Rick Karlin reports for the Times Union that a state appeals court on May 5 ruled in favor of the town of Guilderland and Crossgates Mall in a case brought by an environmental group in its attempt to stop the construction of the first Costco Wholesale store in the Albany region. The five-judge panel of the state Appellate Division, Third Department ruled unanimously that the Guilderland Planning Board took the required "hard look" at the environmental impacts of the project, which includes building a 160,000-square-foot store on Western Avenue and a large apartment complex on Rapp Road. The judges also rejected the procedural challenges raised by nonprofit Save the Pine Bush Inc. along with claims about the lack of a quorum when the planning board met in 2020 to vote on the environmental impacts and site plan approval. Town Supervisor Peter Barber said the next step will be special use permit review by the zoning board of appeals. The Syracuse-based owner of Crossgates, Pyramid Management Group, has emphasized how important the Costco store and the apartment complex are to the continued success and viability of the mall. Save the Pine Bush Inc. is a volunteer group dedicated to saving the rare pine bush ecosystem in New York, a habitat for the endangered Karner Blue butterfly. Read more about this story in the Times Union.