March 3, 2012

Letter: Keep Schodack's semirural feel

Letter: Keep Schodack's semi-rural feel

"I can tell you that a million-square-foot, flat-roofed, big box building, which daily could see more than 150 trucks in 24 hours, was not included in the "good design" citations."
I have a question for Schodack residents. What kind of an area do you want to live in?
It would seem that our local, county and state governments see Schodack as a giant truck terminal or, in Dollar Tree lingo, sales distribution center. While the governmental entities may be looking at increased tax revenue, the residents are the ones who will be dealing with any effects on the aquifer or waterways, increased truck traffic as well as increased air, light and noise pollution.
Almost certainly, the residents closest to the site will see a drop in property values. And, to some degree, the industrialization of what very recently had been touted as the town retail center may have a chilling effect on residential values throughout the town.
When surveys have been conducted in the past, residents have indicated they chose to live in Schodack because of its convenience combined with the pleasant, semi-rural ambience. It would seem that no one besides the residents has any interest in maintaining that atmosphere.
It's not that Schodack doesn't have a master plan. It does, although it seems to be observed more in the breach than the application. It also has a commercial design standards document, which speaks specifically to the type of commercial growth that would enhance and contribute to the town.
I can tell you that a million-square-foot, flat-roofed, big box building, which daily could see more than 150 trucks in 24 hours, was not included in the "good design" citations.
You can get a good idea of what the building will look like by driving by the Federal Express distribution center off Route 4 in East Greenbush. Dollar Tree's proposal will be four times as big.
Dollar Tree's business model is based on the availability of cheap fossil fuel. All the signs seem to indicate that those days are gone.
And what happens to businesses that are trying to hang onto an unsustainable plan of operation?
The town could easily end up with a huge, empty building within a fairly short period of time.
It occurs to me that if we gave our farmers these kind of subsidies, we'd have a far better place to live. And we would be helping to ensure our future food source, which may become a matter of great importance in the not-so-distant future.
KAREN JACOBSEN
East Schodack

1 comment:

  1. Joan Michaels, SchodackMarch 4, 2012 at 8:41 PM

    Agreed. If only we had the same opportunity to subsidize the efforts of our farmers and local merchants who actually contribute to the town's tax base....

    When we win this battle, we need to move forward to have the parcel of land between Rt. 150 and Rt. 9, along with others, re-zoned to prevent the local government from sliding in another warehouse under the guise of "sales distribution center"; we need to be our own best advocates.

    ReplyDelete

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