HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-P&DB-1995-04-11 C/tzj e/ec/
Approved 6/27/95
Planning and Development Board
MINUTES
Special Meeting
April 11, 1995
Present: David Kay, Chair;Sarah Adams;Susan Blumenthal;Anne Clavel; Carolyn Peterson
(arrived late);Denise Rusoff;John Schroeder. Staff.- Herman Sieverding;K.Ross;applicant;
attorney for applicant;other interested parties.
1. Presentation -ECDC/Wal-Mart
An officer of Wal-Mart presented a video which included employees of Wal-Mart and
business leaders from the community of Hudson,New York, and stating what Wal-Mart
had done for their community. They spoke about how Wal-Mart had helped the traffic
problem because roads were widened and traffic signals installed; that there were no new
taxes; and that Wal-Mart had provided more money for people in the area. The officer's
final comment was that Wal-Mart had grown because they have satisfied their customers.
The Board had a number of questions/concerns for the Wal-Mart representatives,which
included the number of employees employed and their benefits and how many Wal-Mart
Stores had closed. The Board requested a copy of the benefit policy and also specific
annual sales figures for upstate New York Wal-Marts. Wal-Mart representatives agreed
to provide such information to the Board.
2. Status Report of Clough Harbour/Review Process
Tom Wolanski and Jim Kent presented Clough Harbour's proposed"scope"for technical
issues to be analyzed for the FEIS. Sieverding stated that Clough Harbour's document
summarized each substantive,technical comment they had identified and suggested actions
that should be taken. Sieverding also stated he would like the Board's comments on the
document by Thursday,April 13. In the interim, Clough Harbour's in-house experts will
review the"scope". The final version will be forwarded to Sear Brown by Friday or
Monday. Schroeder presented his own version of a proposed technical analysis"scope."
The Board agreed that Schroeder, Kay and Sieverding would meet Thursday evening at
7:30 p.m. to approve a final amended version of the technical analysis"scope." The next
step in the review process will be the preparation of an outline for the FEIS. Clough
Harbour will work with Sieverding in preparing an outline for the Board's April 25
meeting. Upon approval, Clough Harbour and staff will write up a response to all
substantive comments not dependent on Sear Brown for additional information. Clough
Harbour will have a draft of the FEIS for the Board within 30 days of receiving technical
information from Sear Brown.
Minutes of April 11, 1995 Meeting 2
Schroeder and Adams gave Clough Harbour a compendium of selected oral and written
comments made during the public comment period. Schroeder and Adams felt their
compendium was a necessary supplement to a similar compendium previously prepared by
Clough Harbour, so that these two complementary compendiums would include, in
original form,all substantive comments that must be addressed in the FEIS.
3. Preparation of FEIS Resolution
After some discussion regarding timeframes, Schroeder moved and Adams seconded the
following resolution.
WHEREAS,East Coast Development Company has submitted a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement(DEIS)for a proposed Wal-Mart store on Elmira Road, and
WHEREAS,there has been significant interest by interested agencies and the public in the
DEIS, and
WHEREAS,the Planning Board, as lead agency,determined to hold a public hearing on
the DEIS which was held on February 27 and 28, and
WHEREAS,a very large number of both verbal and written comments regarding a wide
variety of environmental issues have been received by the Planning Board,and
WHEREAS,the Board has referred these comments to consulting firms for a response,
which has not yet been received,now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,that pursuant to Section 617.8(e)(2)(i) of the State Environmental Quality
Review Regulations the Board determines that additional time is necessary to adequately
prepare the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
The vote was 5-0-1 with Clavel abstaining.
Dick Levin,the attorney for East Coast Development Company, stated that the Board was
to have 45 days within which the FEIS was to be prepared. This time limit will be
exceeded. He suggested Sear Brown submit a response to technical issues raised by the
Planning Board by April 17.
4. Wal-Mart Site Visit
It was determined that staff would go to the site with the applicant and Sear Brown and
lay out markers so the Planning Board could look at location of building,parking area and
a number of other items as a step to help the Board visualize the proposed store. The
proposed date and time for the site visit was Saturday, April 29, at 11:30 a.m. or, as a
second choice, Sunday,April 30, at 1:00 p.m.
C:KeI1y\Thys\Planbrd\4-11mtg.doc
Minutes of April 11, 1995 Meeting 3
The Board agreed to cancel the meeting for Tuesday, April 18,if there was nothing on the
agenda.
C:KellyN hys\PlanbrdW-1lmtg.doc