RENSSELAERVILLE — The town board used an idea from a losing candidate for supervisor and decided against a moratorium on major subdivisions and certain developments.

At a meeting last Thursday, the town board held a public hearing on the proposed six-month moratorium, which was intended to give the planning board time to revisit the town’s comprehensive land-use plan. After the hearing, rather than enacting the moratorium, the town board voted unanimously to hand the comprehensive planning reins over to a committee instead of the planning board.
The first to suggest a committee was David Bryan, a Democrat and former supervisor who ran unsuccessfully this fall against Republican Supervisor Jost Nickelsberg. After the board heard a number of comments from the packed audience wary of the moratorium, Bryan said the town should form a committee of people representing the various stakeholders in the plan, including large landowners and residents of the town’s hamlets, "so people won’t be angry."

Resident Philip Pearson noted that section 270 of the state’s town law allows for such a committee to be formed for comprehensive planning, and the town’s attorney, Bill Ryan, said Pearson was correct. Earlier, Pearson had said that the process would take much longer than six months, a concern repeated throughout the hearing by many other residents.

Others against the moratorium accused the town of trying to tell people what to do with their own property and creating an economic hardship for large landowners looking to subdivide to ease the tax burden.

Planning board Chairman Allyn Wright defended the moratorium. The plan wouldn’t stop minor subdivisions—the bulk of subdivisions in the town—he said, and all the planning board meetings on the issue would be open and publicized.
"No matter how we do it, you’re welcome to come," Wright said.
The moratorium would have stopped all subdivisions of over three lots, any building or development within 200 feet of a ridge line, and "any non-residential development, or alteration encompassing a land area or structure greater than 2,000 square feet in size."

With a halt on these projects, Wright said, the planning board could take a break from its usual duties to look at the comprehensive plan.
"We’ve got to just designate the time to do it or we’ll drag this on for three years," he said.

Though most were against it, a few residents at the hearing did speak in favor of the moratorium.
"With some clarification of the purpose [of the moratorium], you would see that all of your concerns are going to be addressed," said resident Jeanette Rice. "The moratorium isn’t going to stop building." Of the planning board, Rice said, "They’re the people who know the comprehensive plan the best as far as I can tell."

After a very brief deliberation, the town board, which has three Republicans and two Democrats, voted unanimously to form the committee.
"I think that, what we would like is as many people from the town to volunteer," Nickelsberg said.

Other business

In other business at the Feb. 9 meeting, the Rensselaerville Town Board:

—Approved, unanimously, a contract for the town attorney;

—Heard a presentation from Jacob Warner, of Giant Solutions. Warner will be assisting the town’s communications committee on planning for wireless communications; and

—Passed a resolution to ask the state comptroller for an audit of the town’s finances. The comptroller recommends periodic audits, Nickelsberg said, and it has been a while since Rensselaerville had one done.