A Surprise from the Planning Board

At its August 27 meeting, which was devoted exclusively to discussing the Colarusso application for a conditional use permit for its dock operations, it was decided that Colarusso would not be on the agenda for the board's next regular meeting but instead there would be a special meeting to discuss Colarusso on September 23. When Colarusso appeared as "Old Business" on the agenda for last night's Planning Board meeting, I foolishly assumed it was some kind of oversight. I was wrong. Forty-eight minutes into last night's meeting, Planning Board chair Theresa Joyner announced they would now discuss "Old Business": the Colarusso dock. Joyner's reason for putting it on the agenda for that meeting was simple: "We need to continue the discussion." She then advised her colleagues, "Let's keep our heads level, let's keep emotions out, so that facts can be on the table."

Before the discussion began, Planning Board member Gaby Hoffmann said she thought it was problematic that at the last meeting they had decided not to include Colarruso on the agenda for the September 9 meeting but rather to schedule a special meeting for that purpose later in the month. Then things changed, and Colarusso was on the agenda, which had been shared with board members only that day. Joyner's response did not address Hoffmann's protest directly, but rather launched into a discussion of emissions and the impossibility of doing a study that could isolate emissions from any one source. But Hoffmann persisted in her protest about the unexpected change in the agenda, which had been received by Planning Board members only a few hours before the meeting. Joyner informed her that she distributed the agenda to board members "only as a courtesy," and the agenda had been on the city website since Wednesday or Thursday of last week.

Despite the fact the Colarusso has not yet submitted the things that were requested at the August 27 meeting--an updated site plan and a landscaping plan--the discussion went forward, with Joyner identifying the topics of discussion: emissions, noise, hours of operation, lighting, visual impact, fencing, public access. Joyner dismissed the topic of public access as soon as she raised it, saying it was "something we agreed upon was not going to happen." 

The discussion overall was confusing, somewhat chaotic, and not very encouraging for those who want the Planning Board to impose meaningful restrictions on Colarusso's dock operations. I encourage everyone interested to watch the video of the meeting, which can be found here. The discussion of Colarusso begins at 48:21.

Gossips will recount here a few details from the discussion. On the question of hours of operation, it was repeatedly stressed by Cassondra Britton, legal counsel to the Planning Board, that "the law says the 7 to 7 is appropriate to that operation." She was referring to §325-17.1 F (2) (c) of the city code which states: "Loading or unloading operations at the dock and truck arrivals and departures shall be limited to the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. This limitation shall not apply to on-water operations by tugboats and barges." Britton advised the board, "If you want to limit activity you need a reason," suggesting safety or noise as possible reasons.

Randall Martin expressed concern about boating safety and the interference of barges and tugs with recreational craft and the ferry between Hudson to Athens. When Veronica Concra opined, "I don't see how limiting hours [of operation] is going to make boaters safer," Martin said he had an issue with number of ships not hours of operation.

Hoffmann, who recently visited the site with representatives of Colarusso, mentioned they had discussed creating a berm on the northern edge of the site, facing riverfront park. Chris Bertram, the Planning Board's consulting engineer, told her, "The problem with a berm is that it is in a flood plain." Hoffmann maintained that a berm would also help with noise suppression.

On the topic of visual impact, Joyner suggested, as she has before, that an artist could do "a beautiful painting" on the side of the old salt storage building. JR Heffner, vice president of operations for Colarusso, said they were thinking of planting vines to grow up the side of the building.

Heffner also said they were thinking of removing the old silo, "so people could still see the tugboats and the material going in," when all of the plans for screening the operation from the park had been carried out.

The entire discussion, which went on for more than an hour, can be viewed here, beginning at 48:21.

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