“In a development that opponents of the project say was carried out with astonishing speed, work crews hired by Crossgates Mall owner Pyramid Management on Thursday removed most of the trees on the site of a planned Costco store and gas station.
The work came to an abrupt halt Thursday afternoon when Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber sent the local Pyramid affiliate, Releaseco LLC, a cease and desist order. Because the site is being reviewed under New York’s State Environmental Quality Review or SEQR program, it wasn’t supposed to be disturbed until the review is completed.
“It was a big wooded lot that is no longer a big wooded lot,” said Steve Wickham, a local opponent of the development. “It was almost entirely clear cut.”
Pyramid officials did not respond to an email on Friday. A phone message at their Syracuse headquarters noted that the staff are working remotely.
The cutting, which observers said was done with chain saws and bulldozer-sized tree removal machines.
The lot wasn’t supposed to be disturbed while under SEQR review. But a notice announcing the tree cutting on Guilderland’s planning office website explained that state and federal wildlife law largely prevents cutting trees between April 1 and Oct. 31 in areas where Northern long-eared bats are present.
The bats hibernate in caves during winter, but emerge in spring and take up residence in this area, among other spots. Tree cutting would disturb them.
“During this period of time, NLEB are active and are within the forested landscape,” reads part of the notice by Guilderland.
The cutting sparked a bit of drama when Wickham mounted and sat on a piece of equipment, refusing to move.
Police were called and he was put in a patrol car. He avoided arrest when town Councilwoman Laurel Bohl arrived, however. Bohl is also an opponent of the project.
The actual cease-and-desist order may have been prompted at around the same time when James Bacon, a lawyer for the nearby RedKap Mobil gas station, emailed town officials telling them he believed the cutting was in violation of SEQR rules.
“We’re in the middle of the comment period,” Bacon said, adding that working on a site under review like that was “unprecedented.”
He pointed out that getting a legal injunction to halt the work would have been extra-hard given that the courts are mostly closed due to the coronavirus epidemic.
“Response times for the courts and towns are obviously going to be lagging because of the virus,” Bacon said.”
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Karlin, Rick. Times Union 28 March 2020.