Stewart’s Shops proposed Altamont Boulevard project got a big boost this week after the village zoning board approved variances the company needed because building a project compliant with Altamont’s code was not possible.

Stewart’s Shops’ three variance requests for its Altamont Boulevard expansion project must pass five criteria used by the zoning board.

In back-to-back court filings, Stewart’s Shops states that its lawsuit against the village of Voorheesville should not be dismissed because the village’s adoption of a new zoning code was “far from an ordinary municipal comprehensive planning and zoning enactment process.” Voorheesville responded, again, that the case should be dismissed because Stewart’s latest argument does nothing to alter “the conclusion that the Village lawfully changed its zoning code for the district in which the subject property is located.”

Stewart’s announced in September 2019 it was suing Voorheesville, claiming the village was targeting the company to keep it from building a new shop in the village. The village, in its first response to the lawsuit, asked that the suit be tossed. 

Obstructions to Stewart’s Shops building a new shop at its Altamont location continue to fall by the wayside, as the company receives once-already approved rezone requests and, more recently, the lawsuit that had brought the project to a halt was dropped. 

After deciding to put off making a decision until after the holidays, the Altamont Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Feb. 11 for Stewart’s Shops variance requests for its proposed Altamont Boulevard project.

Nearly a year after approving the rezone of 107-109 Helderberg Ave., the Altamont Village Board again voted to rezone the property last month, placing Stewart’s Shops back on the path to get the permission it needs from the village’s other boards to build a new store. This week, the company made variance requests of the zoning board. 

Nearly a year after approving the rezone of 107-109 Helderberg Ave., which triggered a lawsuit over the decision, the Altamont Village Board again voted to rezone the property.