March 10 Town Board Meeting

This article appeared in the Townsman, March 12 edition

Councilman Chris Collins, quoting Joe Liune as saying, “I am pretty well satisfied,” strongly urged the Town Board the adopt a declaration of negative environmental significance (“neg-dec”) regarding a proposed amendment to the Woodstock zoning law regulating development near surface water bodies, including wetlands, by creating a permitting process that involves making application to the Planning Board for most types of construction. His resolution was tabled after approximately a half hour of discussion when concerns were raised that the public had seen neither the latest update to the 26-page amendment, nor the ten-page neg dec.

Liune and members of the Wittenberg Sportsman’s Club several years ago had a regulation with a similar goal thrown out of state supreme court. Since then he has constructively participated with Town officials in an attempt to craft a better document. Liune was unable to attend tonight’s meeting where the neg dec was discussed.

The neg dec was prepared by Planning Board Technician Dara Trahan, and was described by the Town’s land-use attorney, Drayton Grant, in a letter as “pure poetry.”

A public hearing on the amendment was held last October, and recessed. There have been no further public discussions since. As reported exclusively in this paper several weeks ago, a revised document prepared by Trahan was circulated, but its status is unclear; Jackie Earley, the Town Clerk said the only document she has filed in her office was the one considered last October.

A document that until tonight’s meeting has not had the imprimatur of the Town Board would be filed, it was promised, tomorrow (March 11), and the text of the neg dec will appear on the Town’s web site as well.

A neg dec, a declaration legally required before commencement of any proposed action that may have an environmental impact, good or bad, will need be adopted prior to adoption of the zoning amendment. Supervisor Jeff Moran, stating his opinion the amendment still needed “a serious look,” gently led the board through a discussion judging the merits of rushing the process involving an extremely complex law added to the books, or allowing the public more scrutiny and time to digest it. His approach appeared to pay off when Councilwoman Liz Simonson announced, “I want to follow the process and make this as open as possible,” and joined the Supervisor and Councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum in their opinion that waiting one more week was acceptable.

Collins took the Supervisor to task for not putting the amended law on the Town web site six weeks ago, apparently failing to recognize the Town Board had never authorized such posting. “I see this as an interruption of a break down of the process,” complained Collins. With “resistance and discomfort” Collins agreed to wait a week.