DELMAR — In multiple announcements made this week, including at the July 9 Town Board meeting, Bethlehem Supervisor David VanLuven announced that the board will “pause” this summer from moving forward with proposed zoning amendments as currently drafted. Across the announcements, VanLuven pointed to addressing residents’ concerns as prompting the pause so the town can make recommendations for moving forward in September.
The announcement was made via email sent to individuals who provided their emails at a zoning-related public meeting in the past six months or emailed BethlehemForward@BethlehemNY.gov within the past year. It was also posted on Facebook and Instagram. VanLuven said the announcement will also be posted on the town’s website.
“The Town Board has listened carefully to the community’s feedback … not just to what you’ve been saying, but to the concerns behind those comments,” VanLuven said in the announcement. He thanked the “hundreds” of residents who attended meetings, submitted comments and participated in the process. “Your input has been an important part of this review,” he said.
In a separate email sent to individual residents on July 7 at approximately 4 p.m., Van Luven repeated his announcement and added further insight into his thinking. Colleen Scott, a Glenmont resident who has repeatedly spoken against the zoning code amendments at Town Board public comment sessions, said she and numerous other residents received that email. She believes it was sent to residents who had sent email comments to the Town Board regarding the zoning amendments.
In that email, VanLuven reiterated that, based on concerns heard from the community, he and the Town Board are pausing the zoning code update this summer. He added, “This will give additional time for reviewing key elements of the Planning Board’s proposal and for making recommendations this fall to respond to the themes we have heard.”
Van Luven went on to specify four issues in which he said he is “particularly interested in addressing, including traffic, open space, over development, and building standards.” On traffic, he said a Feura Bush corridor traffic study needs to be undertaken “to better understand conditions today and identify potential improvements that could be undertaken in partnership with NYS DOT (Feura Bush is a State road).”
As for overdevelopment, VanLuven stated, “We need to lower density limits in the Low Density Residential (LDR) district to better reflect the limits that are in effect today”
For months, residents have voiced opposition to an amendment that would reclassify the town’s residential neighborhoods as “Low Density Residential.” That change would modify the mix of single-family homes and multifamily units in new conservation subdivisions and allow for a higher housing density.
Shortly before the town’s July 8 meeting, roughly 30 residents in red shirts stood at Delmar’s Four Corners for about an hour, holding signs opposing the amendments and waving as passing drivers honked in support.
The group proceeded to the Town Board meeting, at which they gave the town a petition with about 1,400 signatures. The petition referred to the growing opposition across neighborhoods and asked the town to make decisions using “complete local data, careful planning and a full understanding of their long-term impacts before they are adopted.” It urged the town to undertake these studies before adoption.
Once again, petitioners cited concerns with infrastructure strain; school overcrowding; public safety and emergency services; traffic congestion; and the loss of neighborhood character and open space.
At the meeting, approximately 100 people in red shirts attended in opposition and about a dozen voiced their concerns, similar to those raised in the petition, during the meeting’s public comment period.
Glenmont resident Phil Stevens, who has been active in opposing the amendments, said, “We want to be involved in the process. We don’t want to get back in September and have to start this process all over again.”
Stevens said the grassroots effort opposed to increased density will continue.
“There’s a pause, but we’re not going to pause. We are going to keep getting signatures, talking to residents and moving forward,” he said.
At the June 24 board meeting, some 400 residents wearing red protested the change, citing concerns about traffic safety and congestion, and about a change in the character of the neighborhoods along the Feura Bush Road corridor.
In an interview, board member Thomas Schnurr said, “It was clear, hearing from many members of the public, we didn’t have the support to move forward.” He supported VanLuven’s decision to pause the process.
VanLuven said, “As I talked to board members there was a consistent theme I was hearing, so that’s the direction we are going in.”
The supervisor said board member Maureen Cunningham, who had previously pushed to move forward with the LDR changes as recommended by the town’s Planning Board, also supported the pause.
In a written statement, board member David DeCancio said, “This is a step in the right direction. Our priority now has to be a transparent, deliberate, community-driven process moving forward.”
Both Schnurr and Van Luven, in interviews, agreed that the board’s focus will be the LDR designation and definition.
“It’s the LDR designation that is most unsettled at this point,” Schnurr said. He added that the proposed amendments contain many “positive parts” such as streamlining the approval process.
VanLuven said any changes will need to be assessed by the town’s planning staff to determine whether they have implications for other sections. While announcing a “pause,” he expects the Planning Department to use the next two months to “pull together recommendations for the board and community, and not just wait and do nothing for two months.”
VanLuven is also anxious to adopt a new zoning code after changes to SEQRA law at the state level left a vacuum in municipal regulatory authority over residential developments. Those SEQRA changes removed SEQRA as a tool that municipalities may use to assess residential developments. As a municipality, the town can include those requirements in its zoning code, which the proposed amendments would address.
VanLuven also said, “We need to come up with a proposal to address the problems we have been hearing [from residents].”
Both Stevens and Scott said they are “cautiously optimistic.”
Scott said the concern about overall density remains. She noted the four variances granted this month by the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals to a developer building a senior housing facility on Rockefeller Road in Delmar. She said this demonstrates why raising density by any number is problematic. The developer won its appeal to build a 90-unit senior housing facility, exceeding the current 68-unit maximum by 22 units.
“With variances, you can get right back to the density we are concerned about,” Scott said.
Stevens said the ultimate goal is to keep the density at current levels, but to encourage “smart growth” like building housing along main corridors in areas where transportation exists, such as Vista Technology Park near the Walmart or the Route 32 CDTA bus stop.
Board member David DeCancio has spoken in favor of such a plan at prior meetings.
“This is not about stopping growth. It’s about getting growth right,” said DeCancio.
While Scott is “happy” the board implemented a “pause” as residents requested, concerns remain about whether traffic studies will be conducted.
“There’s a real hesitancy to trust what’s being said,” she stated.
Schnurr said he will advocate for conducting housing needs and traffic studies before moving forward with amendments. He said those studies cannot be completed before September. He noted that any traffic study would need to be conducted while school is in session to ensure a realistic analysis.
But VanLuven, while supporting a traffic study, believes such a study has no bearing on density decisions. He said a traffic study will “give baseline information about the traffic situation today,” but he disputed the fact that it would affect the LDR decision.
“No study will say the proper density for LDR zoning, because all development carries different numbers of additional cars.
“A traffic study, in my view, is a parallel process that will get a better handle on what the issues are on Feura Bush Road so we can get a better handle on addressing the problems and anticipating future challenges that may be addressed,” VanLuven explained.
Stevens said to do traffic studies after amending the zoning code is the wrong approach.
“It’s like planning for a bad Woodstock concert,” he said. “When Feura Bush Road, which we were told is at 85% capacity, is at full capacity, is a developer going to pay for a new road?”
“Responsible, community-driven growth starts with Bethlehem-centric data that reflects today’s realities and meaningful community input,” DeCancio said. He also included considerations of infrastructure and respect for neighborhoods.
VanLuven and Schnurr both thanked residents for their participation.
“I am grateful for the residents who made themselves heard,” Schnurr said.
“I hope the people who participated come forward when the new code is considered in September,” VanLuven said.
“The best decisions happen when the people who live with the outcomes have a meaningful seat at the table,” DeCancio said.
This story was updated at 2 p.m. to add comments from other meeting attendees.