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Planning board declares itself SEQR lead for 1011 Second Avenue; SHPO signs off on phase‑3 archaeological data-recovery plan
Summary
The Troy Planning Board unanimously voted to assume SEQR lead-agency status for the 1011 Second Avenue proposal after the applicant provided SHPO concurrence letters and an archaeologist described a phase-3 data-recovery plan for prehistoric quarry and campsite deposits on the site.
The planning board voted to assume lead-agency status under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) for the proposed redevelopment at 1011 Second Avenue. Attorney John Ahern, representing the applicant, said the team provided the board and staff with two State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) letters: a May 15 SHPO concurrence regarding above-ground/historic-district visual impacts and a May 28 SHPO letter concurring with the applicant's proposed phase‑3 archaeological data-recovery plan for prehistoric quarry and campsite deposits on the site.
Archaeologist Justin DeBrigillio of Hartigan Archaeological Associates described prior testing that found quarry-related chertworking debris and a low-lying area interpreted as a repeated riverside campsite: "...it's a quarry site... and the material being quarried, we call it chert..." He explained the mitigation approach: where avoidance is infeasible the project will proceed with a focused phase‑3 data‑recovery excavation in select areas (not a 100% excavation), 3‑D laser/topographic recording, controlled excavation trenches, artifact cataloguing and report, and transfer of curated collections to an accepted repository. He said tribal consultation with the Stockbridge‑Munsee community has already occurred in on‑site visits and that the Stockbridge‑Munsee may visit during fieldwork; the applicant indicated willingness to cooperate and accommodate tribal preferences for curation and display.
Board members and members of the public asked procedural and substantive questions about SEQR timelines and the scope of the phase‑3 plan; several residents urged thorough, independent evaluation of the SEQR materials and stronger community notice. The board made a formal motion and unanimously voted to assume lead-agency status for SEQR so it can oversee the environmental review and evaluate the applicant's forthcoming full SEQR submission, third‑party peer reviews and SHPO/tribal coordination. The board instructed staff to request the full SEQR/DEIS materials, traffic and engineering studies and to arrange third‑party technical reviews as needed once the applicant files the full package.
