Washingtonville keeps comprehensive-plan public hearing open, schedules continued hearing for June 2

The Washingtonville Village Board left its public hearing on the proposed comprehensive plan open and scheduled a continuation for Monday, June 2, while staff reviews public comments and new materials.

The action matters because several residents asked for answers to detailed questions raised at earlier sessions, and board members warned that major changes to the draft plan would trigger additional review steps and could affect a moratorium tied to the process. Village staff said they would provide responses to written questions and comments by June 2.

Village planner Chris said the planner’s office is “gathering all the comments right now, and we are in the process of reviewing them,” and later told listeners, “Any questions or moral answer will be answered by June 2.” Board members and several residents pressed for more transparency and a clearer timeline for responses. The planner told the board that some new concepts had been presented in a recent meeting with a landlord and that a document had arrived hours before the session; staff said they would not comment further until all materials could be reviewed with the planner.

Board members explained the procedural constraints if major changes are proposed. One member said that if “major changes made, it has to go back to the process,” noting that significant revisions would require restarting parts of the county or interagency review. The board was also told that extending the moratorium again was not an option, meaning the board said it could not repeatedly lengthen the moratorium beyond the current allowance.

Residents asked how the board would respond to written submissions and whether answers would appear in the public meeting or by email. Chris told the room that answers to submitted questions would be provided by June 2 and that members of the public may still submit written comments by email while the hearing remains open. The planner also noted that the public hearing has been part of a process “over a 2 year process” and that prior meetings and public review sessions were open to the public.

The board did not adopt changes at the meeting. Instead, it directed staff to continue reviewing comments, promised written responses by June 2, and set that date as the continuation of the public hearing. If the board or staff determine substantive changes are necessary, the planner said staff would follow the required review sequence before any adoption vote.

The continuation for June 2 also aligns with several other public hearing reschedules the board approved at the same meeting, including local-law items on irrigation meters and sidewalk cafes.