To the Editor:               
I am a long-time resident of the town of Guilderland and have been following along closely with the recent Guilderland Zoning Board of Appeals meetings in regards to the vacant land at 4304 Frederick Road. I’m speaking out on behalf of Mr. Ben Radtke III who is under contract to purchase the property, pending the zoning board approval of a special-use permit to allow him to use the land as defined by the town as a “Contractor Yard.”

The 55 acres that he wishes to purchase is currently, and has been, zoned as Rural/Agricultural 3 (RA3) in which a contractor’s yard is permitted. Mr. Radtke owns B&B Containers Inc.

The application states, and also his comments in the February meeting stated, he is looking to purchase the land to store containers and equipment for his business with aspirations in the future to add some buildings.

He may also choose to screen and sell top-soil and occasionally sell some of his equipment. All of this is allowed under the zoning law with a special-use permit in RA3 areas.

My concerns I would like to express in this letter are not with Mr. Radtke and his proposed use for the land, as I have none. I have used the services of B&B Containers numerous times and Mr. Radtke is a very professional and respectful individual.

My concerns are in regards to all the negativity about his request, which includes misinformation, lack of supporting evidence by the neighboring residents as reasons for the town to deny the special-use permit, and the outright bullying that has been occurring.

The residents who live in the area of Frederick and Meadowdale roads have combined forces to spread untruth and misconceptions of Mr. Radtke’s intentions for use of this property. They have done so with comments at the zoning board meeting, letters and emails to the zoning board, letters to the editor of The Altamont Enterprise, and in community groups on Facebook.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that the area is residential. While there are residential homes, all of the properties in that area are zoned RA3. Owners could apply for similar special-use permits, have tractors and equipment, and operate recreational vehicles such as ATVs, snowmobiles, and dirt-bikes.

The area neighbors are trying to make it seem as if Mr. Radtke wants to run a large commercial or industrial type business that would increase noise and large truck traffic in that area, store waste and debris that will contaminate the land and well water, cause an inconvenience to pedestrians, decrease neighboring property value, and potentially ruin their view of the Helderberg escarpment.

Some have even gone so far as to report shallow and insignificant incidents to the Guilderland Police, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and town code enforcement. At what point should they be held accountable for their slander and harassment?

Even The Altamont Enterprise is printing false information in regards to who Mr. Radtke is, and his being a partner on a project in Latham. The Feb. 25 Enterprise article, “Area residents come out against proposed contractor yard in rural Guilderland,” states, “What Radtke didn’t tell the board was that he’s the one developing the land.”

This statement is completely false as Mr. Radtke has absolutely nothing to do with his father and family’s proposal for development in Latham. This was a poor assumption on behalf of The Enterprise and the correction should be publicly noted.

What the truth is: The residents who are complaining are resistant to change. They have lived in that area for most of their lives and like it the way it is.

What Mr. Radtke is proposing is not going to cause any real burden to them other than hurt feelings. If they do not like the already approved potential uses for land that is zoned RA3, they should take that complaint to the Guilderland Town Board and petition to have it changed. Until then, “contractor yard” and its use is allowed under the current law.

I am often in the area of Meadowdale and Frederick roads. Prior to writing this letter, I purposely drove up and down several times and paid specific attention to the condition of the roads and area homes.

I found my observations to be rather interesting. By the looks of some of the neighbors who are complaining, they need to consider their own glass house before throwing stones at others.

Tracy Mance

Guilderland

Editor’s note: See related correction.