Town board is firm on moratorium plan
By Michael Valkys Poughkeepsie Journal April 14 , 2005

Keep the Town of Poughkeepsie's proposed nine-month residential building moratorium as is.

That was the consensus of the town board Wednesday night during a discussion on the proposal at town hall. The session came a week after a public hearing on the proposal, where no one who spoke in the large crowd seemed pleased with the measure as proposed.
Developers at the hearing said a moratorium is not necessary and could kill needed projects. Some residents claimed the nine-month plan is not strong enough and should be lengthened and expanded to include commercial development.
Board members seemed unswayed by any of those opinions.
''I'm actually completely comfortable with the moratorium as proposed,'' said Councilman Stephan Krakower, R-5th Ward.
Some minor changes could be made before a final vote. Last week's public hearing remains open and is set to resume May 4. The board could vote after that session.
Most who spoke at last week's hearing favored a moratorium, but said the nine-month ban is too short. Board members Wednesday disagreed.
''I think the length of time now is more than adequate,'' said Councilman Thomas Bauer, R-3rd Ward.
The board also seemed firm on not including commercial development in the building ban.
''I would prefer that we leave out the commercial,'' Supervisor Joseph Davis said, noting most such projects are proposed along Route 9. ''Commercial is going where commercial is supposed to go.''
Developers and property owners who want to develop their land said last week that the moratorium could delay or kill projects that could raise tax dollars for the town and the Spackenkill school district.
The board's pending decision comes as a Westchester County developer seeks to build 468 town home units on the Casperkill Country Club property off Route 9. Officials from Ginsburg Development of Hawthorne have said the moratorium could derail the project and are against the building ban.
The moratorium would halt residential subdivisions of 11 lots or more for nine months. Projects already granted planning board approval would not be affected.
Town officials have said the moratorium would give them time they need to complete a long-awaited update of the town's master plan.
Town Attorney Thomas Mahar, at the suggestion of some board members, is expected to prepare amendments to the moratorium that could allow developers to go forward with required environmental reviews, known as SEQRA, during any building ban. But it was unclear if that would have support of enough board members.
As now proposed, the moratorium would halt the review process for applicants who are in the approval process or are about to submit plans.
''The way we drafted it, it stops today,'' Mahar said of environmental reviews.
Krakower said he does not favor developers coming in with zoning change requests during a moratorium because zoning changes are a key component of updating the town's master plan.
He said the moratorium would help ''make sure the comprehensive plan gets updates correctly.''

Michael Valkys can be reached at mvalkys@poughkeepsiejournal.com

HEARING MAY 4 A public hearing on a proposed residential building moratorium in the Town of Poughkeepsie will resume May 4. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at town hall on Overocker Road. For information, call 845-485-3620 or visit www.townofpoughkeepsie.com

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