January 13, 2009 Washington County towns prepare for changes as AMD finalizes plans to build Towns have to deal
By NICK REISMAN
reisman@poststar.com
The idea was presented quietly, but the reaction soon spiraled out of control.
Last year, Cambridge started work on a comprehensive plan -- essentially a playbook that would referee growth in the community.
But controversy arose as large landowners discovered a proposal buried in the plan.
The landowners were upset that proposed subdivision regulations, they felt, would be suffocatingly limited.
Protests broke out over the draft plan, although its proposals would not be binding, even if it was adopted by the Town Board.
"Stop the plan" became a rallying cry, and the opposition doomed the plan before the Town Board and supervisor knew what happened.
In November, the board voted to reject it.
Politically weakened after the plan's failure, Cambridge Supervisor JoAnn Trinkle would later step down as chairwoman of the county Board of Supervisors.
The failure to approve simple developmental guidelines in Cambridge is a cautionary tale for small-town officials who, in the coming years, could have to deal with large-scale growth.
See a graphic of the areas that will be affected by the arrival of AMD.
A 40-minute drive over the Hudson River and into Saratoga County brings a commuter to the Luther Forest Technology Park in Malta, the proposed site for a computer chip fabrication plant to be built by a joint-venture company being formed by Advanced Micro Devices and an investment firm based in Abu Dhabi.
Last week, the company's plan to bring the plant to Malta -- and an estimated 1,400 jobs along with it -- was approved by federal regulators.
Now, community leaders, farmers and developers are scrambling to prepare for an influx of educated professionals and their families, along with the new businesses that are expected to follow.
The possibility of uncontrolled growth attending construction of the plant makes Trinkle shudder.
"Say any one of the large landowners sold to a developer. You're going to have houses that are close together; you're going to lose the openness that you've got now," she said.
Washington County's southern edge is bordered by Vermont to the east and Saratoga County to the west. Its rolling hills and wide expanses were famously captured by the painter Ann Marie Robertson Moses.
Supervisor John Rymph believes his town, Easton, will stay as bucolic as when Grandma Moses painted the area in the 1940s and '50s.
"There's no infrastructure here; there's no reason for developers to come here," said Rymph.
In a town that hasn't had a property revaluation since 1954, Rymph is unconcerned about the potential for rapid development, whether commercial or residential.
"I'm not worried about it," he said. "A lot of people think I'm nuts not to worry about it."
Jim Durller of Fort Edward does worry about the impact of the plant and the development that will follow.
A naturalist and bird lover, Durller has fought successfully to have the state designate an area near his home on Route 197 as a sanctuary for short-eared owls.
Durller likes to walk around the area every once in a while to catch glimpses of the owls through his binoculars. If he's lucky, he'll spot a rough-legged hawk.
"The birds seem to be doing pretty good," Durller said. "They move back and forth, but they definitely are down here."
Michael Dennis, a Saratoga County developer, is also watching that area. He wants to build affordable housing for middle-income earners who would commute to the technology park or work at one of the spin-off businesses expected to pop up in the wake of AMD's arrival.
Durller thinks the subdivision plan is half-baked at best.
He is worried about the traffic a new neighborhood would generate in the historically rural area. The birds he convinced the state Department of Environmental Conservation to protect would be crushed under the wheels of commuting technology workers, he said.
"Instead of a Grandma Moses view of the land, you're just going to have suburban sprawl," Durller said. "You'll have a lot more endangered species killed."
A decade from now, the area's appearance will be decided by two elements, Durller said.
"It depends on human nature and greed."
Dennis, who is also chairman of the Saratoga County Economic Development Corp., said development is necessary.
When the plant is built, its workers will need a place to live, he said.
"For the people with two-year degrees working, let's for instance say, in the clean room -- their salary will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $43,000 a year plus a benefit package. It will be $54,000 in the tool area," Dennis said. "While these are very good jobs, we have to be in the position to provide housing that is affordable for those people that will be working for AMD and will have graduated from our community colleges."
The area has a long list of tasks ahead, he said, and he rattled them off.
"They're going to have to look at things such as sewer, water, roads, the availability of commercially industrial properties that are approved and ready to go."
Growth can be managed and balanced with the rural character of a place, said Teri Ptacek, executive director of the Agriculture Stewardship Association. The trick is to start planning now.
Her organization helps farmers get grants that allow them to resist development pressure and preserve open space.
"The fact of the matter is, these towns don't have a lot of funding available to help them -- like Malta that received a lot of money," Ptacek said. "The impact is going to be felt regionwide. I would really love to see them provide funding to towns outside of Malta."
What is needed, she said, is a planning effort across the southern end of Washington County and the funds to help the communities do it.
"I think those towns that do some planning and figure out where they can accommodate the growth will be well-served by that proactive stance," she said. "Because those that don't -- they're planning in the sense that they aren't planning. Towns should be planning for their future."
State Sen. Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga, takes a tougher stance on the planning issue.
"If you don't do anything, somebody is going to make the decision for you," McDonald said. "Have some vision, have a mandate from the public you're in charge of your own destiny."
Recently elected to the state Senate, McDonald represented Washington County as a member of the Assembly. As a Wilton town supervisor, he also oversaw the rapid commercial and residential growth of that town.
Developmental pressure can be either killed or embraced, he said.
"It's kind of like a tiger -- if you don't like it, shoot it," McDonald said. "If you do like it, learn how to ride it."
