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 record of this meeting is a Word document from the Town Clerk’s office, and it is no longer available on the town’s website. The “Official PDF” link is a copy we host, converted to PDF for reading; the content is the town’s, unaltered, and we keep the original Word file alongside it. For a certified copy, ask the Town Clerk.
The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Schaghticoke met at the Town Hall, 290 Northline Drive, Melrose, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Chairman Ed McDonough opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. with a roll call.
Present: Chairman Ed McDonough, Kristin Griswold, and Jason Shover. Absent: Rich Geddis and Lettie Saheim. Also present: Deputy Town Attorney Kristin Pratt and Clerk Elizabeth Hale, along with two officers from the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department.
The Board accepted the February 2, 2023 minutes (Griswold · Shover · all).
Inquiries and correspondence
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Keeping chickens. Chairman McDonough reported an inquiry from a resident interested in keeping chickens on a parcel of less than one acre. He advised that the Zoning Law requires five acres or more for keeping chickens and that an area variance would be needed, and sent the resident the application materials.
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Proposed rezoning — Hilltop Bowl (Tax Map #71.09-1-11). Chairman McDonough distributed a letter from the Town Board requesting the ZBA’s opinion on rezoning Hilltop Bowl — a 4.67-acre parcel on Hillview Road — from Residential (R) to Hamlet District (HD), which the owners are seeking to make the parcel more marketable. Attorney Pratt noted the Planning Board had suggested a broader area of properties might be included in any rezoning. Board member Jason Shover declined to comment, as he resides in the area and knows the owners. Mr. Shover suggested delaying the ZBA’s opinion so that public comment could be heard at the Town Board’s next meeting, and Chairman McDonough asked Attorney Pratt to draft a response reflecting the Board’s decision to wait for public comment before forming an opinion.
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Al’s Towing. Chairman McDonough noted that the interpretation determining Al’s Towing to be a junkyard had been filed with the Town Clerk, with copies sent to the business owner and the Planning Board. The Board briefly discussed the possibility of litigation arising from its determination that the business was not classified as a motor vehicle repair/service station.
The Board adjourned at 7:35 p.m. (McDonough · Griswold · all).
Respectfully submitted by Elizabeth Hale, Clerk.
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