Grand Island conservation panel finds First Street stream crossing consistent with LWRP, sets conditions

The Grand Island Conservation Advisory Board on Tuesday voted that a proposed First Street stream crossing is “consistent with” the town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) provided the applicant accept a set of terms and conditions.

The board’s recommendation — which will be sent to the town building department so the town board and permitting staff can act — seeks to protect tributary habitat and the Niagara River coastal zone by requiring setbacks, limits on disturbance and compensatory mitigation for aquatic habitat loss.

Board members said the site is a tributary headwater area and part of the island’s riparian corridor system, and that the applicant’s current drawings are insufficiently detailed about the bridge location and construction footprint. Paul Lechner, a conservation advisory board member, told the group the creek and its riparian…