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Neighbors press planning board on tree loss, drainage and connectivity for 25 New Street project
Summary
At the planning board’s continued review of a proposed 18‑duplex subdivision on 25 New Street, residents urged preservation of Railroad Run, raised concerns about stormwater and noise from the adjacent Price Chopper, and asked the city to pursue a north-end connection to improve circulation. The board kept the public hearing open and requested detailed technical responses and revised plans from the applicant.
The Saratoga Planning Board continued the public hearing on a subdivision and site plan for 25 New Street after hearing a lengthy presentation from the applicant’s team and extensive public comment.
Applicant representatives (Andy Brick and project engineer Walt Lippmann) described an 18 duplex proposal with domestic water looped via a revised emergency easement, a single collector road with a cul-de-sac, underground stormwater infiltration chambers beneath the road, a sanitary sewer tie to the Saratoga County interceptor and a landscape package including arborvitae to mitigate views. The applicant said they had discussed sewer connectivity with the county and DPW and that the city’s DPW had indicated the proposed road could be accepted subject to emergency egress and turnaround considerations.
Frank McKeon, the applicant’s noise consultant (Ambient Environmental), summarized a wintertime noise study done in early January and described modeling approaches to project impacts from sources such as refrigerated trucks at the adjacent Price Chopper loading area. He recommended a combination of structural buffering and plantings to mitigate noise and said his simulations could model peak, truck-related events if requested.
More than a dozen members of the public presented detailed comments and alternative concepts. Concerns focused on: preserving Railroad Run as a recreational and environmental corridor (several speakers urged reorienting units to face the trail); the loss of a wooded stand on the site and potential impacts to protected butterfly species referenced in a DEC comment; winter snow-storage and drainage patterns that currently push runoff toward the trail; emergency access and the need for a written sign-off from fire/EMS; and the fragmented public record of reviews and many late submissions that the board said must be consolidated for a reasoned decision.
Board members repeatedly asked the applicant to pursue stronger connectivity: multiple members (including Bill and others) urged the city to engage the State University/State of New York about a north-end connection to Aleta Street (paper streets such as Livingston and Findlay were discussed as potential pedestrian/vehicular links). Tony and other members asked for no-cut/no-grade buffer options adjacent to Railroad Run and requested clearer stormwater and grading calculations so the board can confirm that existing flow patterns are not routed toward the trail.
The applicant agreed to provide revised site plans, a detailed tree inventory, stormwater calculations and a consolidated response to the board’s and staff’s technical comments. The public hearing remains open; the board did not take a final vote and asked the applicant and city staff to pursue a coordinated approach to state engagement on connectivity and to return with materials for further review.
Why it matters: The project sits at the interface of a commercial property and a residential/trail corridor; the board signaled that connectivity improvements and conservation-oriented design choices could materially affect whether the project is acceptable.
