Battery Storage Facilities (BESS).The Board referred out for comment a draft law that would allow only small scale battery storage facilities: up to a maximum capacity of 80 kWh with limits in 1 and 2 family houses to 40 kWh if the unit was in a utility closet or storage or utility space. Applicants would only need a building permit. Councilwoman Siegel suggested that the existing building permit application form be amended to require more information about the BESS system, e.g., the type of battery and its capacity rating. A public hearing will be scheduled once the Board receives feedback from its advisory bodies and outside agencies.
485b Commercial Tax Incentive. (See Town Board January 7, 2025.) Responding to a resident’s comment about the incentive, Supervisor Lachterman read off figures about the impact of the incentive program from a report he said he had just received. (Copies of the report can be obtained from the town clerk’s office.) According to the report, which projected out town tax revenue from improvements over a 10 year period, the incentive saved commercial property owners $352,304 but brought in $722,412 in revenue to the town. The supervisor also noted several intangible benefits from the commercial developments, e.g., the road improvements on Route 202 that the Lowe’s developer paid for.
The underlying issue remains whether new commercial development, or upgrades to existing commercial properties, would have taken place without the incentive. While Supervisor Lachteman and Councilman Esposito took the position that many of the developments would not have come absent the incentive and that there’s a demand for retail space in Yorktown, some residents, citing the “Amazon” effect, the existing vacancies and the decline in the value of some retail properties, believe the Board should not be providing an incentive that encourages new commercial development.
In related issue, and as a follow up to a comment made during the Public Comment (formerly Courtesy of the Floor) portion of the agenda, Councilwoman Siegel asked the supervisor to follow the example of the Yorktown School District and provide Board members with a list of pending tax certiorari lawsuits and the potential refund the town might have to make, possibly with funds from the fund balance, in the event there was a settlement. While the information would not have an immediate impact on the budget or tax rates, she said the information was important for understanding future demands on the fund balance.
Public Comment (aka Courtesy of the Floor). In response to a resident’s comment asking that the public comment portion of the agenda be moved to earlier in the meeting in order to make it more convenient for residents, Supervisor Lachterman, some councilmen and the town clerk defended the flexible placement on the agenda. Citing the evening’s agenda as an example, they said scheduling public comment after the discussion item on the battery storage law gave residents an opportunity to comment on the proposed law. Councilwoman Siegel disagreed, saying that delaying public comment was a disservice to residents who came to address the Board but who may be pressed for time and could not wait until after other agenda items were discussed.
Route 118/Underhill Avenue improvements. (See Town Board, January 7, 2025.) The Board voted to split the previous bid specs into two bids: one for Parts 1 & 2 of the improvement plan that Supervisor Lachterman said were required as a condition of the Underhill Farms site plan and a third part for signal improvements, some additional road widening and an additional pedestrian crosswalk that the DOT wanted but which were not essential and could be done at a later date. He said that that Part 1& 2 bid specs were virtually the same as the 2024 bid specs. The supervisor said that any final decision on whether to implement Part 3, which would likely be at the town’s cost as the DOT said it does not have funds for the project, would depend on costs.
Bike storage. (See Town Board, January 14, 2025.) Re the proposed local law to regulate bike storage, a resident advised the Board that the parked bikes at the rack by the highway garage (the location that brought the issue to the Board’s attention) was apparently used by residents of the nearby Underhill Apartments. Supervisor Lachterman said he had spoken to the complex’s management about installing a bike rack on its property.
Navajo Fields. (See Town Board, January 21, 2025.) The Board voted to hire the town’s traffic consultant to review the applicant’s traffic study. Councilwoman Siegel repeated her concern that it didn’t make sense for the consultant to review a study that even the applicant said was incomplete, but the Board felt that if and when the consultant requests additional information and the applicant provides that information, the Board can request the consultant to review the additional information.
Updates
Fluoridation. Councilwoman Siegel reported that an appeal of the September ruling by the federal district court was filed on January 17 by the Justice Department on behalf of the EPA, the defendant in the lawsuit. She added that she did not know if the status of appeal would be changed given the new administration.
Hallocks Mill sewers. Councilwoman Siegel advised the 315 homeowners in the proposed extension district that the town did not receive the grant it has applied for last year and that the project was in limbo pending any additional outside funding. She added that an earlier news report that Congressman Lawler had obtained $10 million for the project was premature as the money had not yet been appropriated by Congress.
In a related matter, and in response to Ms. Siegel’s questions about the status of the engineering plans to use a 2021 grant of $5.8 million to upgrade four pump stations, Supervisor Lachterman said the town was working on how to finance the project and that the planning had been delayed by covid.
Peekskill I& I study. In response to Councilwoman Siegel’s comment about the delay in awarding the bid for the Peekskill I&I study (the bid, which was to send TV cameras through the sewer lines to identify problems, closed December 5, 2024), Supervisor Lachterman said the hold up was the need for bonding to finance the project. Ms. Siegel estimated that the low bid was about $185,000.
Field Home. In response to a question, the town clerk said that the RFP for the adaptive reuse of the building would be advertised on Wednesday.
The video of the meeting is available at: https://yorktownny.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1915