Managing growth without sprawl
Malta grapples with planning for changes GlobalFoundries chip plant will bring
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Thursday, January 14, 2010
MALTA — This town is going to grow. On that point, there's consensus.
But how, exactly, Malta should grow is a question of impassioned debate as the Saratoga County town prepares for the opening of the massive GlobalFoundries plant now rising at Luther Forest Technology Campus.
Town Supervisor Paul Sausville is pushing for downtown zoning changes that would scale back development in the district. But some builders and others are pushing back, arguing that banning larger-scale downtown construction can only lead to the word that seems to make everyone in Malta cringe: sprawl.
“If the town wants to have a walkable downtown, then you need to allow high-density development,” said Bob Miller Jr., a developer and member of a coalition called “No More Sprawlta” that was organized to oppose Malta zoning changes. “And you only get one chance to do things right.”
The debate comes in a town that, in many respects, is ground zero for Capital Region growth. That's because the GlobalFoundries factory, set to open in 2012, is expected to bring a wave of new development with the potential to transform Malta, which now has nearly 15,000 residents.
via Managing growth without sprawl — Page 1 — Times Union – Albany NY.
Popularity: 1% [?]
