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The village of Ballston Spa is weighing a significant change to its residency requirements for planning and zoning board members, potentially allowing residents from surrounding towns to serve on these influential land-use boards.
On Monday (January 26), the Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on a proposed local law that would extend eligibility to residents of the towns of Ballston, Milton, and Malta. Currently, only village residents can serve on these boards.
Republican Mayor Frank Rossi describes the change as fixing "a long-standing problem" by expanding the applicant pool beyond the village's 5,111 residents to include approximately 42,000 people from the surrounding towns.
"We're basically matching the footprint of (zip code) 12020 not just for boards but also for our appointing posit†√ions like clerk and treasurer," Rossi explained. "The idea here is to try to get a better pool."
The timing of this proposal has raised concerns among some residents, as it comes while the village is considering sweeping changes to its zoning code. Last February, the Zoning Advisory Committee was disbanded by its chair, Mathew Ercoline, who was subsequently appointed to the Planning Board.
Former Village Trustee Benjamin Baskin opposes the change, arguing that "village residents have more skin in the game" and should be the ones making decisions about their community. "It's very important people who make the decisions have to live with the consequences and their neighbors," Baskin told The Daily Gazette.
Critics also question whether there's truly a shortage of willing village residents. Former Trustees Ben Baskin and Liz Kormos, along with former Zoning Advisory Board member Jared Iacolucci, reportedly applied to join various land-use boards but were not selected.
"I don't think, just off the bat, when you've got a pile of residents that want to serve on these boards that you go outside," Kormos said during public comment at a recent meeting.
Iacolucci claims the mayor hasn't adequately advertised these openings, suggesting that "the mayor is intent on icing any opposition members out of these committees."
Mayor Rossi defends his approach, saying, "I don't make these decisions independently, even though I could. I do ask the people who would have to work with them because I don't want to waste the time of the people under consideration."
The proposed law would also validate the actions of current non-resident board members, including long-time planning board member Michael McNamara and Mathew Ercoline.
The all-Republican Board of Trustees will have the final say on both the new zoning code and the residency rules. The zoning code will be discussed at a joint meeting of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals on February 26.