Planning board refers disputed Clinton/Hyde Park access question to zoning board as applicant updates site plan

The Town of Clinton Planning Board voted Aug. 4 to ask its Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to interpret whether a June 4, 2024 ZBA determination that had effectively stayed review of the CECNY/6 Senses conference-center application has been satisfied. The board's referral follows a complex procedural history involving a Hyde Park local law, a court settlement and ongoing Article 78 litigation.

Chair Paul and other board members summarized the background: the applicant controls a large Clinton parcel that lacks direct Route 9G frontage and relies on a driveway across a smaller Hyde Park lot for access. The Hyde Park zoning administrator and ZBA had previously denied access for the proposed expanded use, and the Clinton ZBA's June 2024 determination stated the planning board could not proceed until "legal access to the project site has been restored by the Town of Hyde Park pursuant to either the Town of Hyde Park's ZBA reversing the Hyde Park denials, or the Town of Hyde Park zoning administrator rescinding the Hyde Park denials" (transcript references provided to the ZBA by planning staff).