Planning board continues SEQR review of Stewart’s Marion/Mapledale proposals; requests site‑specific stormwater and pedestrian/crosswalk analysis

The Saratoga Springs Planning Board on Feb. 13 heard a detailed update from Stewart’s representatives and their consultants on linked redevelopment applications for properties on Marion Ave and Mapledale (two noncontiguous parcels). The board did not close SEQR review; instead members requested additional, site‑specific documents and said they would prepare a Part 3 SEQR memo for further consideration.

Applicant presentation and changes: Libby Clark (counsel) and Stewart’s engineers explained that the current filing removes the previously discussed car wash use and reconfigures retail and professional uses so retail functions concentrate on Marion Ave, with office/professional use to be located on Mapledale. The applicant provided an updated traffic letter from CME and an updated environmental assessment showing that, in the applicant’s analysis, shifting retail access to Marion Ave will reduce AM‑peak stacking at the critical Maple Dell/Route 9 approach.

Public concerns and board requests: Neighbors raised questions about notice and long‑standing nonconforming uses (including whether a gasoline/service station that predated current zoning is a lawful nonconforming use and what happens if it is rebuilt or expanded). Planning staff said zoning and variance questions are within the Zoning Board of Appeals’ (ZBA) purview; the planning board’s responsibility for SEQR is to identify environmental issues that require mitigation or further study.

The board focused on two issues it wants resolved before concluding SEQR:

- Surface‑water/contaminant containment: Several members asked for a site‑specific spill prevention, control, and countermeasure explanation tied to the SWIP (stormwater pollution prevention) and the applicant’s petroleum‑bulk‑storage regulatory controls. Board members stressed passive containment and engineered on‑site measures (detention, separators, and design that prevents contaminated runoff from reaching Loughberry Lake or downstream receptors). Planning staff noted prior submittals and state petroleum bulk storage references in the record but the board asked that the applicant explicitly demonstrate how worst‑case delivery or spill scenarios would be contained on site.

- Pedestrian safety and trip distribution: Members and neighbors said the traffic/ trip documentation should show existing and proposed trip distribution and consider pedestrian crossings where retail is concentrated on Marion Ave. The board referenced an NYS DOT comment recommending a marked crossing and asked the applicant to produce an updated circulation/trip‑distribution analysis and to coordinate any crosswalk or signalized pedestrian improvements with DOT.

Next steps and timing: The board asked the applicant to provide a site‑specific SWIP that demonstrates containment capacity for potential petroleum releases and an updated traffic/trip distribution memo that includes pedestrian crossing treatments (and DOT coordination). The board said, once those materials are in the record, staff will draft a Part 3 SEQR memorandum that documents mitigation and justification and return to the board for action; the board did not vote on SEQR at the Feb. 13 meeting. The zoning/variance questions for the gas station and other relief will proceed before the Zoning Board of Appeals as needed.