GUILDERLAND — The town board has tabled a local developer’s application for a zoning change because land for a required pocket park is wet.

The board voted unanimously on Oct. 2 to hold until Nov. 8 Brandon Quadrini’s request to build eight townhouses on 6.2 acres on Ashford Drive off of Johnston Road.

Currently the land is zoned R-40, meaning lot sizes would have to be 15,000 square feet or more. Multiple Residence, meaning a four-family dwelling can be built on a 18,750-square-foot lot, but has to be approved before Quadrini can build.

A public hearing will held on Quadrini’s proposed zoning change on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m., at Town Hall.
The project calls for building eight two-story English-Tudor-style condominiums or townhouses with "partial basements." Guilderland’s planner, Jan Weston, said the town board prefers the townhouses over the condos.
The major sticking point was the land that Quadrini had proposed donating to the town as required by law, is wet. The land was supposed to be used for a "pocket park" as part of his project.
"Are you proposing to give the town 2.7 acres of wetland"" Supervisor Kenneth Runion asked Quadrini during the town board meeting. "Did you discuss this with the planning board""
Quadrini responded by saying the nearly three acres was "partially wetland," and that he did discuss the property with the planning board.
"We didn’t talk in great detail," he added.

Several neighbors living around the proposed site said that the land being donated was wet or held surface water nearly year-round.
"The seasonal pond, with all respect, is wet all four seasons," one neighbor told the board. "I don’t know about the other seasons," he quipped.
Another neighbor told the board, "They better wear their knickers and bathing suits if they’re going to bike on that path."
A third neighbor said the 2.7 acres "really wasn’t buildable."
"It’s perfectly legal to apply for a nationwide permit"and build on wetland," Quadrini said and he added that a retention pond could be built on the land.
"Is that expense"worth the additional space"" Runion asked in response. "Where would the retention pond be built""

Other town board members expressed concerns about the park land, too.
Councilwoman Patricia Slavick said she had several concerns about the proposed bike path. Councilman Michael Ricard told Quadrini , "I don’t want the town to inherit wetlands." He asked for a study or engineering report from the developer.
"The planning board asked for ‘park land,’" Runion added.
Quadrini, who had also been before the town board in early September, said that he has spent a significant amount of time and money and urged, "We should make a decision here."
Continuing, Quadrini said that with 500 homes in the area, "This is very useful for children under 14 or 15"Pocket parks are important to the communities." Neighborhood parents can use trails and paths to walk their children to the park and don’t have to drive, Quadrini told the board.

Runion said he wouldn’t vote on the zoning change until more detailed information is provided about the land being used in the 6.2 acre proposal.
"I’m not prepared to vote on this tonight," Runion told Quadrini. "And, if I did, I would have to vote negatively because I don’t have enough information on this."