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Menands Village adopts local law to allow self‑storage in light industrial zone
Summary
The Menands Village Board adopted Local Law No. 4 (2024) on Sept. 23 to permit self‑storage in the village's light industrial district (while removing it from the T5 mixed‑use district); the change remains subject to special‑use review and was issued a negative environmental declaration.
The Menands Village Board on Sept. 23 adopted Local Law No. 4 of 2024 to amend the village zoning map and allow self‑storage facilities in the light industrial district, officials said.
An unidentified planning staff member (Speaker 4) told the board the change corrects an apparent oversight that left self‑storage allowed in the T5 walkable mixed‑use district. "Self storage is only allowed in heavy industrial T5," the staff member said, then described the proposal to remove the use from T5, add it to the light industrial district and retain it in heavy industrial. The speaker emphasized that projects would still require the village's special‑use review process in light industrial.
Village staff read a resolution and the text of the local law that cites Albany County Planning Board review and a village environmental assessment; the board's paperwork records a negative declaration on environmental impacts. Speaker 2 read that the County planning board found the local law "will not result in a significant countywide or municipal impact." The board then moved, seconded and adopted the local law by voice vote.
Why it matters: moving self‑storage out of a T5 walkable mixed‑use zoning district and into light industrial preserves the character the village seeks for T5 areas while allowing adaptive reuse options on underutilized industrial parcels. Officials said the amendment is intended to return underused property to the tax roll and that any individual project will be reviewed through the existing special‑use permit process, which allows the village to consider site‑specific impacts.
What the law requires next: the resolution directs the village clerk to enter the local law into the meeting minutes, file it with the appropriate court record and publish a summary in the village's official newspaper and at the village office entrance as required by law.
Board and public reaction: Trustees asked about jobs and parcel sizes; Trustee Bill (Speaker 5) asked how many jobs a storage facility would create and how many acres it would cover. The staff reply noted the zoning change is not project specific and said self‑storage typically generates few permanent jobs but can reactivate underused property. No on‑the‑record public comments were recorded during the scheduled zoning hearing.
Next steps: individual self‑storage proposals under the new rule will return to the board or planning body through the special‑use review and permitting process.
