Minutes of the TROY CITY COUNCIL PLANNING MEETING April 27, 2021 6:00 P.M. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, this meeting was held remotely via videoconference. The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. by Committee Chair Cummings. Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call: The roll being called, the following answered to their names: Council Member Ashe- McPherson, Council Member Steele, and Council Member Cummings, Chair. Council Member Gulli, Council Member Zalewski, and Council Member McDermott were also present. In attendance were Mayor Patrick Madden, Corporation Counsel Richard T. Morrissey, and Commissioner of Planning & Economic Development Steven Strichman. Lindsay Zefting from Alta Planning gave a presentation on the Congress Street Study. 29. Resolution Declaring The Troy City Council “Lead Agency” For Rezone Request (Council Member Gulli) (At The Request Of The Administration) Council Member Gulli withdrew this resolution. Commissioner Strichman gave updates on other Planning Department projects. Public Forum: The following individuals spoke regarding Resolution 29: • Chel Miller • Jennifer Schulaner • Keith Hirokawa • Leo Matteo Bachinger • Sarah Pezdek • Adam Schultz • Kevin Vandenburgh The following individuals submitted written comments regarding Resolution 29, which are appended to these minutes: • Andrea Sandholt • Beverly Davis • Christian Grigoraskos • Chris Bassett • Elaine Broiles • Adam and Evangeline Alexander 1 • Frank Vroman • Randy Herrington • James Kruegler • Jennifer Baumstein • Jennifer Schulaner • Jessica Bennett • Jessica Ryle • John Raup • Joseph DiMaggio • Karin Krasevac-Lenz • Laura Hynes • Lee Ferrini • M Goodman • Michelle Polacinski • Patrick Kiley • Elizabeth Griffith • Richard C. Herrick • Sarah Pezdek • Sharon Wesley • Rebecca Martin • The Friends of the Mahicantuck Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. A video recording of this meeting is on file at the City Clerk's office. 2 Dear Members of the City Council Planning Committee * Please enter this letter into the record and include it in the minutes of the upcoming Planning Committee Hearing (April 27, 2021) My name is Andrea Sandholt. I live in South Troy. I am writing to you in opposition to the requested zoning change for 1011 2nd Avenue (Tax Parcel 70.64-1-1) and in opposition to Resolution 29 declaring the City Council as "lead agency". The “Sacred Forest” at 1011 2nd Avenue is unique. It is part of our history. It is an important indigenous cultural and historical heritage site. It has a rare and important ecology, with protected species. It protects the city and contributes to public health. This forest deserves our protection! I ask the Planning Committee to: – Follow the Planning Commission's recommendation AGAINST rezoning – A vote on Resolution 29 is PREMATURE and would create a process that constitutes SEGMENTATION, prohibited by State Law. - You MUST NOT adopt Resolution 29 and INSTEAD demand the developer submit an application for his development plans so that development and rezoning can be considered together, as mandated in by law in the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. The “Sacred Forest” at 1011 2nd Avenue is the city’s last untouched forest along the Hudson River as well as a nationally significant (National Register eligible) indigenous heritage site with artifacts dating back to 1500-3000 B.C. The indigenous peoples maintain ties to this land that grew over 5000 years. For them, this is sacred land. It is unique for its history and cultural heritage. It deserves the fullest consideration if any action would be taken on this land. A rezoning cannot be considered independent from known development plans. These plans are known to the council and administration. REZONING AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS MUST BE CONSIDERED TOGETHER. This would also SAVE THE CITY MONEY AND TIME, as it would streamline the review process and make it more efficient. By not adopting Resolution 29 you are simply asking the developer to follow the proper legal processes by submitting a formal application for his development plans, as per SEQRA. "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." -John Muir 3 Please preserve this land! Not only is it sacred to indigenous peoples, there are many species of wild animals and birds who call it their home and habitat. They all play vital roles in the local ecosystem. Thank you. Andrea Sandholt South Troy Seriously do we need another in Troy? There is only one grocery store in lansinsburgh. There is only one hospital in the city of troy. The schools have enough issues already without adding more children. The fire department has to have help from other cities when fighting fires. AND you have an overworked understaffed police department that does a great job with what