Along Dock Road in the Town of Marlborough, new townhomes have been proposed to be constructed. However, in order to do so, the land required rezoning. On Monday, July 24, the Marlborough Town Board approved to amend the town zoning code to recognize the properties along Dock Road as part of the residence district thus moving along the development process.

The process to begin the zoning amendments for the land was put into motion at the April 24 town board meeting presented by Marlborough Supervisor Scott Corcoran. The town board declared Marlborough lead agency in the process for the zoning amendment.

During the town board meeting on June 26, the town board hosted a public hearing for residents to share comments on the project’s amended zoning. The public hearing remained open until the July meeting with again no comments made on the item.

The land previously included industrial zoning as it was once used as a quarry site prior to it being shut down, according to Corcoran. With this new zoning amendment, the hope is to see the former area be beautified and attract new residents to the town once the units are built. “In order for a development like this to happen in that area, it has to be zoned as R [residence],” said Corcoran. “After talking with attorneys, and talking with our board, and going through everything, the board decided it was in the best interest of the town that we rezone this area all R in order to facilitate this build, and this project.”

For the proposed development, 25 plus or minus acres has been reported to be developed, a majority owned by SDL Marlborough LLC, the developer. The proposed housing development would be undertaken by Leyton Properties, based out of New York City. This would be a first time partnership with the Town of Marlborough and Leyton Properties.

The proposed townhome units would be for purchase rather than rental and the site could potentially include a clubhouse on the site. Corcoran has also been made aware that Leyton Properties would be working to promote the town’s agricultural identity and tourism through various marketing campaigns to attract new residents to the area and to promote the town as a whole.

“What this company is going to do, is they’re going to come in, they’re going to build 100 townhomes. They’re gonna put roads in, they’re gonna put sidewalks in, they’re gonna put trees, they’re gonna put landscaping, they’re gonna put a community center,” said Corcoran. “They’re gonna do all kinds of things that will beautify that area, increase the value of the homes around it, and in turn increase the value of the town of Marlborough.”

With the project also located along Route 9W, traffic surveys and reviews of the Dock Road entrance will need to be conducted by the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT). Dock Road is a steep road that is near the intersection of the Hamlet of Marlborough. A secondary access may need to be proposed by DOT to help mitigate traffic, said Corcoran.

With the completion of the zoning amendment, the developer can now proceed with the planning board process and submit their applications for future review. The project’s timeline and completion date would mainly be determined by the time spent in the approval process and meetings with town agencies and other state agencies involved. Renderings are not yet available on what the townhomes could potentially look like.