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Resident urges Albany County commissioners to reconsider Tree Rivers Road subdivision approval
Summary
A resident told commissioners that a proposed 10-acre subdivision on Tree Rivers Road would impose hidden costs on new and existing residents — from slow emergency response and water-fire-suppression concerns to dust and damaged windshields — and urged reconsideration ahead of an excise tax vote.
A resident urged the Albany County Board of Commissioners to reconsider approval of a 10-acre subdivision on Tree Rivers Road, saying developers must be required to disclose the realities of rural life to prospective buyers.
The resident told the board that emergency response times can be "extremely slow" in the area and said higher-density development would make those delays a "critical safety concern." The commenter asked whether developers should be required to install cisterns or other water storage for fire suppression and argued that the county must be transparent about the costs of providing services to new subdivisions.
"If we don't have transparency now, we are not being fair to the families moving in or the residents already here," the resident said, urging commissioners to "please reconsider the potential for the rural agriculture or existing agriculture zoning for this development and any future development in this environmentally sensitive area."
The speaker also cited county data — saying the rezoning "will cost the government more than it contributes" — and referenced a local document they called the "Code of the West," which, the speaker said, concludes that "Albany County is a special place. Current residents like it the way it is." The comment noted other practical concerns, including frequent dust, calcium deposits on fixtures, damaged windshields from gravel on county roads, the lack of USPS parcel delivery in remote locations and frequent train traffic on the only reasonable access route.
Commissioners did not take immediate action on the specific subdivision at the meeting. The speaker noted an excise tax vote was scheduled the following day and questioned whether approving higher-density subdivisions was appropriate at a time when, the speaker said, "we are already struggling to cover the cost of existing services." The board proceeded to other agenda items following public comment.
