STATEMENT FOR ENTRY
INTO PUBLIC HEARING
RECORDS OF:

City of Albany Planning Board
Tues, March 28, 2017

Common Council Planning
Economic Development and
Land Use Committee

Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Weds, April 12, 2017

Albany Common Council
Monday, April 3, 2017

Ordinance No. 26.31.17 
Rezone Albany , should be 
held in Committee for the
remainder of 2017.

The City of Albany is facing
insolvency with a 12.5 million
dollar gap in the 2017 City
budget and facing the loss of
7 million dollars in federal
aid because of  the Mayor and
Common Council proclaiming
Albany to be a Sanctuary City.

The existing Albany City Zoning
Code and Official City Zoning
Map protect the home values
neighborhood residential integrity
and quality of life, and city property
tax base of single family residential
zoned districts located in Wards 8
9, 12, 13, 14 and 15, which pay the
lion's share of property taxes that
support City schools and City
government services.

The Mayor is pushing for rapid
approval of her Rezone initiative
in April.

The Common Council should
not take any further action on
the Rezone Albany Proposed
Ordinance this year.

The Common Council Planning
Economic Development and Land
Use Committee should not report
the proposed Rezone Albany
Ordinance Code and Map.
Table it!

2017 is a local election year for
the Mayor, Common Council
President and all 15 ward 
representatives.

The priority issue is restoring
the fiscal solvency of the City
of Albany. 

Sanctuary City policy, Consolidation
of City Schools with City government
and Proposed Rezone Albany effort
need to be thoroughly examined
discussed and debated.

The candidates for citywide and
ward council seats need to make sure
that their positions on the above are
known and understood by the voters
and truly represent the needs and
views of those voters.

Public knowledge of candidate positions
on these and related issues are essential
for voters to make informed choices
when signing petitions in June to 
qualify candidates for the September
Primaries and voting for candidates
in the September Party Primaries  and
November General Election.



It would be foolhardy,  an injustice
and irresponsible, to rush to repeal
the existing City Zoning Code and
City Zoning Map, and replace it with
proposed Rezone Albany Ordinance
and Official Zoning Map, without a
full understanding of how such action
may adversely impact neighborhood
residential integrity and quality of
life, home values, the City property
tax base, City schools, City services
and efforts to restore City fiscal
solvency.

 Compare the existing City Zoning
Code and Zoning Map
with the proposed Rezone Albany 
Code/Map.

Look at your neighborhood  and
The Buckingham Pond-Crestwood
Neighborhood bounded as follows:
(N) Western Ave (E) S Manning Blvd
(W) Rte 85  (S)  NYS Thruway.

Presently most of the neighborhood
is zoned R-1B with single family
homes and Houses of Worship being
the principal permitted uses.

The proposed Rezone Albany Code
and Map would add mixed use
districts which would change the
character of the existing zoning 
and generate more traffic volume
and congestion on main roads like
New Scotland, Whitehall, Hackett
S, Manning . Western, Buckingham
as well as on existing residential 
side streets.

Existing pocket parks/greenspaces
at Whitehall, Hurst, Krum Kill
and South Manning at New Scotland 
are eliminated and subject to non-
residential development.

Rezone Albany redefines Houses
of Worship to  Religious Institutions
would allow cooperative ventures
with "Non-Profits". The Land is
not taxed.  They bring uses and
more traffic/congestion negatively
impacting existing  single family
homes/neighborhoods.

 http://www.ecode360.com/7686425

 http://www.albanyny.gov/_files/City%20Zoning%20Map.pdf

and 

 http://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=6b6450f72407456dadb0dcdc642d0401

 http://rezonealbany.com/



Adoption of the proposed Rezone
Albany Code and Zoning Map would
destroy the current protections that
the existing City Zoning Code/Map
affords neighborhood residential
integrity, quality of life, home values
and the property tax base that contributes
to support of city schools and city services.

Problems of out of control speeding
traffic, traffic congestion and pedestrian
safety would be multiplied by the
enactment of the proposed Rezone
Albany Code and Zoning Map.

Compliance with the complicated
new Code and Zoning Map would
adversely impact present and future
homeowners, particularly the elderly
on fixed incomes, who make up a
large proportion of the neighborhood
population.

In essence adoption of Rezone Albany
and addition of currently not permitted
mixed use zones in currently zoned R IB
single family zoning districts will kill
the "golden goose" of such neighborhoods
that pay the lion's share of property taxes
that support City Schools and City
government services.

Not a wise move for an insolvent City. 

The Common Council Planning and
Zoning Committee should Table and
not report the proposed Rezone Albany
Code/Map for the rest of 2017.

The merits of retaining the existing R-1B
single zoning in Wards 4, 8,9,12, 13,14
and 15 should be thoroughly evaluated
debated and understood. Candidates for
Citywide and Ward offices should stake
out their positions on this issue so that
City voters can make informed decisions
when signing petitions to qualify candidates
for the ballot, and voting in the September
primaries and November General Election. 

The focus should be on restoring the
fiscal solvency of the City of Albany and
related issues of sanctuary city policies
consolidation of City schools with City
government, security and public safety
traffic control and pedestrian safety.
and property tax relief.

                               Joe Sullivan