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.
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The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Schaghticoke met at the Town Hall, 290 Northline Drive, Melrose, on Thursday, September 7, 2023.
Present: Chairman Ed McDonough, Rich Geddis, Kristin Griswold, Lettie Saheim, and Jason Shover. Also present: Deputy Town Attorney Kristin Pratt and Clerk Elizabeth Hale.
The Board approved the August 3, 2023 minutes (Shover · Griswold) — McDonough and Saheim abstaining — and the July 6, 2023 minutes (McDonough · Saheim) — Griswold and Shover abstaining.
ASD Schaghticoke Solar II — landfill (863 Old Schaghticoke Road)
A resident raised that a 250-foot-wide central easement crossing both his property and the landfill parcel is owned by NYSEG, and argued that NYSEG — given the requested zero-foot setback along the easement — should have been notified of the proposal. Because NYSEG is not an owner of the real property, it had not been notified. The Board agreed to table the Solar II public hearing to the next meeting to allow time to notify and confer with NYSEG (McDonough · Geddis · all).
ASD Schaghticoke Solar III — highway garage (895 Old Schaghticoke Road)
The Board opened a public hearing on Active Solar’s application for a use variance and area variances to build a 1.25-megawatt solar facility on the roughly 6-acre town highway-garage site in the Highway Commercial district. The use variance is required because the Town Solar Law (Local Law No. 1 of 2017) permits commercial solar only in the RA district; the area variances would allow zero-foot side and rear setbacks from adjacent National Grid property and rights-of-way. Engineer Jason Dell (Lansing Engineering) and Sean McClenahan, Active Solar’s Director of Operations, presented.
- Hemstreet Park Fire Chief George Conover raised concerns that access to town solar sites is insufficient for fire apparatus, and urged a full assessment, a third-party engineer, and stamped plans meeting NFPA requirements. Mr. Dell responded that a 16-foot open area is planned from the array to the fence with no perimeter structures, and Mr. McClenahan said Lansing Engineering adheres to NFPA guidelines.
- A resident asked how the Town would benefit; it was explained that lease revenue would provide the financial benefit and that the surrounding community could subscribe to the energy through National Grid.
- A resident raised the possibility of project bankruptcy and resulting waste; Lettie Saheim noted that the applicant posts a decommissioning bond with the Town.
- A resident with a background in environmental sustainability spoke in favor, arguing that fossil fuels and short-lived electronic waste are far more harmful, that sealed panels will not leak into the ground or groundwater, and that panels can be recycled after their roughly 25-year life.
The Board continued the Solar III hearing to the October meeting so the applicant could meet with Chief Conover (McDonough · Geddis · all).
Riverfront residence — area variances
Chairman McDonough presented, in the applicant’s absence, a property owner’s plan to build a residence on a small riverfront lot contiguous to the Hudson River in Pleasantdale. The applicant had first come before the Board in March 2022, when review of FEMA maps suggested the lot lay partly in the floodway and possibly the flood plain; facing the cost of a required hydraulic analysis, the applicant put the matter on hold. A surveyor has since consulted the Army Corps of Engineers, which determined the site to be outside the flood zone by three feet, a finding the Code Enforcement Officer accepted pending written confirmation. The Board scheduled a public hearing on the requested area variances (including a 52-foot variance to build 48 feet from the river) for October (McDonough · Griswold · all).
The Board adjourned at 8:23 p.m. (McDonough · Griswold · all).
Respectfully submitted by Elizabeth Hale, Clerk.
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