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 7, 2024.
Regular meeting — 7:00 PM
Roll call took place.
Present: Ed McDonough (Chairman), Kristin Griswold, Lettie Saheim, and Jay Shover. Absent: Rich Geddis. Elizabeth Hale, Clerk, was present.
Minutes
Without a quorum of the members who had attended the January 4, 2024 meeting, the Board could not approve those minutes, which will be reviewed in April. The Board approved the February 1, 2024 minutes (Griswold moved, Saheim seconded; Shover abstained) and the December 7, 2023 minutes (McDonough moved, Griswold seconded; Saheim abstained).
Inquiries
- Keeping chickens. A resident asked about keeping three chickens. The Chairman explained that the Town Zoning Law requires five acres to keep chickens in compliance with the code.
- Garage with accessory apartment. Chairman McDonough reviewed an email from Joe Burniche, who is considering building a garage with an accessory apartment on his property. The Chairman explained that Mr. Burniche would need an area variance to meet the side-yard setback, and, if that were granted, a special-use permit from the Planning Board to allow an accessory apartment above the garage.
- Solar moratorium question. A resident asked whether the Town was considering a moratorium on solar facilities, raising concerns about the environment, heat from the panels, fire risk, and panel disposal. She noted a prior comment that National Grid may lack the substation capacity to connect additional solar beyond the solar projects planned at the highway-garage and landfill sites.
The Board adjourned at 7:12 p.m. (McDonough · Saheim · all).
Respectfully submitted by Elizabeth Hale, Clerk.
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