“To the Editor:
I have several concerns about the Guilderland Planning Board’s review process of a proposal for the placement of a five-megawatt solar array on a 61-acre field that is adjacent to the Orchard Creek Golf Course on Dunnsville Road, Route 356.
I learned recently that the Guilderland Planning Board reviewed this proposal twice — once in June and again in September. The project was also referred to the Albany County Planning Board in June for its comment and review. It still has not been officially sent to the village of Altamont.
It doesn’t make sense that this proposal will not be referred to Altamont until the very end of the planning process, as Guilderland’s town planner, Kenneth Kovalchik, confirmed last week when asked by the Enterprise reporter, noting that the town won’t make the referral until the applicant has updated the plans to incorporate requests made by the planning board on Sept. 11.
It would seem to me that the referral that the town made to the Albany County Planning Board in June was what the village should have received as it always has since the Guilderland law requiring such a referral was put in place in 2005.
During the time I was mayor of the village, the Altamont Referral Committee received 26 proposed projects for review. In all cases, the referrals were sent to the Committee at the beginning of the process by Guilderland planning or zoning staff. The town referred the projects to the Albany County Planning Board at the same time.
One of the key purposes of the 2005 law encourages local decision-makers to consider the inter-community impacts of local land-use changes, and adds a cooperative perspective to local land-use decisions. The Guilderland Planning Board would learn early in the review process if the village of Altamont had any concerns or issues. This important perspective has been lacking since the onset of the proposal.”
read the entire article
Gaughan, Jim. Letter to the Editor. Altamont Enterprise 25 September 2019.