Planning Board approves Part 2 EAF and conditionally approves site plan for agricultural warehouse

The Town of Goshen Planning Board approved a Part 2 Short Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) and voted to conditionally approve a major site plan for an agricultural warehouse and onion packaging facility proposed on roughly 10.66 acres along Pulaski Highway (County Road 6).

The board approved the Part 2 EAF during the meeting after staff and the applicant’s representatives discussed form clarifications and the project’s Agricultural Data Statement. The planning board then considered and approved a draft resolution of conditional approval incorporating procedural history, identification of plans and a required negative declaration if the board proceeded with the SEQRA determination.

Board members and staff focused on technical corrections and specific conditions appended to the resolution. The board directed that the Part 2 form be listed among the project plans and asked that correspondence from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation field offices (referred to in the record as "New North Country Ecological Services") be included in the plan list. The resolution text was revised on the record to add the Town of Goshen application, owner endorsement, site inspection reference, the short form environmental assessment (dated May 30 as referenced), and an agricultural data statement.

Members also revised several condition texts. They removed ambiguous phrasing in the procedural history and clarified identification-of-plans items. In the lighting condition, board members agreed the resolution should require “no off-site glare, and the lighting design shall be dark-sky friendly fixtures.” The board also added a condition requiring that the Part 2 EAF approved that evening be included among the project submissions.

The board raised concerns about existing on-site migrant housing structures behind the warehouse area. A board member reported the structures appeared unsafe, and the resolution was amended to direct that if the town building inspector determines those structures present a public-health or safety threat, the applicant shall repair, mitigate or remove them to the satisfaction of the building department. The board allowed an alternate remedy to removal—mitigation or repair—if acceptable to the building inspector.

After the revisions and an on-the-record motion, the planning board voted to approve the conditional major site plan resolution as modified.

The resolution and Part 2 EAF will be revised to reflect the changes discussed on the record, and the board recorded the approval motion and vote during the meeting.