North East board blocks Irondale business expansion

MILLERTON — North East Town Board members on Friday voted to reject a proposed expansion of permitted businesses in the Irondale section of town, a small commercial district comprising just seven parcels along Route 22 north of Millerton.

The board voted 3-2 at its March 20 meeting to abandon the proposal that would have allowed restaurants, liquor stores, microbreweries, banks and bakeries in the district, following sharp criticism from the town’s Zoning Review Committee, residents and the Village of Millerton’s Board of Trustees.

The Irondale District — currently known as Highway Business District III — is located along Route 22 near the intersection with Irondale Road. Each of the seven parcels has been developed, with two containing residential homes rather than commercial uses.

The Board of Trustees submitted a letter stating the village’s opposition to the proposed expansion of use. Deputy Mayor Matt Hartzog read the letter, which said the village was against commercial planning that would divert attention away from the Route 44 corridor, and that adoption of the changes would hurt the working relationship between the village and the Town of North East.

“Over many years, the Village of Millerton has devoted substantial time, taxpayer resources, and planning efforts to infrastructure improvements in the Village Center,” the letter said. “Diverting commercial activity away from the Village and Town center risks undermining the economic foundation for these shared infrastructure investments and could complicate further inter-municipal cooperation.”

North East and Millerton residents largely sided with the Village of Millerton during the meeting, with only one North East resident and Town Board members Meg Winkler and Rachele Grieco Cole advocating for retaining the expanded uses.

North East resident Rob Cooper said he thought the Irondale District is the only other suitable place for business development in the town.

“Every storefront in the village, as far as I know, is occupied,” Cooper said. “If you wanted more business to come in, where else would you put it besides in the Irondale District?”

Town Councilwoman Meg Winkler has been one of the strongest supporters of permitting bakeries and other food service businesses in the district since the Town Board began considering the revamped town zoning law earlier this year. She said that just five parcels in the Irondale District are suitable for businesses, saying a few small businesses shouldn’t hurt the village.

“I don’t find those five properties a threat to the village, I think it complements it,” Winkler said. “This is not my own personal point of view. I’ve really gotten so many calls to discuss it, so I’m just bringing that other side to the table. And the comprehensive plan also says to expand uses in HB-III.”

The Town Board also expanded permitted uses in the western Boulevard District — comprising parcels between the Village of Millerton’s eastern border and the western bank of the Webatuck Creek. That expansion came after Cooper asked for business types such as accessory shed sales be permitted to bring his property on Route 44 to end his property’s nonconforming status. Cooper said at a February meeting that he rents a portion of his historic Mobil gas station property on Route 44 to a shed sale business operated by Millerton resident Stone Scasso, one of the few businesses that could use the property due to deed restrictions on the property dating back to its past as a full service gas station.

Board members voted unanimously to allow automotive mechanics not including body shops, and sales of outdoor play equipment and pre-fabricated sheds.

Following those actions, the Town Board voted to approve a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, meaning the board found the changes to the zoning law will have limited immediate impact on the environment and will not draft an Environmental Impact Statement.

The public hearing on the proposed new zoning law will continue at the Thursday, April 20, regular meeting of the Town Board. Board members expect to wrap up deliberation and approve the law following the public hearing.