mobilite, LLC to install wireless equipment on a replaced utility pole in the town’s right-of-way near the intersection of Lawton Terrace and Tiernan Court. Because the utility pole is in the town’s right-of-way, the zoning board needs the town’s authorization, Barber said;

— Acknowledged receipt of the calendar prepared by Dr. Donald Doynow, medical director of emergency medical services, changing his bi-weekly hours from six to 16 — the correct figure, Barber said — for purposes of determining retirement credit;

— Authorized line transfers of funds needed to purchase body and vehicle cameras in the amount of $77,389 from Coban Technologies;

— Voted to schedule a public hearing for Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. on an application to rezone 26.71 acres on Winding Brook Road, opposite the YMCA facility, from R-40 to Planned Unit Development, to allow for construction of 13 buildings containing 52 multi-family residences. These may be apartments or condominiums, said Daniel Hershberg of the engineering firm Hershberg & Hershberg. The developer — majority partner Frank McCloskey, and minority partner William K. Mafrici of Hershberg & Hershberg — does not plan to run the complex, said Daniel Hershberg.

The entrance will be about 300 feet further along the road than the entrance to the YMCA center, Hershberg told the board. Of the project’s approximately 27 acres, only about 7 will be developed, and the remainder left “forever green,” Hershberg said.

The land to be developed is the “highest point” on the property, Hershberg said. Barber said he understood most of the remainder was “a steep slope.” Hershberg said that much of it was, but there was a flat area down near the stream on the property, but that that would not be disturbed.

Hershberg & Hershberg will have a traffic study done, Daniel Hershberg said.

Carman also abstained from this vote, again because of a business connection; and

— Authorized a collector’s warrant of $454,249.27 for the Guilderland Water District for the billing cycle from Nov. 1, 2017 through April 1, 2018.