City Council

December 9, 2021 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting 7:00 PM 7:00 PM - P.H. – UDO Clubhouse Definition 7:00 PM CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO FLAG PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD / 15 MINUTES CONSENT AGENDA MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign MOU with Veterans & Community Housing Coalition ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion: Proposed “Clubhouse” Definition in UDO 2. Announcement: Memorial Dedication Schedules 3. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Contingency PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. SUPERVISORS 1. Nothing at this time. ADJOURN City Council Meeting 12/09/2021 December 9, 2021 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting 474 Broadway 7:00 PM PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts (via zoom) Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Robin Dalton, Commissioner of DPS (via zoom) STAFF PRESENT: Lisa Shields, Deputy Mayor Vincent DeLeonardis EXCUSED: Deirdre Ladd, Deputy Commissioner of Finance Joe O’Neill, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Tara Gaston, Supervisor RECORDING OF PROCEEDING The proceedings of this meeting were taped for the benefit of the secretary. Because the minutes are not a verbatim record of the proceedings, the minutes are not a word-for-word transcript. PUBLIC HEARINGS UDO Clubhouse Definition Mayor Kelly opened the public hearing at 7:03 p.m. Commissioner Madigan stated she sent a letter to the City Council regarding her proposed clubhouse definition. (The letter is attached.) They have received approximately 48 e-mails not in support of this definition and two in support of it. Matt Jones, attorney in Saratoga Springs and attorney for Saratoga National stated this amendment fits with what you would see with an 18 hole golf course. The UDO currently has a definition of golf course, which includes the term clubhouse. There is no definition for clubhouse and could cause problems with approving an application in the future. The definition is needed because it is a use permitted under the definition of golf course. Ambiguity should not exist and is created with not having the definition. This will set the City up for claims to be filed against the City. Page 61 of the Comprehensive Plan stated the greenbelt plays a role but it does not put any additional restriction in place. Density is defined as number of dwelling units per Page 2 of 5 City Council Meeting 12/09/2021 acre. This amendment speaks to 80 hotel units. It seems like there is room for one more definition in the UDO. Todd Shimkus of Saratoga Springs stated he has read that this type of development would compete with downtown. He shared this information with Discover Saratoga and others and none of them feel it would harm the downtown. Sam Brewer of Saratoga Springs stated the Council should ask Saratoga National to install a traffic circle to saves lives. Steve Samuel of Saratoga Springs is here on behalf of Sustainable Saratoga. They oppose the proposed clubhouse amendment. It is not an appropriate use in the greenbelt and it is not compatible with the 2015 Comprehensive Plan. They believe this is a large retail type development. The opinion of the Planning Board from an August 2 meeting on an almost identical clubhouse UDO amendment was it presents a risk to preserving the rural character of the country part of the City. They continue to ask the Council to reject this. Patricia Tschannen of 51 Waterview Drive stated it is important to keep the green space boundary around Saratoga Springs. We need to honor the greenbelt and not let more development continue. Pat Hilleren of Waterview Drive stated if we adopt this definition, clubhouse does not relate to multiple buildings. Do we need more? This is a slippery slope. Kevin Betty, a partner at Saratoga National stated they want to be part of the solution. They are not included in the UDO document. Commissioner Madigan recognized the importance of the economy they bring into the City. The debate is how much density is enough in the greenbelt. What they propose to do is to develop only a small percentage of their acreage. Peter Tavares of Saratoga National stated they are great stewards of the community. Everything they do at the golf course they do with the community in mind. You are leaving an opportunity on the table. Amy Durland of Saratoga Springs stated this proposal is one of two things; it is either being proposed for one golf club; or the goal is to have it apply throughout the greenbelt where it would affect multiple property owners and degrade the greenbelt standards. Saratoga National continues to change their expansion status that would change the entire greenbelt. She urged the Council to reject this amendment as it defies common sense, the Zoning Ordinance, the Comprehensive Plan, and the Planning Board advisory. Pat Tuz of Saratoga Springs stated the definition is only to do with the Comprehensive Plan of Saratoga Springs. As a member of the Saratoga Lake Association, she considers the greenbelt as a barrier to the lake. John Kaufmann of Saratoga Springs stated he disagrees with Commissioner Madigan about this amendment. Saratoga National agreed in the site plan they would install two nature trails. He can only find one. If you give them an inch, you are going to get a lot more intensive use out there. He strongly suggested the Council reject the definition. Tom Newkirk of Saratoga National stated John’s statements are not true. I urged the Council to include the definition of clubhouse and vote on the UDO before you leave office. Mayor Kelly closed the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 8:03 p.m. Page 3 of 5 City Council Meeting 12/09/2021 PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Kelly said the public comment period is limited to a total of 15 minutes and individuals are limited to two minutes. Mayor Kelly opened the public comment period at 8:04 p.m. John Kaufman of Saratoga Springs stated a large event should not exceed the parking and they do that all the time. Same Brewer of Saratoga Springs stated He looks to the Council to approve the UDO definition that sets the stage for Saratoga National to go through the normal planning process. Mayor Kelly closed the public comment period at 8:06 p.m. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign MOU with Veterans & Community Housing Coalition Commissioner Madigan recused herself from this vote. Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the mayor to sign a letter of support with Veterans & Community Housing Coalition. Ayes – All ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion: Proposed “Clubhouse” Definition in UDO Commissioner Madigan advised that if she is to understand there is no support for this, she will pull the definition. Commissioner Scirocco stated he has been opposed to this from day one. It has nothing to do with Saratoga National but all to do with the greenbelt. If this were to pass, it would take from Broadway. We owe it to the merchants who have rethought the business plan for Broadway to keep things the way they are. The definition doesn’t conform to the Comprehensive Plan. Boundaries are disappearing. Patrick Cogan, building and zoning inspector, clarified that this is not a violation of the Comprehensive Plan. You can not be in violation of the Comprehensive Plan. The UDO also does not have definitions of restrooms and restaurants as we all know what those are. He always worries about unintended consequences in this UDO. If this is a desired use at Saratoga National, it should be evaluated as a use at Saratoga National Golf Club. We should not craft a definition of clubhouse allows the project that they want to happen. This is not the way to frame the discussion. Mayor Kelly stated she tends to agree with Patrick, but bigger than that is the timing. She is not sure this is the group to be doing this. Maybe it should be done by the next administration. Page 4 of 5 City Council Meeting 12/09/2021 Commissioner Dalton stated there is not enough the time. Most feedback she has now heard is the public is not in favor. Commissioner Franck stated this is nothing new. Commissioner Madigan thanked everyone for entertaining this. She agrees with the traffic issue and wouldn’t go forward with this without looking at traffic issues. We are also getting a lot of concern about the number of condominiums going up in the inner core. It is clear there is no support for this at this time. Announcement: Memorial Dedication Schedules Commissioner Madigan announced that on 12/29 at 2 p.m. the Finance foyer renamed in honor of Remejia Foy. Also on that day, at 5 p.m., we will celebrate the renaming of the Recreation Center. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Contingency Commissioner Madigan advised the current contingency balance is $48,452.70. After this transfer $41,952.70 will remain. Commissioner Madigan moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to approve the budget transfers – contingency as included with the agenda. Ayes – All PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. SUPERVISORS Nothing at this time. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor Kelly adjourned the meeting at 8:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 12/21/2021 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 5 of 5