Unofficial summary. This is a community summary of the town's official minutes, provided so the record is searchable and readable. It condenses the meeting and may omit detail. Some private individuals’ personal details have been left out. The official signed PDF is the complete record of authority.
Office of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Town of Schaghticoke — April 1, 2021. The Board met via Zoom videoconference under the Governor’s Executive Order. Deputy Town Attorney Kristin Pratt explained the Zoom procedure, noted the meeting notice was posted in the newspapers, that the meeting was being recorded (to be posted to the town website and transcribed later), and that minutes were being taken.
Regular meeting
Chairman Ed McDonough opened the meeting at 7:30 PM with roll call. Present: Ed McDonough (Chairman), Rich Geddis, Kristin Griswold, and Jason Shover. Absent: Lettie Saheim. Deputy Town Attorney Kristin Pratt and Clerk Elizabeth Hale were also present.
- March 4, 2021 minutes approved as submitted (Griswold · Geddis — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Shover; Nays: none).
Pre-application inquiry — catering business, Madigan Road
Chairman McDonough relayed an inquiry from Joe Carlo, who owns a catering business on a 9½-acre parcel in an RA district on Madigan Road and is considering expanding his residence to better incorporate the business. The Chairman advised him to consult Building Inspector Scott Frisino.
Public hearing — Stillwater Renewables Solar Farm (Tax Map #22-1-7.1)
Opened at 7:35 PM. Chairman McDonough read the Notice of Hearing for Application #1-21 of Stillwater Renewables, LLC (101 Summer Street, Boston, MA) for property at 36 Stillwater Bridge Road, Schaghticoke, in the Residential Agricultural zoning district, seeking an area (height) variance of 5 feet to permit solar panel arrays up to 17 feet, where the Zoning Law as amended by Local Law No. 1 of 2017 caps average height at 12 feet. The applicant had received site plan approval and a special use permit from the Planning Board on June 17, 2020 to construct a 3,570-kilowatt solar facility.
Dallas Manson, Business Development Representative for Nexamp, Inc., presented the application for the 3-megawatt facility on the Clifford and Gary Viall property. She explained that COVID-19 delays revealed the planned racking system was unsuitable for the 15% sloped topography and would cause more environmental disturbance; the replacement racking system would raise the maximum panel height to 16 feet 4 inches (tilting east and west), so a 5-foot variance was sought to allow the greatest tilted height of 17 feet. There were no public comments during the meeting and none received by e-mail or mail. The hearing closed at 7:42 PM (McDonough · Griswold — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Shover; Nays: none).
Regular meeting (resumed)
The Board found no further questions. Chairman McDonough noted the project had Planning Board approval, that Rensselaer County Economic Development and Planning left the decision to local consideration, and that there were no concerning issues or major impacts.
- Area (height) variance of 5 feet granted, permitting solar panel arrays at a maximum height of 17 feet (McDonough · Shover — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Shover; Nays: none).
Ms. Manson was advised to return to the Planning Board to amend the original site plan and briefly address SEQRA; Attorney Pratt suggested drafting a document to include the granted variance and the amendment to the Planning Board’s special use permit and site plan review.
Adjourned at 7:48 PM (McDonough · Shover — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Shover; Nays: none). Submitted by Elizabeth Hale, ZBA Clerk (dated May 14, 2021).
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