Guilderland Planning Board members avoided walking through the front door of town hall to avoid activists who had assembled there on Wednesday to protest the board’s vote to approve Pyramid’s Rapp Road and Western Avenue projects.

The Westerlo Town Board has extended the town’s solar and wind energy moratorium for one year, dashing the hopes of a solar developer that was planning to build on a Westerlo property.

Lynne Jackson, Daniel W. Van Riper, Save the Pine Bush

Steve Wickham, Guilderland Coalition for Responsible Growth

Another Guilderland project is nearly through the approval process.  

The Guilderland Planning Board has 30 calendar days to issue a findings statement on Pyramid’s Rapp Road and Western Avenue projects.

The Berne Town Board voted, with the needed majority of 3, to formalize the town’s planning board, which Councilman Mathew Harris said in May was illegitimate. 

Although the coronavirus has created a lapse in funding for Westerlo’s Comprehensive Plan Committee, Supervisor William Bichteman said that budget transfers will ensure that the $5,000 lost in grant money the state has put on hold will get to the committee with town funds.

In the midst of questions and controversies surrounding the Berne Planning Board in the past four months, Councilman Mathew Harris says it may not exist in the first place.

“I believe we came up with a local law to support solar energy while being mindful of vistas and scenic views,” said Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber.