Stewart's Here and There
This week, the second of the two houses in the way of Stewart's expansion at the corner of Green Street and Fairview Avenue was leveled, giving passersby a better idea of the size of the footprint of the new Stewart's gas station and convenience store.
Meanwhile, in the Village of Altamont, a similar request from Stewart's for a zoning change, a process that began back in April 2015, is not enjoying such smooth sailing. In October 2015, the Altamont Board of Trustees refused to make the change. Stewart's persisted, and in December 2018, with new members on the board, the zoning amendment was approved. Similarly, the amendment to our zoning to accommodate Stewart's was approved by a Common Council made up almost entirely of new members after being dismissed by the previous Council. But the Altamont story doesn't end there.
In May 2019, a group of Altamont residents filed a lawsuit against the Board of Trustees and Stewart's over the zoning change. One of the two bases for the lawsuit was that, in making the zoning change, the Board of Trustees failed to comply with SEQR process. Yesterday, the Altamont Enterprise reported that Stewart's is now resubmitting its request for a zoning change, so the board can get it right in the do-over: "Rezone redux: Stewart's reapplies to village board as lawsuit hovers."
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It's only fair to add that the number of gas pumps will not change. That was never the purpose of the expansion.
ReplyDeletewould there have been six pumps if residents had remained sheep? One and a half billion dollars in sales last year and they fought over would it be five or six trees.
ReplyDeleteWho "fought"? I never, not once, witnessed Mr. Marshall raise his voice, or lose his cool. In fact, given the extraordinary amount of slanted coverage of the project fed to a particular audience, I thought Mr. Marshall was gracious, patient and very competent.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was at the meetings too, so when did Stewart's "fight" over any piece of the project?
Susan
This comment squares with everything I witnessed too, and about every aspect of the proposal.
DeleteHow many applicants to the Planning Board ever seek the Board members' advice?
Each Stewart's representative showed the greatest respect, openness, and forebearance.
Of course Mr Marshall never raised his voice or lost his cool. This is how corporate power works to get their way. Perhaps Hudsonians aren't familiar with dealing with power. they will get what they want no matter how long it takes and be as stingy as possible unless they are forced to abide by requests from those they are seeking approval from.
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps Mr. Marshall is A. a decent, thoughtful person and/or B. a consummate professional.
ReplyDelete"Condescending" doesn't begin to accurately describe the idea that "Hudsonians aren't familiar with dealing with power."
Perhaps you could take a page from Mr. Marshall's book on how to win friends and influence people.
Susan