SARATOGA — Residents around the proposed Cedar Bluff development over Saratoga Lake are planning to speak out at Monday’s Town Board meeting to urge its members to stop what they are calling a Planning Board runaround of a local law protecting steep slopes.
Neighbors to the proposed subdivision, Hub Miller and Tom Yannios, have also written to Supervisor Tom Wood and Town Board members about what they claim is the Planning Board’s disregard of town law that restricts any disturbances on slopes with more than a 25 percent gradient. However, the Town Board has already said it is not its place to address the matter.
Opponents of the development have a different view.
“Under normal circumstances, it’s the right approach for the Town Board to not get involved in the Planning Board affairs,” Miller said. “However, in this situation, the Planning Board is not following the law. My concern is for the steepest slopes. If they are disturbed, it is a threat to the homes below, to (Route) 9P and the lake itself.”
Saratoga Town Board Meeting
When: p.m. Monday, March 13
Where: Saratoga Town Hall, 12 Spring St., Schuylerville
The Planning Board has agreed to allow for “felling/reduction of trees” to accommodate developer John Witt and his proposed Cedar Bluff subdivision of 31 homes, which promises vistas of the lake. Originally, the developer sought to clear-cut the site. Critics say the change of language doesn’t change the situation – the “felling/reduction of trees” is still a disturbance.
At the last Town Board meeting, Wood said he was advised by the town attorney to stay out of the debate. Wood also did not respond to a Times Union request to elaborate on the Planning Board language that would allow Witt to build atop a lake ridge.
Miller said that the best way…
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