Zoning Board of Appeals

Office of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Town of Schaghticoke — February 3, 2022. The Board met via Zoom videoconference under the 2021 amendments to the New York State Public Officers Law. Deputy Town Attorney Kristin Pratt explained the Zoom procedure, noting the notice was posted in the Troy Record, that the meeting was being recorded and would be posted to the town website and transcribed later, and that minutes were being taken.

Public hearing

There were no public hearings scheduled.

Regular meeting

Jason Shover opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. with roll call. Present: Rich Geddis, Kristin Griswold, Lettie Saheim, and Jason Shover. Absent: Ed McDonough (Chairman). Deputy Town Attorney Kristin Pratt and Clerk Elizabeth Hale were present, as was Matthew Charde.

• Minutes of January 6, 2022 approved as submitted (Saheim · Griswold — Ayes: Geddis, Griswold, Saheim, Shover; Nays: none).

Calhoun Drive subdivision inquiry

Mr. Shover noted that Chairman McDonough had received an inquiry from the owner of property at 100 Calhoun Drive, who is considering a subdivision of that property.

(The scanned record provided jumps from this point to the floodway discussion below; any intervening portion of the minutes is not included in the available pages.)

Floodway / flood plain construction — River Bend Road

The Board continued discussion of a proposal to build a residence near the shoreline of the Hudson River, in the FEMA floodway. Members noted there are a number of houses on River Bend Road located close to the shoreline, and that houses in Troy and Cohoes sit close to the river as well. Kristin Pratt replied that other municipalities’ regulations are not known to the Board, and that because the property is within the floodway the application needs further engineering analysis before proceeding, each municipality being responsible for preventing catastrophic flooding. Jason Shover noted the existing riverfront houses would be grandfathered and would not necessarily affect the decision; Lettie Saheim said she would not want to jeopardize insurance coverage for others in the community. Attorney Pratt added that, upon application by a Town, FEMA may alter its maps, but the process may be time-consuming.

In review, Mr. Shover noted the following would need to be submitted: a hydraulic analysis completed by a professional engineer, an application for front and rear yard area variances, and the establishment of an escrow account to cover the Town’s consulting engineer. Mr. Shover added that the Board’s greatest concern was the result of the hydraulic study regarding building a residence in a floodway. It was noted that the submitted application is currently considered incomplete, and whether the application fee was received is unknown.

Adjourned at 8:22 p.m. (Saheim · Geddis — Ayes: Geddis, Griswold, Saheim, Shover; Nays: none). Submitted by Elizabeth Hale, Clerk (dated March 6, 2022).