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.
A note on the link above: the town’s PDF of these minutes is no longer available on the town’s website, so the “Official PDF” link is an unaltered copy we host. It is a scan, so the text in it is not searchable — our summary above is. For a certified copy, ask the Town Clerk.
Office of the Planning Board, Town of Schaghticoke — January 4, 2023, at the Town Hall, 290 Northline Drive, Melrose.
Public hearings
- St. Croix Farm solar project (Tax Map #13.-1-5), 7:02 PM. Tory Hanna of Davis Hill Development sought a special use permit for a 5-megawatt AC, ground-mounted, single-axis solar array to participate in the NYS Community Solar Program in National Grid territory. The ZBA had granted a height variance for the technology. About 30 acres were carved out of the 700-acre farm’s permanent conservation easement, and — working with the Agricultural Stewardship Association — the project pairs solar with agriculture (sheep grazing). A final screening plan with plantings along the fence line was submitted, and the Board had issued a SEQR negative declaration in December. There was no public comment.
- Valley Sealing special use permit (Tax Map #32.-3-19.11), 7:06 PM. Daniel Speech sought a special use permit to use the building as the home base for his seal-coating business — office space on the first floor and storage in the basement. There was no public comment.
Regular meeting (7:07 PM)
Members present: Frank Alessandrini (Chairman), Scott Wiley, Wayne Akin, Brian Davidson, and Dan Clow, with Kristin Pratt, Deputy Town Attorney. Absent: Robert Weir and Elizabeth Hale. The Board approved the November 2, 2022 minutes (Wiley · Akin · all).
Applications
- St. Croix Farm solar project (Tax Map #13.-1-5). Tory Hanna and Nick Schupp of Renua Energy sought the special use permit and site-plan approval. With the height variance (panels up to 18 feet) and SEQR negative declaration already granted, discussion focused on screening: the project chose a hazelbush and Norway spruce mix (15–25 feet at maturity). An adjacent property owner asked that plantings go along the fence line rather than in front of his house and preferred no trees along the roadway. The Board also discussed the town solar law’s decommissioning provision (removal after 12 months of inactivity) and adding language so a utility-caused outage would not trigger it. The Board approved the site plan and issued the special use permit (Akin · Clow · all).
- Valley Sealing special use permit (Tax Map #32.-3-19.11). Member Scott Wiley recused himself. The Chairman noted the existing building does not meet the required setbacks, and the County asked that any asphaltic material be stored on an impermeable surface, preferably covered; the applicant explained the seal-coating materials are no longer petroleum- or asphalt-based since coal tar was banned in New York. The Board issued a SEQR negative declaration (Davidson moved, Clow seconded; Wiley abstained) and granted the special use permit and site-plan approval (Akin moved, Davidson seconded; Wiley abstained).
- Verbeck solar site-plan amendment (Tax Map #22.-1-27). Patrick Mulkern, of Colliers Engineering, proposed reducing the array from 9,500 to 6,900 panels (from 14.6 to 13.9 acres) with a rear-side fencing change. Because the amendment only reduces the project, the Board approved the site-plan amendment without redoing the full approval (Clow · Wiley · all).
- Scheeren lot-line adjustment (Tax Map #11.-1-6.111 and #11.-2-1). Surveyor Brian Holbritter, for Walter Scheeren, proposed removing a 50-foot right-of-way and shifting acreage between two lots (43.47 to 41.07 acres, and 5.44 to 7.84 acres) so the second lot reaches the 7-acre threshold. The Board approved the lot-line adjustment (Akin · Clow · all).
- Sheldon subdivision (Tax Map #11.-1-15.11). Surveyor Brian Holbritter, for Doug Sheldon, proposed subdividing a parcel that holds his father’s home and his brother’s home — creating a 3-acre flag lot (with 125 feet of frontage, meeting the flag-lot rules) so one home can be sold and the other kept. A public hearing was scheduled for February.
- Viall lot-line adjustment (Tax Map #22.-1-7.1). Surveyor Brian Holbritter, for Clifford and Gary Viall, proposed lot-line adjustments across four parcels to give legal access to a previously landlocked inherited farm parcel and split it between the brothers, one half of which holds Gary Viall’s approved, under-construction solar farm. The Board approved the adjustment (Akin · Davidson · all).
Other
- Al’s Towing special use permit (Tax Map #51.3-1-6). The matter is going before the ZBA to determine whether the facility is a junkyard or an auto-repair shop; the Board is on hold pending that determination.
- The Board discussed how to proceed with combining a parcel that had already been subdivided; the matter is on hold pending the status of the sale.
The Board adjourned at 8:15 p.m. (Akin · Wiley · all).
Respectfully submitted by Megan Weir.
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