Planning Board gives SECRA sign‑off to RISE supportive housing project; board and neighbors debate lighting, parking and traffic mitigations

The Saratoga Springs Planning Board adopted a negative SECRA declaration for a proposed 71‑unit supportive housing development by RISE and advanced site plan review after the applicant presented additional studies and mitigation commitments. RISE attorneys and engineers told the board they had revised the site layout to increase the wooded buffer along the neighborhood’s west edge, bank additional parking in a triangular parcel, add pathways to county sidewalks, and provide enhanced security and on‑site staffing 24 hours a day. Residents raised concerns about scale, truck traffic on Finley Street and potential light intrusion; the applicant said management and design commitments — including controlled building access, security cameras, on‑site staff and working with the police department on emergency access — would reduce neighborhood impacts. The board directed the applicant to finalize details of an enhanced mid‑block crosswalk with a flashing beacon, submit a landscape and drainage plan for the public triangle parcel, and clarified that final decisions on parking bank development, tree preservation, and any additional pedestrian lighting would be handled administratively with DPW and the planning chair. After discussion the board voted unanimously to adopt a negative SECRA finding and to approve site plan subject to the listed conditions and administrative reviews.