To the Editor:
I am writing an open letter regarding the application of Bernard F. Radtke III of B&B Containers Inc. for a special-use permit for “Equipment Storage” and “Container Storage” under the guise of “Contractor yard” at 4304 Frederick Road (formerly the Wagner Farm), owned by Thomas C. Ensslin [“Area residents come out against proposed contractor yard in rural Guilderland,” The Altamont Enterprise, Feb. 25, 2022].

This may be a bit understated. The applicant operates a multi-faceted commercial enterprise (www.bandbcontainersinc.com), operating 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, consisting of: Commercial and Residential Roll-off Container (Dumpster) Service; Commercial Snow Removal; Commercial and Residential Land Clearing; Heavy Equipment, Trailers and Accessories Sales; and Topsoil Screening Machinery and Delivery.

This growing business is currently operated on the applicant family’s property next to the Albany International Airport, a heavy commercial area zoned ABA (Airport Business Area). Nearby neighbors include Central Transport Trucking Company, T&T Body King Heavy Truck Repair Shop, Pepsi Bottling Beverage and Vending Machine Distributor, and three freight companies.

Thus, a good example of a thriving commercial business, storing and operating a significant number of large, heavy vehicles, appropriately located in a commercial area zoned to accommodate significant large, heavy-vehicle traffic.

The applicant’s intent is to move his operations and a significant portion of his equipment to the Frederick Road property, a quiet rural agricultural/residential area whose neighbors are approximately 40 directly-affected homeowners on Frederick Road and the portion of Meadowdale Road leading to Depot Road.

There is no apparent heavy commercial business in the vicinity because the area is not zoned for it. (Dozens more concerned homeowners reside on connected Gardner Road, Hawes Road, and lower Meadowdale Road as well.)

The property is zoned RA3 (Rural/Agricultural District). According to Town of Guilderland’s website, zoning definitions and rules applicable to this property and special-use request read as follows:

“The purposes of the Agricultural and Rural Agricultural Districts are to ensure an economic and physical environment for agricultural use of land. These districts are intended to support creative, low-impact development patterns, and land uses that are complementary to agricultural uses and protect natural resources, including the Watervliet reservoir and watershed as a source of drinking water. These districts promote the maintenance of the natural landscape and limit the adverse impacts of development ….”

There are 11 “Permitted Uses” listed for zone RA3. It is important to note that none of the applicant’s intended uses fall under “Permitted Uses.” Rather, all of his intended uses require being granted a special-use permit by the board. 

In the RA3 zone, under the heading “Special Uses” is a 14-item list. Most of the applicant’s intended uses have been positioned under the category “(1) Contractors Yard or construction company.” His topsoil-screening operation falls under the heading of “(8) Mining and excavation,” per the chief building and zoning inspector.

(Note that the reported statement, “And other than that, screening of topsoil is a permitted use in the zone, as is mining and excavation, and that is a use that is part of the mining excavation” may be misleading. In fact, in zone RA3, any use falling under “(8) Mining and excavation” is not a “Permitted Use” but rather a “Special Use,” requiring the special-use permit.)

What does the Town of Guilderland Zoning Code say about Special Uses and when should a permit be granted?

“The purpose of special use permit review is to consider the proper placement of uses in the community and zoning district that are only suitable in such locations under appropriate conditions. Special uses require consideration of factors so that they are properly located consistent with the objectives of this chapter and are not detrimental to neighboring properties.”

Considerations in granting a special-use permit include:

— “The effect of the proposed use on the other properties in the neighborhood, and whether it will materially affect the value of such properties and the use and enjoyment of such properties by the occupants and other effects of such use on the health, welfare and safety of the occupants of such properties”;

— “The use will not be detrimental to or endanger public health, safety, or the general welfare of the community”;

— “The use will not compromise the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity, nor substantially diminish and/or impair property values within the neighborhood”;

— “Adequate … access roads … to serve the use”;

— Will not “alter the essential character of the neighborhood or negatively impact neighboring properties”;

— “Where the conditions imposed by a provision of this chapter are less restrictive than comparable conditions imposed by another provision of this chapter or of any other local law, resolution or regulation, the provisions which are more restrictive shall govern.”

“(8) Mining and excavation” also requires meeting a subset of regulations, including these:

— “(1) The purpose of this subsection is to allow mining and excavation activities only in appropriate locations and only by issuance of a permit as set forth herein with conditions necessary for the protection of nearby residents, natural resources, and public streets”;

— “(2) Prohibited activities. No permit issued under this subsection shall be construed to allow the processing of materials not mined or excavated at the proposed permit site or allow any activities prohibited under § 280-22E.”

Based on a reading and understanding of the Town of Guilderland Zoning Codes, it becomes clear that the applicant’s intended uses are not in alignment with the intended uses of the RA3-zoned Frederick Road property. While we can all understand the applicant’s desire to use this nearby and low-cost land for his commercial benefit, it is simply the wrong place for that business and is not fair to all the other homeowners/landowners in the area.

One need look no further than the town’s written rules, and Frederick Road itself for confirmation that this RA3 land is not an appropriate place for a commercial business that includes the 12-hour, six-day transporting of trucks, Dumpster trailers, and heavy equipment or their accompanying noise and fumes.

(Frederick Road has a successive pair of tight 90-degree turns and unsupported shoulders that no lengthy truck or trailer can navigate without cutting off the opposing lane and tossing shoulder gravel onto the pavement, which bicycles and motorcycles are particularly susceptible to, and which, perhaps prematurely, has been “already signed off” to permit 16-ton trucks when only four tons was the previously posted limit.)

Special uses are not allowed as a matter of right, and granting them is not an obligation. Ultimately, it is the responsibility and duty of zoning boards and, indeed, all landowners themselves, to both allow and limit land usage to that which aligns with the regulations and intentions of zoned land and is in harmony with and not adversely affecting the neighborhood and the character of the area.

In this particular case, those responsibilities can only be met by denying the special-use permit. Doing so also mitigates zoning rules from further erosion that would entitle other landowners to commercial uses for the hundreds of acres of RA-zoned land that comprises most of western Guilderland.

Fortunately, denying this application poses little hardship to the applicant; he is yet to own the land and he has the ability to continue operating at his current Latham location for at least a few more years.

He is surely a hard-working and enterprising individual with the resources to acquire property that is already zoned and appropriate for his uses. Possibly, helpful town officials could continue to assist the applicant in this endeavor.

Paul Nelson

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Paul Nelson notes that he has lived on Gardner Road for more than 30 years.