Gray Water Proves a Gray Area

At last night's Planning Commission public hearing on the proposed plan for 347 Warren Street, attorney Brian Herman seemed to do his client more harm than good in his presentation of the project. He first set the cat among the pigeons when he told the commission that the principals were applying for a full liquor license and that the indoor part of the bar, which will be open year round, would serve food. Michael Davis, in his two previous appearances before the commission, had told them the bar would serve only beer and wine, and the plans submitted for the bar did not include a kitchen. The commission's fear that they were being asked to review a site plan that kept changing was dispelled after Giovanni di Mola, the manager of 3FortySeven, made a hasty call to Davis's brother in California, who is a partner in the project (Davis himself was out of the country), and confirmed for the commission that the intention was to serve only beer and wine and explained that the food served in the bar during the winter months would be prepared by a caterer at a different location and delivered to the site.  

At one point, the meeting was reduced to an argument between Herman and Carl Whitbeck, legal counsel for the Planning Commission, about the number and placement of food trucks on the site. While Herman continued to insist that his client needed flexibility when it came to the size and number of trucks, Whitbeck, with voice raised, stated unequivocally that "the placement of units on the site requires site plan approval." When commission member Laura Margolis offered a way that flexibility might be achieved within constraints, Whitbeck said, "Why are we negotiating? We say what he needs to do."

In the end, the issues seemed to distill down to one: how gray water produced by the food trucks, primarily as a result of handwashing, would be contained and disposed of. Sam Starr, owner of Truck Pizza, offered the information that the "mobile vendor code book" required that food trucks be fitted with a 40-gallon holding tank for gray water, which could be removed or emptied and the gray water disposed of at a waste water treatment plant. Whitbeck said he was unfamiliar with the relevant laws and would have to review them before he could advise the commission about whether or not having a 40-gallon holding tank for gray water complied with the health code. 

Although the room was filled to overflowing with what appeared to be supporters of the project, only two people actually offered comments: John Friedman and Victor Mendolia. After identifying himself as an alderman representing the Third Ward, "where this project and most of the restaurants in Hudson are located," Friedman said that he had spoken with restaurant owners and constituents who lived in proximity to 347 Warren Street about the project and reported that, while there was some concern about more competition, "no one in the Third Ward is opposed to it." He offered the opinion that it was "a great use of space."

Mendolia encouraged the commission to "find a way to make it work," saying that the proposed project would create "a nice streetscape" and would "add to the redevelopment and revitalization of Warren Street."

In the end, it was decided that the public hearing would remain open, Whitbeck would draft a resolution that included stipulations to address the commission's concerns about aesthetics and public safety, and a special meeting would be held on Thursday, April 26, at 7 p.m., to review the resolution and render a decision. Despite the long and sometimes heated discussion, Donald Tillson, chair of the Planning Commission, stated, encouragingly, "In general, we're supportive of what [Davis] is trying to do."