Hoosick Planning Board Ponders The Special Use Permit Process

by Gary Danforth
The Town of Hoosick Planning Board meeting took place this past Monday evening, November 16, inside the Hoosick Falls Armory with Chairman Jim Dunigan calling the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Following the Pledge of Allegiance the minutes of the previous month’s meeting were approved. There were five Board members present along with Board Attorney Stan King and Recording Secretary Karen Jennings.
The first action before the Board saw a Mr. Scott appear with maps for the Board about an already approved simple subdivision in 2006 which was never formally filed. Scott told the Board everything was the same as they had approved in 2006. Upon inspection of the map the Board concluded that chairman Dunigan would stamp the approved subdivision per their 2006 approval.
With the only two people in the audience having been satisfied by the Board, the Board entered into a thoughtful discussion about the new special use permit process used by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). King explained that as far as he knew this was the first case for such a special permit before the ZBA, which was formed in 2009 by Town of Hoosick Board action.
The process calls for persons to go before the ZBA to try to resolve their issue, then that action is sent to the Planning Board for their input. King went on to say that the ZBA has to follow the legal process whereas the Town has granted the Planning Board the right to waive any part of a process it sees fit to. The ZBA, by law, has to hold public hearings on each case before it whereas the Planning Board can waive a public hearing on any matter it deems is okay to do so.
Planning Board members wondered aloud whether the process for getting matters approved within the township would be lengthened with this process. Also, there was discussion as to how this process would play itself out as the present case before the ZBA is the first case and the process for same is not proven. King and other members wondered whether it would be more prudent to have the ZBA approve site plans for these special use permits and then send the ZBA approved packets to the Planning Board, as, at present, the Planning Board cannot approve a site plan for a special use permit before the ZBA approves it. Duplicate services by both the ZBA and the Planning Board were on the minds of Board members, who want to speed up the process for Town residents. Also, the ZBA will be sending complete, approved packages to this Board so the Board wondered why have the packages sent before a site plan, public hearing and special use permit had all been approved by the ZBA. Some Board members thought the process “would need to be shaken out” and were confident the two Boards working together could learn to expedite any process in the interest of town residents.
The short, important meeting on a chilly 28 degree night adjourned at 8:09 pm.