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. 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. For a certified copy, ask the Town Clerk.
Office of the Planning Board, Town of Schaghticoke — October 2, 2024, at the Town Hall, 290 Northline Drive, Melrose.
Public hearing — Malm two-lot subdivision
Clerk Elizabeth Hale read the Notice of Hearing. The Chairman described the application by John Malm — executor of his mother’s estate — to divide a 2.99-acre parcel (Tax Map #41.-1-20) into a 1.81-acre lot and a 1.13-acre lot, each keeping its existing roughly 50-year-old residence at 1171 and 1177 NYS Route 40. Laurie and John Malm appeared. There was no public comment.
Regular meeting (7:00 PM)
Members present: Frank Alessandrini (Chairman), Dan Clow, Elizabeth Hale, Kasey Casas, Chris Reynolds, and Bob Weir. Absent: Vince Ragone. Austin Scarborough, Attorney, was present. The Board approved the September 4, 2024 minutes (Reynolds moved, Weir seconded; Casas abstained).
Applications
- Genesis Burial Vault — Special Use Permit & site-plan review (Tax Map #41.-1-61). Owner David Baker, now operating the burial-vault business with nine employees at 943 NYS Route 40, submitted a SUP and site-plan application. The Board found the hand-drawn site plan lacked detail, scale, and specificity and was not adequate; the Chairman suggested using the survey as the basis for a scaled plan showing parking, vault storage, and landscaping. Mr. Baker raised concerns that landscaping could worsen the already-poor sight distance for his trucks entering Route 40, and was advised to contact the DOT about sight distance. He plans to return with a comprehensive site plan.
- Malm two-lot subdivision (Tax Map #41.-1-20). The ZBA had granted the side-yard setback variances in September but had not yet addressed the density requirement, which it would take up on October 3. Town Attorney David Brennan advised that subdivision review and approval may proceed even though the sequence is unusual. With RCHD approval granted and SEQR addressed by the ZBA, the Board granted preliminary approval (Reynolds · Hale · all) and subdivision approval contingent on the ZBA granting the density variance (Clow · Casas · all). (The ZBA granted that variance at its October 3, 2024 meeting.)
- ASD Solar III (highway garage, Tax Map #21.-2-4.2). Paul Kruger of Active Solar Development presented drone photos of the 20-foot treed border along NYS Route 67, with trees marked for removal. He noted some marked trees may not need to come down and that a more specific screening plan would follow (perhaps in early 2025). The Chairman noted that shifting the canopy could invite invasive species and that raising the low-lying solar site might reduce the tree-shading issue.
- Czub subdivision (Tax Map #41.-1-53.11). Surveyor Brian Holbritter presented a 2.15-acre one-lot subdivision from a roughly 117-acre parcel owned by James Czub in an R district at 183 Northline Drive; the new lot includes a residence, well, and septic, and the residual land will remain in agricultural use. For disclosure, board member Kasey Casas noted that she resides on Northline Drive. The Board reviewed the short-form EAF and issued a negative declaration under SEQRA (Reynolds · Casas · all).
The Chairman reminded the Board about available planning and zoning training. The Board adjourned at 7:48 p.m. (Clow · Reynolds · all).
Respectfully submitted by Elizabeth Hale, Clerk.
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