Planning board keeps Mill Street public hearing open after engineers, neighbors debate flood, drainage and trail plans

The City of Hudson Planning Board on April 8 kept the public hearing open on a proposed development on Mill Street and set a continuation for May 13, after engineers described stormwater and floodplain mitigation and neighbors questioned whether the project would increase flooding in the low-lying neighborhood.

The board heard a technical presentation from the project civil engineer and other members of the applicant team about grading, a proposed hammerhead turnaround, trail connections and stormwater design, followed by more than an hour of public comment from neighbors who said the site floods from multiple directions and worried new development would worsen existing conditions.

The developer’s civil engineer, Andy Howard, told the board the design includes a full “hammerhead” turnaround at the end of Mill Street that “complies with New York City Fire Code requirements” and can be installed without disturbing the adjacent trail. Howard also said the team worked with the city’s Department of Public Works and that DPW “have no objection to this design.”

On the issue of the trail connection to North Third Street, Howard said the slope is steep — he cited existing slopes exceeding 40 percent at some locations and said the proposed alignment still contains sections…