Narrative NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION
Harbor Freight Tools
871 US Route 9
Queensburywood LLC., 1529 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203 is the
Owner/Applicant, of 2.13 acres at 871 US Route 9 (Tax Map 4296.17-1-35). The site is
Zoned Cl—Commercial Intensive. An unoccupied retail store (formerly Ray's Supply),
garage,parking lot, and one-way access road to Wal-Mart currently are located on the
parcel, which is on a hilly stretch of US Route 9. Medium density woods and brush
surround the lot. All existing structures,pavement, and the Wal-Mart access road(and its
associated easement) will be removed, along with some of the existing foliage to make
way for new construction and landscaping. This site is bounded by Wal-Mart on the
North and West, Residential lands of Pelella and Merrithew to the West, and Sheinberg
Associates (Pizza Hut) to the South.
The site is the location of a proposed 16,000 S.F. Harbor Freight Tools retail store
and surrounding 80 space parking lot (7 spaces banked). The structure will be
approximately 27 feet tall at its highest point, and will be metal framed, with decorative
cement and metal siding. Some trees and brush on the property will need to be cleared.
A retaining wall will be constructed along parts of the West and Northern areas of the
property to allow for a flatter, more optimized parking lot and site development.
Overall, the character of this site will be improved by the addition of a more
modern building and parking lot compared to that which currently exists. Vegetation will
be added along the road frontage, the North entrance area, and on several landscaped
islands in the parking lot. This new landscaping has been designed to meet or exceed the
requirements set forth in the Town code. Modern, energy efficient LED site lighting will
also be added in accordance with Town standards.
Land use, as well as building dimensions and location for this lot will be in
compliance to Town codes. It is assumed that the store will be open from 8:00 a.m. to
8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sundays. There will
be a sufficient amount of parking spaces to accommodate the 6 employees and all
potential customers. A loading dock, loading area, and ample maneuvering space are
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provided to accommodate a tractor trailer truck for deliveries. The existing sidewalk
along the road frontage of this site will remain for pedestrian access. In addition to the
existing sidewalk, a new sidewalk will be added. The new sidewalk will connect to the
exsting sidewalk adjacent to the northern site entrance, and follow the Eastern edge of the
parking lot toward the building entrance. Painted crosswalks will be provided at parking
lot crossings and the Northern site entrance.
The new building will be connected to the Town's water and sewer systems
which are available along the Eastern edge of the property along US Route 9. Water and
sewer usage are expected to be minimal and will not have a significant impact on the
Town's systems. Standard electric and gas connections will be made on site. There will
be no impact on storm water drainage as an onsite drainage and a retention/infiltrator
system will be utilized.
Access to the site will be from two existing curb cuts on US Route 9 which will
be re-graded and re-paved according to NYSDOT standards. These two access points are
located at opposing ends of the site approximately 300 feet apart. The Northern entrance
will be a split, right-in/right-out entrance and the Southern entrance will be the main
entrance with full two-way access. Both entrances are wide enough to accommodate
truck traffic and emergency vehicles. Currently, a steep (10% ±) one-way road on the
West side of the site provides access from the existing parking lot to the adjacent Wal-
Mart parking lot. Due to site constraints this access road and the accompanying easement
are proposed to be removed; an interconnect is simply not feasible due to the parking
requirements and steep grades on the property. Based on a study of a similar Harbor
Freight tools in upstate New York, traffic is estimated at about 24 trips during the
morning peak hour and 49 trips during the evening peak hour. Per the Institute of
Transportation Engineers' Trip Generator guide, this store should expect approximately
500 total trips per day on weekdays and Saturdays, and half that amount on Sundays.
During peak holiday seasons, it may experience a 50%increase in traffic; amounting to
750 trips per day. This number of trips can be accommodated by Route 9.
The new parking lot will be slightly larger than the existing parking lot and will
be graded and constructed such that all water runoff will drain appropriately. Snow
removal in the parking lot and entrances will be performed within 24 hours of any
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snowfall greater than 4 inches and accumulated at several locations as shown on the site
plan. There is space to maneuver a 53 foot tractor-trailer through the parking lot,past the
building, to its rear loading dock; as such, emergency vehicles will be able to access the
building as needed. There is a fire hydrant located adjacent to the northern entrance to
the property.
Approximately 2.2 acres will be disturbed by this project. 20,000 cubic yards will
be cut and removed from the site. This will result in the following proposed site
statistics:
Building 16,000 sf 17.2%
Pavement 47,290 sf 50.9%
Greenspace 29,633 sf 31.9%
Total 92,923 sf 100%
During construction, a stabilized construction entrance will be provided using the
existing Southern entrance. This entrance will facilitate the removal of existing
demolition waste and cut removal, as well as the arrival of new construction and
landscaping materials. A standard enclosed dumpster will be provided at the rear of the
site for garbage collection.
Waivers are requested from the zoning codes regarding parking and landscape
buffers. For a retail store, the number of parking spaces required is 5 per 1,000 sf. Given
the 16,000 sf. store proposed for this site, this makes the required number of parking
spaces 80. The 80 spaces can be provided but it is preferable to bank 7 spaces and only
build 73. The 73 proposed spaces exceed that of Harbor Freight tools suggested
minimum design of 60 spaces.
On this site, there also exists an approximately 166 foot border between two
residential properties to the West on Greenway Drive. There is a requirement for a 50
foot landscaped buffer on each property where commercial and residential uses adjoin.
The space required for the proposed building and parking requirements necessitates the
building to be about 27 feet from the rear property line. Moving the building forward
will not accommodate the footprint plus the required parking. As such, a variance is
requested from this 50 foot requirement. Also, both of the residential properties are over
200 feet deep lots with dense woods at the rear. From the property line on this site, the
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ground will slope down dramatically such that the finished floor of the Harbor Freight
Tools will lie approximately 18 feet below the edge of the residential property lines.
Given the proposed slope and 22 foot building roof height, there will only be at most 9
feet of the building elevation visible from the residential lots. A row of 8 foot evergreen
trees and an 8 foot vinyl fence will span the border between the residential properties,
shielding the proposed building from view from the residential properties.
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