North East inches closer to public hearing on years-long commercial zoning overhaul

MILLERTON — The North East Town Board held a special workshop meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 4, to finalize a years-long review of its commercial district zoning code — a process that has spanned 100 meetings over four years.

Town officials had hoped the meeting would mark the completion of the most complex phase of the overhaul — approving a final draft of zoning edits to be sent to the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development for review before scheduling a public hearing.

But the process was delayed after Town Attorney Warren Replansky, who joined the meeting via Zoom, raised procedural questions about whether the document before the board was a “preliminary draft” or a final version.

Replansky said that although the zoning document itself is largely complete and not expected to undergo major revisions, the accompanying local law still needs to be reformatted before it can “pass muster” with the county and the state. The update is primarily technical — ensuring the law is structured correctly for formal adoption and filing — but it delayed the board from scheduling a public hearing.

Regardless, the Board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution authorizing the Town Supervisor to forward a copy of the proposed zoning amendments to the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development and the town’s Planning Board for “preliminary review” prior to the commencement of the formal local law adoption process.

The board also approved a motion to allow Town Clerk Tilly Strauss to send copies of the Zoning Code amendments to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Advisory Committee, Village of Millerton, Town of Amenia, Town of Ancram, Town of Pine Plains, Town of Stanford and Town of Salisbury, Connecticut.

In the meantime, the town’s legal counsel will work to finalize the local law’s formatting to comply with official filing requirements. If acceptable, the town may schedule the official public hearing at this week’s board meeting, to be held on Thursday, Nov. 13.

“This is an important waypoint in the work that we have done to rezone the commercial portion of the town,” said Supervisor Kennan at the special meeting before giving credit to those involved in the lengthy process and its 100 meetings. “I just want everyone to wrap their heads around that,” said Kennan. “That’s a lot of volunteer time. That’s a lot of work that went into this.”

Without making any promises, Kennan expressed his hope that the process can be completed before the end of the year, prior to the conclusion of Councilman Ralph Fedele’s term, allowing him to cast a vote to approve the zoning changes after dedicating significant time to the effort.

Town officials said they hope the County review process will not drag on as they have already reviewed an earlier draft. The document is currently 181 pages long.

In addition to the zoning discussion, the Board approved two additional resolutions.

The first authorized a grant application to the Hudson River Valley Greenway for $30,000 to hire planning consultant Nan Stolzenburg, who will guide the residential and agricultural zoning review expected to begin in early 2026.

The second resolution approved a contract with LAN Engineering for the new Town Hall renovation project. The firm will handle both the engineering and architectural work, including updates to ensure bathrooms are ADA-compliant and interior modifications. The town previously rejected a $940,000 renovation bid from another architect earlier this year. “I believe that we’re going to be able to get this done for a lot less,” said Kennan, adding that while the new proposal is “not inexpensive,” it’s a comprehensive and complete plan to move the project forward.