Hazeem Elbialy’s request for the zoning change needed to move his dental practice to the old Great American site, where he’d also build four residential buildings with a total of 46 apartments and later, retail space, is incomplete.
That’s what the Schoharie Village Board ruled Tuesday.
While it will be up to the Planning Board to work out the project’s specifics, the Village Board must first approve rezoning the long-vacant, 4.5 acre site as a Planned Development District, a process that will also include a public hearing.
“I hate to keep holding up his application…” said Mayor Colleen Henry, but the Environmental Assessment Form submitted with the application—instead of the requested SEQR form—is incomplete.
Trustee Peter Johnson pointed out the EAF actually provides more detailed information about the proposed project’s impact on everything from traffic to lighting to noise than a SEQR would, but he also agreed it’s incomplete.
More concerning, Mayor Henry, a former Planning Board member said, is that the application appears to include Dr. Elbialy’s other properties, 229 Main Street, his dental office, and 235 Main, a vacant home next door.
Only a single property can be included in a PDD application, she said.
That was confusing to the Planning Board too, said chair Tom Hitter, who he said struggled with the same question.
“They managed to muddy the waters nicely,” he said, “but what they have…I think they’re only asking for that parcel [218 Main Street, the Great American site].
In addition to ruling the application incomplete, Mayor Henry and trustees said they have questions on the process they want to run by planning consultant Nan Stolzenburgh.
“It’s a big change and we want to get it right,” Mayor Henry said.
Dr. Elbialy has said he’d like to break ground on phase one of the project—the health care building—by the spring of 2026 with the apartment construction to follow.
Long-range plans include turning his existing dental offices into a day care center.
His plans have strong community support, SEEC’s Trish Bergan said, reviewing survey results they’ll be using to submit applications for DRI and NY Forward funding for the village.
The Great American Commons was ranked #1 in possible projects to be included in the applications, followed by the FireHouse Park, Fountain Head Plaza, a building improvement fund, EV charging stations, and Crosswalks of Color.
Interestingly, Ms. Bergan said, of the 252 online surveys returned, about 56 percent were from Schoharie Town and Village residents with about 38 percent from people who lived somewhere else in Schoharie County and another five percent from those outside the county.