Pine Plains Town Council pushes to fix zoning ‘mistake’

PINE PLAINS — Town Board members sought to fast-track a zoning district amendment after the former Lia’s Restaurant site on Route 82 was discovered to straddle two districts.

Eric Mortenson appeared at the Thursday, April 16, on behalf of Angela Somma, who is considering purchasing the former restaurant property to develop an event space with cottages for short-term lodging.

Somma first described her plans to buy the property at a Planning Board meeting on Wednesday, April 8, which led board members and the applicant to discover the zoning bifurcation.

Town Board members responded positively to the request, and instructed town attorney Warren Replansky to move forward with preparing a local law to start the process.

The request drew a question from Town Supervisor Brian Walsh, who asked why the property would be split into two zones in the first place, prompting Councilwoman Jeanine Sisco to summarize the conundrum.

“It’s a mistake,” Sisco said.

The Town of Pine Plains is expected to shoulder the cost of the redistricting. Council members Sisco and Kevin Walsh said they believed the move would be beneficial to the town regardless of who owned the land, echoing comments from Mortenson.

“We wanted to bring it whether it is purchased or not,” Mortenson said. “We feel it’s good for Pine Plains.”

Replansky is expected to begin drafting documents so the Town Board may begin the process as early as its next meeting. The attorney explained the town will need to adopt a local law, conduct a standard environmental review and schedule a public hearing. Walsh expressed hope that the process can be completed quickly.

“We trust that in our best interest you will find a way through this, Warren,” Walsh said. “There’s a will.”

Water leaks

Pine Plains Water Engineer Ray Jurkowski updated officials on leaks across the town’s water system, saying some low-priority leaks are releasing about 15,000 gallons of water per day — roughly equivalent to a small swimming pool.

Jurkowski explained that this winter’s bitter cold weather put extra stress on the town’s water mains. Extreme temperature changes cause dirt to expand and contract, which can shift and break pipes.

“This has been an old fashioned winter,” Jurkowski said. “We haven’t had this problem in about 10 years.”

The current water loss of about 15,000 gallons per day is down from previous months after water department employees located and repaired some leaks. Jurkowski said he located two leaks earlier in April, bringing the total so far for the year to five.

“We are moving in the right direction,” he said.