Goshen planning board approves multiple extensions and site plans; discusses floodplain concerns for truck-repair site

The Town of Goshen Planning Board on Feb. 20 approved a set of extensions and development approvals while reserving further review of a proposed truck-repair and vehicle-storage site that the board and staff said sits largely in the mapped floodplain.

The board voted to extend the conditional preliminary major-subdivision approval for the Youngs Grove (also called Reager) project and to grant a six-month extension of site-plan approval and a matching extension for the special permit for the IWS Goshen transfer station upgrades on Hartley Road. The board also approved conditional or amended site-plan resolutions for the Gerda minor subdivision, Lunar Realty LLC (operating as Great Dane), and Unipline (conversion of a warehouse to light industry), each subject to the conditions read into the record.

Why it matters: several of the approvals include conditions tied to compliance with town-engineer memoranda, deed and driveway recording, removing outdoor storage from regulated floodplain areas, and other documentation the board required before signing plats or issuing final approvals. The truck-repair proposal on 6-and-a-half Station Road prompted a lengthy board and staff discussion about whether the site can be shown to be "safe from flooding or ponding" under the town's floodplain-overlay rules and whether the extensive outdoor vehicle storage on the site is a preexisting nonconforming use that requires additional planning-board or ZBA review.

Most important facts

- Youngs Grove/Reager: The planning board received a letter from an engineering firm requesting two 90-day extensions of conditional preliminary approval (the applicant asserted preliminary approval would expire on or about Feb. 20). The board moved and approved an extension date of Aug. 21, 2025 for the conditional approval. The extension request and the applicant's summary of activities were entered into the record. (Applicant correspondence from Steve Esposito, Engineering and Surveying Properties.)

- IWS Goshen transfer station (Hartley Road): Cornerstone Engineering and Geology on behalf of IWS Transfer Systems requested a six-month extension for the site plan and for the special permit that would have otherwise expired Feb. 20. The planning board approved a six-month extension, tying site-plan and special-permit timelines to Aug. 21, 2025. (Letter from Kristen Thordahl, Cornerstone Engineering and Geology.)

- Gerda minor subdivision (Maple Avenue / Gerda Lane): The board opened the public hearing, heard one public comment in support from resident Chris Taylor and adopted a…