Town of Clinton keeps hospitality overlay hearing open while comprehensive plan and county review continue

The Town of Clinton on May 12 kept a public hearing open on a proposed Local Law Establishing a Hospitality Overlay District as board members said they want the town's comprehensive plan completed or a moratorium extended before finalizing the regulation.

Supervisor: "But the comp plan, we assume, will take 18 to 24 months," the presiding official said, adding that town counsel advised the board it may be able to extend its moratorium past the one-year mark to wait for the comprehensive plan.

Elliot, a board member, said the draft will exclude the Omega property. "The Omega property will be excluded from this law," he said, calling Omega a long-standing, preexisting nonconforming educational institution and noting that exclusion will be reflected in a later draft.

At public comment, Dan Burnt urged the board to consider protections for property owners who bought land before the proposal. "What about the people that purchased a property that were not of financial means to submit an application...could you change this so that the dates apply not only to existing applications, but basically to anybody that purchased a property before that date?" he asked.

The board voted to keep the public hearing open until June 9 at 6:15 p.m. to allow county planning review and additional public input; multiple board members said county planning comments are expected and necessary before a final vote. The town clerk had read the official notice that copies of the proposed local law are available at the clerk's office.

Next steps: The board will accept county planning feedback and present a revised draft reflecting the Omega exclusion and any other recommended edits before returning the matter to the agenda for further action.