they have. They certainly don’t need any more people in this city! I lived in lansingburgh for 26 years. We moved to pleasantdale 18 years ago. It’s not the traffic that will increase although that is also a factor but the main reasons are above that I request another apartment complex NOT be built there on sacred unspoiled land. Sincerely, Beverly Davis Troy NY 12182 Dear Members of the City Council Planning Committee, * Please enter this letter into the record and include it in the minutes of the upcoming Planning Committee Hearing (April 27, 2021) My name is Christian Grigoraskos, I reside [in] north Troy. I am writing to you in opposition to the requested zoning change for 1011 2nd Avenue (Tax Parcel 70.64-1-1) and in opposition to Resolution 29 declaring the City Council as "lead agency". We are in the midst of a climate and ecological crisis. Context is king! No more virgin land should be disturbed to build human settlement. The city should prioritize infill development on sites such as Leonard Hospital or Haskell School. Once all infill sites have been exhausted, only then should we look at untouched land. This forest deserves our protection! It currently serves innumerable ecological functions that will be destroyed by development. If you are looking at all the building that is going on across the river and are afraid that people will take their money over there instead, let me tell you that ALL those developments are abhorrent and unnecessary...future generations will be so disappointed that we lacked the foresight and ecological literacy to maintain a strong riparian buffer and allowed so much hardscape and pollution to be sited next to these sacred waters. PROGRESS CAN ONLY BE MEASURED ECOLOGICALLY and if you allow resolution 29 to pass you will be taking a huge step backwards. 4 Should you make the insane move and allow a project to move forward on this land I sincerely hope you will hold it to the highest sustainable standards meaning a NET-POSITIVE, NON- POLLUTING project that generates all of its own power and recycles all of its own waste and sets the bar for all future developments. These projects are entirely possible they just lack the political will and creative foresight to look at the long arc of time (beyond the next election cycle). I live in a 200 hundred year old structure that I put blood sweat and tears into, and I honor my small 60 x 120 parcel of land as sacred, because the original peoples of this land showed that we can live harmoniously with all species of plants and animals. When I see buildings like the Atrium and the Lansingburgh Fire Department go on the chopping block at less than 50 years old it gives me a strong feeling that we are absolutely failing as a human community and we have lost our way. Please consider the 200 hundred year plan...if you look at the long arc of time you will know the appropriate way to proceed. You MUST NOT adopt Resolution 29 and INSTEAD demand the developer submit an application for his development plans so that development and rezoning can be considered together, as mandated by law in the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. Thank you. Christian Grigoraskos Troy, NY Dear Members of the City Council Planning Committee * Please enter this letter into the record and include it in the minutes of the upcoming Planning Committee Hearing (April 27, 2021) My name is Chris Bassett. I live in Troy's Osgood neighborhood. I am writing to you in opposition to the requested zoning change for 1011 2nd Avenue (Tax Parcel 70.64-1-1) and in opposition to Resolution 29 declaring the City Council as "lead agency". The “Sacred Forest” at 1011 2nd Avenue is unique. It is part of our history. It is an important indigenous cultural and historical heritage site. It has a rare and important ecology, with protected species. It protects the city and contributes to public health. This forest deserves our protection! I ask the Planning Committee to: – Follow the Planning Commission's recommendation AGAINST rezoning 5 – A vote on Resolution 29 is PREMATURE and would create a process that constitutes SEGMENTATION, prohibited by State Law. - You MUST NOT adopt Resolution 29 and INSTEAD demand the developer submit an application for his development plans so that development and rezoning can be considered together, as mandated by law in the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. The “Sacred Forest” at 1011 2nd Avenue is the city’s last untouched forest along the Hudson River as well as a nationally significant (National Register eligible) indigenous heritage site with artifacts dating back to 1500-3000 B.C. The indigenous peoples maintain ties to this land that grew over 5000 years. For them, this is sacred land. It is unique for its history and cultural heritage. It deserves the fullest consideration if any action would be taken on this land.