If a Tree Falls in the Forest . . .

If a Planning Board meeting happens, and the Zoom live streaming stops 38 minutes into a meeting that lasts for more than two hours, is it really a public meeting? That is the question raised by Tuesday's Planning Board meeting. When the live stream stopped, Gossips switched to monitoring the audio of the meeting by phone. Today, however, the entire Zoom recording was made available on YouTube.

It had been announced that there would be a public hearing on the proposal to convert the former gas station at 735 Columbia Street into a brewery, but the public hearing did not happen. Instead, after the Planning Board suggested the parking should be located at the rear of the building and the outdoor seating in the front, made closing the garage doors at the front of the building at 10 p.m. a condition for granting site plan approval, requested information about hours and policies that would apply when the space was rented out for events, asked to see the configuration of the tables and chairs proposed for the outdoor space, and requested the study that found no remediation of the site was necessary, Planning Board chair Betsy Gramkow announced that the public hearing would be postponed until Tuesday, October 13. But even before that happened, the live streaming stopped.

Another topic of interest on the agenda was the proposal from Verizon to install wireless communications equipment on the roof of Providence Hall, at the corner of Columbia and Second streets.

The presentation of the project began with the representative from Verizon talking about the FCC "shot clock" and telling the board it had 90 days from the time the application was submitted to make a decision. Victoria Polidoro, legal counsel to the Planning Board, pointed out that the board can extend the review time but suggested that a public hearing on the project be scheduled for October.

Gramkow questioned why this property was chosen and not the county office building a block or so up the street. She also noted that the Planning Board was not permitted to consider the health effects of the installation. The applicant elaborated. According to federal law, if a proposed installation is in full compliance with FCC requirements, local municipalities "cannot question it." He went on to say, "Many municipalities have denied [installing such equipment], but it was overturned, because federal law is very clear on this."

Planning Board member Clark Wieman told the applicant, "We have an engaged and informed citizenry. If you can explain why you picked this site, it would be helpful." A "willing landlord" was cited as one of the criteria, along with the height of the building and the location. Wieman alluded to the location becoming a "bay station" when he said, "If there's one there, there could be several."

Planning Board member Theresa Joyner asked, "Who is benefiting more--Hudson or Athens?" The applicant claimed there would be more coverage on the Hudson side--"the lower part of the city south to the Basilica."

Polidoro advised the Planning Board to hire a consultant that specializes in telecommunications to help them review the application. It was also determined that Polidoro would review the application and make a recommendation about whether the project should be classified as a Type I or an Unlisted action under SEQR. The project will be the subject of the public hearing on Tuesday, October 13.

Another project slated for a public hearing on October 13 is a request to make the expanded outdoor space at BackBar, 347 Warren Street, permanent. John Friedman, who was representing BackBar, told the board that the State Liquor Authority had already approved making the outdoor service initiated during the pandemic a permanent change. Friedman also told the board there had been no complaints from the neighbors, the police, or the code enforcement office about the expanded outdoor seating during the summer.

The Planning Board decided that the public needed a chance to weigh in, and so BackBar will also be the subject of a public hearing on October 13.
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