The review board met at the North Elba Town Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 2 and discussed the rezoning request at length — and what their response to it may be.

Rich Kroes and Katrina Lussi Kroes of Lake Placid, through Lake Placid Marina Corp. LLC, submitted the request back in May. If approved, it would effectively change the zoning for three of their properties on George and Bliss Lane and on Mirror Lake Drive from “South Lake Residential District” (in the town of North Elba, outside of the village) and “Village Residential” (inside village boundaries) to “Planned Development District.”

Lake Placid Marina Corp. plans to build two condominium buildings with approximately 18 units, plus a smaller structure along Mirror Lake Drive with an additional six units, according to planning documents.

Parking would be included underneath one of the condo buildings, and the applicants hope to beautify the existing parking area on site and add more green space, according to the documents. The style and color of the buildings would likely be similar to the Hampton Inn & Suites on Mirror Lake Drive, according to the case materials. The Hampton Inn, owned by the Lussi family, has a dark brown facade with red trim around the windows. Historically, the properties have housed a bar, restaurant, a theater building, an office, a boat storage area and an ancillary building, according to planning documents.

One of the properties includes a building that currently houses the Helping Hands Thrift Shop. The shop’s founder, Linda Young, is in the process of searching for a new location.

Planned Development District zoning would allow the developers to construct buildings up to 45 feet tall rather than a maximum of 30 feet tall, and they’d have more flexibility when it comes to the setbacks they’d need when planning the location of their condominiums, according to town-village Code Enforcement Officer Michael Orticelle.

For the Kroes’ rezoning request to move forward, both the North Elba Town Council and the Lake Placid Village Board of Trustees must vote to approve it. Before those boards take a vote, the review board plans to vote on a document that effectively outlines its recommendation for whether or not they believe the request should be approved, along with any specific guidelines the review board feels should be followed if the request were to move forward.

Though review board members initially disagreed on whether or not they felt the request should be approved, toward the end of the meeting this past Wednesday, the board appeared to be leaning toward recommending that the request be approved with some stipulations. The board felt that if condominiums were built on the property, developers should adhere to specific setbacks — both to address concerns about the views along Mirror Lake Drive and to ensure there’s enough room for a foliage buffer between the development and the lake.

“It’s really important to have a building of that size set back from the road,” board member Chip Bissell said.

The board stopped short of voting on a set of recommendations last week, instead instructing its lawyer, Tim Smith, to put together a document that the board could vote on at the board’s next meeting on Aug. 16.

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Developers respond

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A public hearing on the Kroes’ request was held on July 19. At that meeting, neighbors of the properties urged the review board to reject the rezoning request. Neighbors expressed concerns that the new development could impede their views of Lake Placid, may not conform to the character of the neighborhood, may increase density, traffic congestion and potentially cause noise and light pollution. Some neighbors also expressed concerns that approving a Planned Development District would permit the developers to construct or add other things that would otherwise not be allowed.

Lake Placid resident Bill Hurley, a former 22-year member of the review board and past review board chairman, urged the review board, if it were to approve the change, to set conditions on what can be proposed at the site in the future.

“Let’s be honest, the Lake Placid Marina (Corp.) is asking for a law change, and usually laws are changed for the benefit of the community,” he wrote. “I do not see any benefit for the community in this request.”

Developer Rich Kroes responded to many of those concerns in a statement before the board on Aug. 2.

“We do argue that the proposed condominiums will conform well, as they would be sited next to preexisting condominiums that have the same use, and have been in place since the late 1980s,” Kroes said, adding that they would also be close to existing “high-intensity use” areas such as the neighboring state boat launch and the Lake Placid marina.

“We live here, we operate businesses here, we fully appreciate the importance of the aesthetic value of the town and village,” Kroes added, in response to neighbors’ concerns about the height of the proposed condos and the view from Mirror Lake Drive. “We do feel that enhancing this area actually adds value to the experience of those walking around the lake. What remains of the theater building is old and rusted, a shell of its original building in a sea of blacktop. In our opinion, this area would benefit from investment.”

Kroes noted that Lake Placid Marina Corp. has not yet proposed a specific building size or height.

The Kroes’ rezoning request is the first part of a two-step review process. If the rezoning request is approved by both the town and village boards, the Kroes could then come back to the review board at a later date with more detailed construction plans for the rezoned properties.

The state Adirondack Park Agency could ultimately take jurisdiction over the project because it’s on the water, adding another layer of review.

Kroes reiterated that he believes many of the other potential problems raised by neighbors — such as their lighting and traffic concerns — would also be addressed during the review process after more detailed plans are submitted.

In a written comment submitted to the review board, lawyer Claudia Braymer, who is representing one of the neighbors, questioned whether any of the condo buildings would include affordable or senior housing. In response, Kroes noted that the Lussi family donated land on Wesvalley Road that a different developer, Reagan Development, recently built a new affordable housing complex on.

“If Ms. Braymer was suggesting that we would create affordable housing at the marina, at this time, we do not plan to do that,” Kroes said.

“We’ve also been informed … that affordable housing is now a required component for planned developments per New York state law,” he added. “We will address this requirement as set out in the code, either with the aforementioned housing, which has already been put into service, or with revenue support for affordable housing.”

Kroes said that he feels the development would have a direct economic impact by expanding the town and village’s tax base. He urged the review board to support the rezoning request.