Planning Board approves Saratoga/Champlain parking-lot site plan after lighting details clarified

The Cohoes Planning Board approved the final site plan for the Saratoga/Champlain/South parcel during its July 13 meeting after the applicant described how the proposed solar lighting will be installed and secured. The board voted 4-0 to approve the application following a brief technical discussion about the fixtures.

Tom Brennan, the applicant representative, said the light posts will be installed in an aluminum sleeve set into concrete behind cosmetic fence posts. "they are going to be in a sleeve which is going to be an aluminum sleeve, in the white fence post that is more cosmetic that is not going to be the structure at all and they will be placed in concrete in the ground in the post and the metal post of the light will slide down the middle and be concreted in," Brennan said. Member Paradis confirmed the fixtures are six-foot posts with roughly two feet of the post set in concrete.

Board members raised durability questions about the previously circulated light specifications; Brennan said crews will seal the top to prevent water ingress that could lead to cracking. Vice Chair Moloughney asked for public comment; none was offered. Member Carroll moved to approve the application, Member Paradis seconded, and the motion carried with Vice Chair Moloughney, Member Carroll, Member McCormick and Member Paradis voting yes.

The board did not add special conditions beyond standard permit requirements for installation and noted that final construction details will be reviewed under permitting.