UPDATE The town of New Paltz, NY is in the process of deciding whether to add a cell tower to the community, but both the Planning Board and Homeland Towers confess to being ensnared by paperwork, reports HudsonValleyOne.com (HV1). At their lawyer’s recommendation, the town requested an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS has been drafted, but creating a findings statement, the next step in the process, is reportedly uncharted territory for the current Board members.
A long-serving commissioner told HV1 that factoring in an EIS is an unusual measure, made more challenging by the shrinking timeline imposed by the project’s shot clock. Rick Golden, the attorney who recommended the EIS, indicated that he was familiar with the process and would help guide the parties through it. In the “findings” stage, he explained that a summary must be prepared. According to Golden, the summary should detail what was discovered, mitigation steps that will address environmental concerns, and an estimation of the long term effects on the plants and animals in the vicinity.
Golden further advised Homeland Towers to create a first draft for the Board before submitting a final version.
In order for the finding statement to wrap up, HV1 reported, it requires certain points to be certified. First, it must determine if all the impacts have been mitigated. If they have not, the findings must note if concerns have been partially mitigated, or if mitigation is not possible. It could also conclude that some items have been completely mitigated, while others remain unaddressed.
The applicant and the Board have been working together to navigate their way through the process and be mindful of time dictates. Finalizing the EIS findings will clear one hurdle, but the project still faces a variance hearing with the Zoning Board of Approvals. The New Paltz Planning Board is meeting again in late September.
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