Ancram planning board leans toward negative declaration for Homeland Towers after visual-impact debate

The Ancram Planning Board on Feb. 26 held a lengthy workshop on the Homeland Towers special use permit and the environmental assessment form (EAF), and, after extended discussion about visual impacts and alternatives, took a 3–2 straw vote directing staff and consultants to prepare a negative declaration. Chair (S1) opened the session and asked staff to summarize remaining questions; Nan (S5), the planner leading the EAF work, said six issues identified in Part 2 required a Part 3 significance analysis covering magnitude, duration and likelihood.

Opposing views about whether the tower's visual impacts are “significant” split the board. Jessica (S2) argued the new structure would change the valley's character, calling it a ‘‘significant impact’’ on scenic resources; other members said the effect is moderate and can be mitigated through camouflage or design changes. After clarifying that a negative declaration would close SEEKER environmental review and move issues to site-plan and special-use review, the board gave consultants instruction to draft the negative declaration and continue with site-plan criteria review. "It doesn't mean there are no impacts," Nan said; "it means the impacts don't rise to a higher level of evaluation."