Public Hearing Wednesday Night

Basilica Hudson is planning to go solar, but instead of putting the photovoltaic panels on the roof of the building, the plan is to create a separate structure to hold the array which will do double duty as a covered car park. This structure, which will be located slightly north and east of the smaller building on the Basilica site, will be visible from the back of most of the houses on the south side of Allen Street below Third, as well as from houses on the south side of Cross Street and Tanners Lane.

A public hearing on this project had been tentatively scheduled for January 9, but because of a breakdown of communication between the chair of the Planning Commission and legal counsel, it didn't happen on that date and was rescheduled for January 23. The public hearing will take place at 6 p.m. at City Hall, followed by a special meeting at which the Planning Commission will make a decision about the project. City Hall has a jam-packed agenda for Wednesday night, since the Common Council Public Works Committee is scheduled to meet at 5:30 and the Legal Committee at 6:15.  

Solar energy is a good thing, and there is no reason to believe that the array being proposed, positioned as it is and masquerading as a covered parking area, will be an unattractive or even a noticeable addition to this part of the waterfront, but people should know what's being proposed for their viewshed, and Gossips urges residents of the southern edge of the First Ward to attend the hearing to find out.