NEW SCOTLAND — A mixed-use development planned for the center of town proceeded as one resident told the planning board the buildings don’t fit New Scotland’s rural character.

Also at the Aug. 2 planning board meeting, the Ten Eycks heard concerns about the weddings they’ve hosted for years at Indian Ladder Farms.

Peter Ten Eyck II said the farm first hosted the wedding in 1980 when his daughter married there. He also said the funds raised by the weddings and other events help sustain the popular apple farm, a tourist venue, as crops have suffered in recent years.

While neighbors raised concerns about traffic and noise during a public hearing for the special-use permit required by law, Ten Eyck and his son, Peter Ten Eyck III, said they hadn’t known such events were illegal.

The board presented the results of a sound study, in which they had tested what noise would carry over from the farm to the neighbors.

According to town building inspector Jeremy Cramer, the sound study was conducted with a device that records ambient noise over time, which is then calculated with the distance from the potential sound source (the farm’s barn where banquets are hosted) and the nearest neighbor to determine the noise levels that can be allowed without being a nuisance. The application stated the level would be around 10 decibels, while the study found it to be around 5.

Cramer also concluded that no official complaints had been made to the board.

At the meeting, John Biscone, a neighbor to Indian Ladder Farms for over 30 years, approached the board. An attorney, Biscone had served on the town’s Commercial Zoning Advisory Committee and was formerly the town’s attorney.

“The fact that there are no complaints in the past does not mean there isn’t one tonight,” he said, “There is one tonight.”

Although Biscone stated most weddings did not cause any noise concerns, but on particular occasions, such as a hot night with a live band, the noise would be so loud he couldn’t hear himself speak at the the front porch of his house, which is across the street from the venue. Biscone also raised traffic concerns, since guests would likely be leaving late and the speed limit was changed recently from 40 to 55 miles per hour near the farm. He added concerns about lighting and security (he had once seen guests launch illegal fireworks) and the hours of operation, preferring that weekdays would be ruled out.

Other speakers, such as neighbor Dave Fisher, were less concerned about noise than they were about the the traffic on Route 156.

Peter Ten Eyck III, who was presenting the application, stated that the traffic would be a fraction of what is seen during apple-picking season at the farm, and that the concerns over speeding on 156 were out of the farm’s hands. He added that he did like a suggestion from one speaker to re-route traffic to another exit and would consider it.

Ten Eyck also stated that the farm operated “24-7” and included noise from machinery such as spraying equipment, and lit security lights. He concluded that the best way to determine if the farm could host events would be a “real world test,” which had already been occurring as the farm has hosted events in the past.

Biscone argued that the operation of the farm was different than the operation of an event venue, and that the noises of the farm equipment were not bothersome compared to loud music.

“I’m here to make sure people are safe, I’m not here to list complaints,” he said, adding that he and his family have had a long and good-natured relationship with the Ten Eycks.

Peter Ten Eyck II then addressed the board to apologize to the Biscones for “taking them for granted.” While the board has finished with data collection for the sound study, the public comment period is still open and will continue at the next planning board meeting.

85A corridor development

The meeting also continued to oversee the application submitted by ABD Development to create a “mixed-use” development consisting of both retail and residential spaces.

Representing the Schenectady-based construction firm were Luigi Palleschi and Dan Sanders, who described changes made to their original design, such as shifting the structure further west and increasing the parking spaces from 111 to 119. The group also submitted an application to extend the water and sewer district to the tax parcel where the development would be constructed.

According to Palleschi and Sanders, there would be one building constructed first, which would consist of retail shops on the first floor and residential apartments on the second. Parking spaces would be shared between retail customers and residents. A potential second building would consist of residential apartments with underground parking.

Sanders described the market demographic for the residential spaces to be young professionals and divorcees, due to the cost of the rent and the apartments having one or two bedrooms.

Concerns were brought up over the location a septic detention center. Speaking before the board, Cynthia Elliott raised concerns that a nearby trailer park has been unable to have the water and sewer district extended to its property, while the mixed-use development could soon be part of the district. However, Elliott made it clear that she otherwise supported the development. A licensed surveyor, Elliott formerly served on the New Scotland Planning Board.

Edith Abrams, a member of the town’s zoning board, said many have expressed views that the town should remain rural, and that the development does not fit with the rural aesthetic of the town.

“I’m sitting here, astounded that you making comments like, ‘This is a nice design,’” she said.

“This may not give exactly what the public has been asking for,” responded Elliott, “But one word the town has not been able to understand is ‘viability.’”

Elliott explained that the cost to build homes just for one-family units would not make sense economically. Abrams said she did not feel the homes needed to be single-family units, but that her concern was over the development’s aesthetic and facade.

“See these buildings,” she said, “The do not look like the town of New Scotland.”

Another “food truck”

The meeting also oversaw an application submitted by Jane Twomey of Wren & Rail LLC to convert a trailer into a mobile “food coach” on New Scotland South Road. Twomey and Paul Doyle presented their proposed business as selling breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday to passersby on the road.

As the trailer is not insulated, the business would be seasonal; services would continue as long as the weather permitted. The board agreed to set up a public hearing for the next meeting on Sept. 6.

Last month, the planning board approved a permit for a “mobile concession trailer,” to be operated as a snack bar for Indian Ladder Farms on Thacher Park Road. Timothy Albright, who had submitted the application, said there are still certain legal requirements to be met before the mobile snack bar can be set up.