KNOX — As a developer considers a large subdivision in the town, area residents and officials speculate about its effects.

Developer Robert Chase of Hard Knox Land Development L.L.C., who attended the planning board’s meeting in March to discuss a potential subdivision and was on the board’s agenda last week, did not attend.

Chase has discussed subdividing two large parcels south of the Knox hamlet along Knox-Cave, MacMillan, and Zimmer roads. According to Knox assessor Russell Pokorny, Hard Knox Land Development owns two separate parcels — one 173.2-acre parcel and one 103.9-acre parcel.
"The facts are: They’ve been here once"Anything you hear, take with a very large grain of salt," said Planning Board Chairman Robert Price.

The first phase may be about 30 conventional lots of five acres each, long-time planning board member Daniel Driscoll told The Enterprise.
"For the second phase — the land just south of the hamlet in Knox — we are encouraging [Chase] to consider a conservation subdivision — smaller lots and mixed use, to fit in better with the hamlet," Driscoll told The Enterprise.

The planning board had been approached about a subdivision at the same location before, said Price.

Residents at last week’s meeting speculated about the impact of a large subdivision on their water system; one resident said she doesn’t want to look out her window and see other houses.

Knox Supervisor Michael Hammond and Berne Supervisor Kevin Crosier, at their towns’ meetings last week, referred to the project.
"There is more and more pressure to divide up here," Hammond said. "We see this come in waves, and it seems like we have a period of time that nothing has happened, and then, all of a sudden, a surge comes again," he said. "These are highly desirable places to build very expensive homes."

Price said at the planning board’s meeting that the town is growing, and pointed to the Capital District Regional Planning Commission’s most recent figures. According to the commission, ten new single-family houses were constructed in 2006 in Knox, valued at $2.3 million — a 43-percent growth from the previous year.

Personal Windmill

James Devine, who lives at Helderberg Estates and is planning for a personal windmill, recently conducted a balloon test to determine a tower’s visual impact to neighboring properties.

Before approval, applicants place a large balloon at the site, then travel to different locations and take photographs to document and determine its visual impact. The windmill, if approved, will be 36 feet at its base, and 36 feet tall with white turbine blades.

Wind power has been an ongoing discussion in the town.

Last fall, a temporary meteorological tower was erected off Middle Road to take wind measurements for 18 months for the Helderberg Wind Project. Price has been impressed with measurements taken from the tower since it was completed in October.

Pokorny and his wife, Amy, who live on Beebe Road in Knox, raised a 100-foot tall personal windmill on their property last year. It is hidden behind forestry, and can only be seen briefly from the Berne-Altamont Road. Pokorny told The Enterprise the windmill and solar-powered panels power a well pump, a refrigerator, an auxiliary water heater, and provide electricity for their house.

After installing the windmill, the Pokornys switched from regular watt light bulbs to light-emitting diode lights and lower energy light bulbs that draw less current, Pokorny said. The Pokornys are off the electric grid, but can connect by flipping a switch if they run low on energy, which, Pokorny said, might happen in winter. They pay $22 each month to the electric company whether they connect to the electric grid or not, Pokorny said.
Albany County Legislator Alexander "Sandy" Gordon, who also lives on Beebe Road, has encouraged green energy sources in the Hilltowns and last fall discussed the possibility of the town owning an industrial windmill.

Last week, Driscoll was concerned about Devine’s personal windmill being visible from trails within Thacher State Park, resulting in Devine not being able to answer all questions on the environmental assessment application. Driscoll was also concerned about possible litigation.
"I’m just trying to make sure we’re not subject to an Article 78," Driscoll said. An Article 78 petition allows residents to challenge their governments in court.
"My feeling is this isn’t going to be a big impact," said Price.
Driscoll said he didn’t object to the windmill and asked Devine to include a "verbal description" in his application since photographs had not been taken from some of the park’s trails. Driscoll said he would walk them.

None of Devine’s neighbors attended the meeting.

A public hearing on the windmill proposal will be held at the planning board’s meeting next month.

Cell tower considered

The planning board also reviewed a site plan for a cellular tower with Enterprise Consulting Solutions, based out of Slingerlands.

Board members and the consulting company discussed locating the tower on a 5-acre parcel owned by the town off Street Road near the Winn Preserve, one of the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy’s land preserves in Knox. Half of the parcel is residential zoning, and the other half is in a land conservation district.

Cell-phone reception in Knox and the other three Hilltowns is sparse, often non-existent.

The town would lease land to the cell tower company, and Enterprise Consulting Solutions would then lease space on the tower to cellular providers, such as Nextel and Sprint.

Last year, the town passed a moratorium on wind turbines and cell towers, and recently completed an ordinance regulating the placement of cell towers.

Price, who worked with Driscoll to create the ordinance, said he is most concerned about the health, welfare, and safety of town residents. The Federal Aviation Administration requires a flashing red light during the night and a strobe light during the day on all towers over 200 feet, Price said. Last week, the board discussed a 185-foot tall tower.

The town had earlier considered Knox’s highest point as a potential site for the tower, but, because reception would not reach into the town’s valleys, the plan was abandoned.
Enterprise Consulting Solutions representatives said the tower would be a monopole, much "like a baseball bat," with a large base and thinner top. They have had "preliminary interest from carriers," but would not specify who those carriers are.

Driscoll, who helped found the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy in 1992 and has remained involved, was concerned about the impact to Truax Road, a small road south of the property, which leads into the Winn Preserve. Driscoll was also concerned about the tower being located in a land conservation district.
According to the town’s zoning ordinance, the purpose of a land conservation district is to "prevent potential contamination of the groundwater supply," and to preserve and protect areas because of their "topography, fauna and flora, drainage and /or other natural conditions, such as scenic beauty, geological formations, and natural waterways."
Hikers and horseback riders use the road, and "a lot of people would see it," Driscoll said. He said the site is not a good location for a cell tower.
"We would have a positive declaration," he said. A positive declaration in the state environmental quality review process means a more rigorous review is needed.
Price said he doesn’t know of any other property owned by the town "that would be suitable."
Driscoll said, if another property owned by the town could not be found, a cell tower could be placed in an agricultural district. Driscoll said it would be "very desirable," and farmers would benefit because it would provide them with another source of income.
"I understand your concerns, and I understand the board’s concerns"but, at the same time, it does provide a public service," said Bill Biscone. of Enterprise Consulting Solutions.
Price said the town hasn’t yet considered revenue. "We’re just beginning this process," he said. "We’re going to be meeting a lot."