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Cold Spring Village Board Pressed on Moratorium Issue
Board informally votes to hold the possibility in abeyance
by Kevin Foley
The prospect of a moratorium on development in the Village of Cold Spring and a recent rash of burglaries in the Village and Philipstown were the main topics of interest at a long and, at times, heated regular monthly meeting of the Cold Spring Board of Trustees on Tuesday, September 11, 2007. Declaring that "Cold Spring is no longer a place where you can leave doors and windows open," Mayor Anthony Phillips, who made the Police Department report, acknowledged there had been several burglaries in the Village and in Philipstown on Rt. 9. as was reported previously in the PCN&R. The Mayor said he had asked the police to hold a village meeting on Tuesday, September 25 for a public discussion about the situation and what should be done. He said the burglaries had all taken place late at night at local businesses and a residence. "I am asking everyone if you hear or see anything make the call to 9-1-1. It will help us resolve these problems," said Phillips.
Establishing a moratorium on development until after a comprehensive plan is agreed upon, was the subject of a nearly one hour lively discussion during a report from the Comprehensive Plan Special Board chair, Carol Casparian. The Special Board had held a two hour forum on the moratorium concept the week before at its regular meeting on September 6. Invited speaker Newburgh, New York land use attorney Erica Powers, had urged the Special Board at that time to consider recommending a moratorium "to give the community time to consider all its development needs."
At the Trustees meeting, Vinny Cimino, from the Cold Spring Fire Company, whose members made up nearly half of the thirty person audience, asked for clarification on moratorium procedures, particularly regarding public use development. Mayor Phillips referred to Village counsel Steven Gaba for legal perspective on moratorium policy after first expressing his annoyance at all the talk about a moratorium. Gaba characterized a moratorium as a power of the Village Board to use in reaction to an emergency such as a rush of development applications before a zoning change. "I have not seen a moratorium adopted when a comprehensive plan is not far along," he said. He said such a law would be crafted best with the help of a planner to define precisely village intentions. He also said a moratorium usually has exceptions and that public use building projects are normally exempt because their functions don't change.
Encouraged by Gaba's remarks, the Mayor said, "We're not in any crisis now. We are in the infant stages of planning. It is not a good thing to contemplate a moratorium now." Z.I. Sanchez, a Cold Spring architect and vice chair of the Special Board, disagreed. "Professional planning standards recommend putting a moratorium in place at the beginning in order to have an objective process.
In response to remarks by the Mayor and a question by Trustee John Teagle about how pending development applications get handled during a moratorium, board counsel Gaba said, "you could lay the ground work for a moratorium as you develop the comprehensive plan so as people make applications you could move to a moratorium later on because you would know that something is contrary to your plan."
Tom Rolston, a member of the fire company and the proprietor of the Depot restaurant, asked rhetorically, "is there a rush of applications? No, there's one as far as I know." Rolston argued that the Village was capable under existing regulations to handle any matters that came before it during the consideration of a comprehensive plan. He described a moratorium as "un-American." "It goes against everything I believe," he said.
"Is planning un-American?" asked Trustee Karen Dunn, a moratorium supporter. She said the Special Board and its working groups, all volunteers, "were putting in a lot of hours and are getting a great deal of information that will be helpful to everyone, including developers." "I definitely think we should consider a moratorium while all this is going on," she said. Dunn said she knew that the fire company also put in a lot of hours as she acknowledged the differences between the Special Board and the firefighters, particularly over speculation regarding the pending sale of the old Butterfield Hospital site.
Alluding to that issue, Mayor Phillips said, "if we give developers an opportunity to explain their plan and then we give comments and they work with us, we still have the opportunity to go to a moratorium later." "If we don't plan and everyone else us does, we could get into trouble," said Dunn, referring to what she described as "35 or 36 sub-dividable properties in Cold Spring." "You're getting paranoid about Cold Spring," responded the Mayor "Things could happen right under our nose," Dunn said. Trustee Seth Gallagher agreeing with the Mayor, said, "you always have the option to go to moratorium if you need it later on."
"It's not about paranoia, it's about a community creating a formal breathing space to thoughtfully consider what they want to do, what has worked in the past and what hasn't," said Z.I. Sanchez. "The idea is not to wait for an emergency," she added.
Frustrated with the discussion of a moratorium, Mayor Phillips spoke directly to the Butterfield site situation and the expected development plans of Unicorn Contracting, the soon-to-be new owners. "For 15 years Hudson Valley Hospital (the seller of the site) has given us the run around. We wanted the community to run the site as Julia Butterfield intended," said Phillips. Continuing, the Mayor said the firehouse on Main St. was inadequate and that the Butterfield site was a good place for it. "We've never been close enough to consider a new firehouse and a community center as we are now," said Phillips. "A moratorium would cut the legs out from under our chances."
The debate among the same people continued for a several minutes and was joined by Captain Chris Tobin of the fire company. "The fire department has been patient with waiting for a new house. "We have 111 years of service to this community. We don't think some of you are giving the guy (Unicorn Contracting) the benefit of the doubt," he said.
Seeking to end the debate and move on with the agenda the Mayor declared, "the word moratorium should be in limbo until we hear from the developer as to his plans. Trustee Seth Gallagher agreed with the Mayor.
Correspondence to the Board of Trustees was the next agenda item and it kept the moratorium/firehouse discussion going. Chris Tobin summarized a letter sent by J. Ralph Falloon, President of the Cold Spring Fire Company. He acknowledged the fire company has had discussions with developer, Paul Guillaro, of Unicorn Contracting, regarding a new fire house. "We believe a moratorium would jeopardize our chance to get a new building. We would hate to see an approach from a reputable developer ruined," said Tobin. He then asked on behalf of the fire company that the trustees go on record as to their positions on a moratorium.
Mayor Phillips and Trustees Edward Mancari and Seth Gallagher said they were against the idea. "You can still be prepared to use a moratorium when you are planning specific zoning changes," said Gallagher. Trustee John Teague, who appeared the most pained by the issue, said "I would love to see the fire department get a new building. I don't think with a $2 million sale price for the Butterfield property that it is likely to just happen." He said he favored a moratorium as the best way to secure land for public use. Dunn, an early advocate for a moratorium, agreed. The 3-2 split, although not a formal vote on the issue, seemed to foreclose the introduction of a moratorium for the foreseeable future.
In other business, among a number of routine administrative items, the Board approved a new draft ordinance for the regulation of signage in the village. Board counsel Stephen Gaba said the new rule was a stopgap measure, until the creation of a comprehensive plan, to meet the constitutional objections of the federal court which had struck down a previous version. After a brief discussion of first amendment rights versus regulation of a historic district and a tweaking of some language, the Board set a public hearing on the matter for Tuesday, October 9 at 7pm in the Village Hall.
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