Area Variance Narrative900 Route 146 Clifton Park, NY 12065
(P) 518.371.7621 (F) 518.371.9540 edpllp.com
AREA VARIANCE NARRATIVE
Columbia Development
Medical Office Building at Town of Queensbury
DATE: March 6, 2019
APPLICANT: Columbia Development
302 Washington Avenue Extension
Albany, NY 12303
Columbia Development is proposing the construction of a new 17,700 SF medical office building at
the intersection of Main Street and Big Boom Road in the Town of Queensbury, NY. The site area
is 1.14 acres and will include approximately .10 acres of land to be purchased from the Town of
Queensbury. The existing property is a fully developed vacant site that was last used as a
restaurant and includes mainly impervious surfaces with very little green space. The property is
zoned CI-18 Commercial Intensive Exit 18 which permits medical facilities as an allowable use.
The site is also in close proximity to the Main Street zoning district and is a unique corner lot.
The current site plan layout will require several area setback variances due to the configuration of
the parcel and the restrictive nature of the CI-18 zoning district along Main Street. The project
layout has been designed to fit more with the Main Street Zoning District. The two story medical
building is proposed to be located as close to the Main Street as possible and will include
prominent architectural elements facing both Main Street and Big Boom Road. The property
owner is also purchasing additional lands from the Town at the Main Street and Big Boom Road
intersection, in an effort to place the building along the existing roads and provide additional green
space at the front of the parcel. Streetscape elements such as ornamental street lights, sidewalks
and street trees are also proposed to improve the character of the neighborhood and follow the
recommendations of the 2007 Town’s Comprehensive Plan.
The current layout will also require a site permeability variance which is somewhat related to the
number of parking spaces proposed on the parcel. The applicant is proposing approximately 76
parking spaces along with a small truck/delivery access area on the west side of the building. The
number of parking spaces exceeds the Town of Queensbury minimum requirement for Health
Facilities and is closer to the Town’s minimum requirement for Office Buildings that are 20,000 SF
and greater, which is 5 spaces per 1,000 SF of floor area. Columbia Development has worked with
many different Health Care Providers throughout upstate New York (see attached parking
requirement data), and is confident that the number of parking spaces proposed will meet the
needs of the building tenants and at the same time provide as much green space as possible.
PARKING REQUIREMENTS | Typical and Existing Medical Office 2/11/19
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Albany
Office, Medical and Dental 1 per 200 sf of floor area (5/1000)
Troy
Office, General 3 spaces per 1,000 sf gross floor area
Service Businesses 3.5 spaces per 1,000 sf (3.5/1000)
Bethlehem
Medical Office 1 for each 200 sf of gross floor area (5/1000)
Colonie
Office, Medical 1 space per 175 sf of useable floor area (5.7/1000)
Columbia developed medical facilities with 5/1,000 parking ratio:
Albany
- 400 Patroon Creek Blvd
- 455 Patroon Creek Blvd
Troy
- 258 Hoosick Street
Bethlehem
- VISTA Medical | 15 Vista Blvd, 5 Vista Blvd
Colonie
- Capital Region Health Park
- AMC Latham Route 9
North Greenbush
- CCP at the RPI Tech Park
- CCP Schodack
Saratoga
- Malta Emergent Care – Saratoga/AMC (over 5/1,000)
Clifton Park
- Ellis Emergent Care (over 6/1000)
- CCP Route 9 (5/1,000)
- 989 Route 146 (5/1,000)
Note:
When you apply the Facility Guideline Institute (guidelines used to meet DOH requirements) guidelines for
parking, 6 parking spaces per 1,000 would be required for an outpatient medical office space.