To the Editor:

As a member of the Altamont Comprehensive Plan Task Force, which received public input and was adopted by the village board to set the vision for the future of Altamont, I have to wonder whether the proposed expansion of Stewart’s into the surrounding community complies with this vision.

Proposals were presented for planning at Voorheesville's "triangle" of Grove Street, Main Street, and Voorheesville Avenue, but a draft master plan won't be submitted until closer to the end of April.

Planning boards are a good and necessary part of town government. But they must work efficiently if they are to be effective and fair to the citizens they are meant to serve.

About 30 people at the February town board meeting spoke in support of Hitmans Towing, a business that has been cited for operating a business in a residential district. Several speakers wanted the board to change the zoning ordinance to accommodate the business.

Throughout the year, the town's close supervisor race was run amid designs to zone areas in the town for businesses and a long wait for postal services to return to the hamlet.

GUILDERLAND — The area’s retail giant wants to grow a little more.

Crossgates Mall is looking to amend its special-use permit to add a 20,000-square-foot, two-story addition and a total of 2,100 square feet of leasable space to the 1.3 million square feet of retail space it already has.

What's old is new again. Walkable communities, where businesses and homes are clustered together, can thrive again with proper zoning. The Knox Town board should approve a business district in the hamlet.

Chairman Robert Price said the planning board still has to agree on a proposed change to the buffer that would separate business districts from residential areas.

The contractor agreed to some additions and stipulations, aimed at addressing concerns that development at the rural site might alter water drainage and negatively impact neighbors.

NEW SCOTLAND — Voters were definitive on Tuesday, electing the slate that ran as Team New Scotland, which is taking the victory as a mandate for a cap on the size of retail development.