Amenia Planning Board member suggests a moratorium

AMENIA —Before turning to its regular agenda on Wednesday, Nov. 12, the Planning Board heard a call from one of its members to consider placing a temporary halt on incoming applications.

At the start of the meeting, board member Ken Topolsky — who had just come from a meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee (CPRC), where he also serves — read a prepared statement urging a moratorium on applications until the CPRC finishes updating the town’s 18-year-old comprehensive plan. The CPRC, a subcommittee of the Town Board, has been working on the update for the past two years, he said, and has now compiled results from a town-wide survey.

“No one knows where Amenia will be in 2043,” Topolsky said, referring to the updated plan now being drafted, which will likely trigger revisions to current zoning regulations. “Planning must be done now,” he continued. “The future cannot be realized without change,” he added, saying the process is intended to ensure residents’ wishes are fully considered.

Planning Board member James Walsh expressed support, recalling that a similar pause was enacted the last time the plan was updated. “I was part of the committee that wrote the 2007 plan,” Walsh said, “and we did have a moratorium,” he added.

The Planning Board did not discuss or take further action on Topolsky’s suggestion.