GLENMONT, N.Y. (WRGB) \u2014 Neighbors in one Capital Region community are pushing back as town leaders look to make zoning changes they say could change their town\u2019s charm and character.<\/p>\n
Colleen Scott and her husband have lived in the hamlet of Glenmont for 13 years and love the neighbors who live behind them. Those neighbors aren\u2019t very chatty, though it\u2019s a herd of cows.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s cows, there’s tractors that go by,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s a great backyard neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she\u2019s worried that zoning changes being proposed by the Town of Bethlehem could mean changes to the character of her town. Scott said she\u2019s not opposed to development but wants to see it done right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, obviously we would love for it to stay a farm forever, but we knew when we bought our house that could change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The town board is working on a major overhaul to the zoning. The plan would include changing zoning in some residential areas to allow small apartment buildings. Those buildings would have a maximum of six multi-family units, with no more than seven such buildings per acre and a limit of two stories in height.<\/p>\n
Scott said the hamlet can\u2019t handle the traffic it already has, much less the amount of traffic she fears multi-unit housing would bring.<\/p>\n
\u201cResidential growth has happened, commercial growth has happened, and all of that has impacted our traffic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Last month\u2019s town meeting included two hours of public comment about the zoning plan, with a majority of the speakers opposed to it. Among them was firefighter William Collins, who said traffic already slows him from getting to the fire station in emergencies.<\/p>\n