The Planning Board continued the public hearing on the Rockledge workforce-housing concept Jan. 21 after several hours of testimony from the applicants legal and technical team and from neighbors who raised safety, wetland and stone-wall preservation concerns.

Dan Leary, attorney for the applicant, and Christina Dushorn of the project team told the board the proposal stems from an approved subdivision and noted recent findings from multiple wetland biologists. They said new facts including updated wetland delineations and changes in state DEC rules effective Jan. 1 warrant reconsideration of the originally proposed internal driveway alignment. The team argued that an alternate driveway alignment would reduce impacts to stone walls and vernal-pool habitat and lessen the need for major earthmoving across the historic landscape.

Neighbors and multiple speakers, including Jeff Potent and Steve Martini, urged the board to consider public-safety and visibility problems on Acroooke/Acrewoke (transcript: Acrofood/Acrecooke) Road and to note that an earlier unauthorised cut on the site had produced an "eyesore." Several commenters also said that large stone walls were damaged during earlier site activity. Concerned residents and some board members recommended a DEC jurisdictional determination for wetlands because the states updated regulations expand the review area and may require permits or mitigation if the proposed septic testing system or driveway work falls within that zone.

The applicant asked the board to consider new analyses and case-law arguments that would allow re-evaluation of the subdivision-era access note and the original map approvals; the applicant cited changed circumstances and recent ecological findings as a reason to revisit the earlier access plan. Board members noted the legal and precedent-setting implications of reopening prior decisions and, while acknowledging the applicants evidence, requested further engineering details, sight-distance calculations, and a formal DEC jurisdictional determination. Several residents requested the board keep the hearing open so additional public comments and reviewer reports could be received; the board continued the hearing to Feb. 18 and asked staff to post updated documents by Feb. 10 to allow adequate public review.

Next steps: Applicant to submit DEC jurisdictional-determination request, updated sight-distance and slope/cut analyses, and revised engineering plans; planning board to accept public comments through the continuation and to review the additional materials before any substantive re-evaluation of prior approvals.