Neighbors raise safety, traffic and wildlife concerns as Saratoga Springs planning board seeks more data on 71-unit supportive housing proposal

The Saratoga Springs Planning Board spent the bulk of its meeting on a site-plan application for 26 Findlay Street, a proposed 71-unit mixed supportive and workforce housing project proposed by RISE.

The board heard a presentation from the applicant team and then more than a dozen residents who live near the site, most of whom urged the board to slow the review and gather more data about traffic, safety and environmental impacts. Planning staff and the applicant agreed to return with additional information requested by the board.

Why it matters: The project would add a significant number of multifamily units near an area that already hosts several social-service facilities. Neighbors said the concentration of shelters and service providers has generated pedestrian-safety problems, encampments and frequent police responses; they urged the board to evaluate whether a new development would increase public-safety or quality-of-life issues.

What the applicant and its consultants said Matt Jones, attorney for the applicant (Jones, Steve & Grassi), introduced RISE representatives and the project engineer. Jason Dell of Lansing Engineering described recent plan revisions: the team has narrowed a vehicle access drive to the city standard, added a new hydrant and upsized a water main, added a sidewalk connection across a small triangular parcel, and reconfigured “banked” parking so that fewer trees would be removed along the site perimeter. Dell said final plan cleanups and minor detail updates remain.

Sybil Newell of RISE described the planned unit mix and management model. She said the project would reserve about half the units for supportive housing for people diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities and the other half as workforce/affordable units up to 60% of area median income. Newell said RISE operates similar projects across the region, and the organization expects most tenants will not have cars; the applicant has proposed 35 on‑site parking spaces and said its experience shows roughly half of tenants register vehicles. Development consultant Mike Newman (CST Housing) told the board the project’s financing and operating assumptions have been reviewed by state funders and investors.

Public comments and concerns Residents who live on Spa Drive, Prospect Drive, Livingston Street and nearby blocks described repeated instances of people sleeping outdoors, occasional fights and discarded waste. Multiple speakers worried about adding a 71-unit building immediately behind single-family backyards, citing a 45-foot roofline that would be visible from nearby homes and the loss of a wooded buffer. Several speakers raised safety concerns because Findlay/Adelphi is used by tractor-trailers and drivers stop to accelerate near…