To: Gary Drake, President and David Harris, Supervisor Town of Schodack
Stop Stewart's Sunset Rd. Project
We are a group of Schodack residents who enjoy and appreciate Stewart’s convenient shops and great products. We recognize that Stewart’s is in the process of building new, larger stores throughout its market territory. But we also hope that Stewart’s corporate philosophy is one that is environmentally friendly and seeks to provide both safety and convenience for its customers and nearby residents. With this in mind, it is our belief that Stewart’s is making a big mistake in attempting to locate a new store in Schodack Center at the corner of Sunset Road, Miller Road and Columbia Turnpike (NY Rts 9&20).
The proposed location consists of two lots totaling about 2.4 acres with the intent of using about 1.75 acres. One lot is currently owned by the Edward’s family and a large house on it was a chiroptic center for many years. The second lot, adjacent to the Edward’s property, has a long history of use as an auto repair shop and (in the past) a gas station. Both use septic tanks for waste disposal and private wells for water. The Stewart’s application for a si9te development permit from the Town of Schodack would demolish this beautifully maintained house and construct a standard Stewart’s shop in its place. The auto repair shop would also be demolished, and hopefully, the site cleaned up of any legacy tanks and hazardous wastes that may have accumulated over the years and contaminated soil and groundwater.
The proposed site has many traffic issues owing to the narrow rural road nature of Sunset Road, and the busy intersection where a significant amount of traffic comes and goes on Miller Road to the I-90 Exit 10 interchange. This intersection has had a number of accidents over the years, and the type of traffic that Stewart’s attracts will significantly increase the chances for more accidents. In addition, the only viable entrance to the proposed site for heavy truck gas and food products delivery is from Sunset Road which has a 10-ton limit and minimal road width. This portion of Sunset Road will need to be upgraded to accommodate these heavy loads. The only exit for these trucks will be onto Columbia Turnpike, and it appears that while deliveries are being made, the trucks will likely block customer traffic from entering or leaving safely. Without a major soil fill to enable a larger site space to allow these large delivery trucks to go around the back of the store, on-site traffic flow will likely create safety issues. And because on-site traffic will not be allowed to exit left onto Sunset Road, almost all customers will have to use Columbia Turnpike where a significant traffic queue can impede right and left turns. In short, the site is not safe for customers or passing traffic and will create difficulties for safe gasoline and food products delivery.
There is a concern that wastewater from the proposed store and runoff from paved surfaces may contaminate groundwater for surrounding residents. Stewart’s will need to obtain a wavier for placing gasoline tanks on this site as it sits in the recharge zone of the Town Aquifer which supplies drinking water for many residents. While the tanks themselves might not leak and cause groundwater problems, we have concerns about site runoff which will contain auto and truck leaks. While these can be mitigated to a certain extent, safety and environmental friendliness would dictate a very large oil/water separator that would treat the runoff from at least a 50-year storm. To be safe, wastewater should be put into a sewer for discharge into the East Greenbush system, and water should come from public water rather than an onsite well.
While we believe that sites can be found nearby that allow for better and safer traffic flow, the one possible benefit of developing the proposed site is the cleanup of any hazardous or toxic waste on the site of the auto repair shop. An Environmental Assessment should be conducted with soil and groundwater sampling to ascertain whether there are any legacy hazardous or toxic materials (solvents, lead, gasoline, oil) on site, and if there is, provide a cleanup implementation plan. To date, Stewart’s has not proposed any such investigation or cleanup plan. As a responsible corporate citizen that professes to be environmentally friendly, we hope that Stewart’s conduct the needed Environmental Assessment
The proposed location consists of two lots totaling about 2.4 acres with the intent of using about 1.75 acres. One lot is currently owned by the Edward’s family and a large house on it was a chiroptic center for many years. The second lot, adjacent to the Edward’s property, has a long history of use as an auto repair shop and (in the past) a gas station. Both use septic tanks for waste disposal and private wells for water. The Stewart’s application for a si9te development permit from the Town of Schodack would demolish this beautifully maintained house and construct a standard Stewart’s shop in its place. The auto repair shop would also be demolished, and hopefully, the site cleaned up of any legacy tanks and hazardous wastes that may have accumulated over the years and contaminated soil and groundwater.
The proposed site has many traffic issues owing to the narrow rural road nature of Sunset Road, and the busy intersection where a significant amount of traffic comes and goes on Miller Road to the I-90 Exit 10 interchange. This intersection has had a number of accidents over the years, and the type of traffic that Stewart’s attracts will significantly increase the chances for more accidents. In addition, the only viable entrance to the proposed site for heavy truck gas and food products delivery is from Sunset Road which has a 10-ton limit and minimal road width. This portion of Sunset Road will need to be upgraded to accommodate these heavy loads. The only exit for these trucks will be onto Columbia Turnpike, and it appears that while deliveries are being made, the trucks will likely block customer traffic from entering or leaving safely. Without a major soil fill to enable a larger site space to allow these large delivery trucks to go around the back of the store, on-site traffic flow will likely create safety issues. And because on-site traffic will not be allowed to exit left onto Sunset Road, almost all customers will have to use Columbia Turnpike where a significant traffic queue can impede right and left turns. In short, the site is not safe for customers or passing traffic and will create difficulties for safe gasoline and food products delivery.
There is a concern that wastewater from the proposed store and runoff from paved surfaces may contaminate groundwater for surrounding residents. Stewart’s will need to obtain a wavier for placing gasoline tanks on this site as it sits in the recharge zone of the Town Aquifer which supplies drinking water for many residents. While the tanks themselves might not leak and cause groundwater problems, we have concerns about site runoff which will contain auto and truck leaks. While these can be mitigated to a certain extent, safety and environmental friendliness would dictate a very large oil/water separator that would treat the runoff from at least a 50-year storm. To be safe, wastewater should be put into a sewer for discharge into the East Greenbush system, and water should come from public water rather than an onsite well.
While we believe that sites can be found nearby that allow for better and safer traffic flow, the one possible benefit of developing the proposed site is the cleanup of any hazardous or toxic waste on the site of the auto repair shop. An Environmental Assessment should be conducted with soil and groundwater sampling to ascertain whether there are any legacy hazardous or toxic materials (solvents, lead, gasoline, oil) on site, and if there is, provide a cleanup implementation plan. To date, Stewart’s has not proposed any such investigation or cleanup plan. As a responsible corporate citizen that professes to be environmentally friendly, we hope that Stewart’s conduct the needed Environmental Assessment
Why is this important?
As a neighbor of this project. I am concerned about the traffic, noise, light, and possibility for pollution of our aquifer. This would be a great project for another part of Schodack.