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Council member pushes to resubmit state planning grant after planning board raises concerns
Summary
A council member moved to reapply for the New York State Environmental Protection Fund planning and zoning grant to fund a multi‑year comprehensive plan update; the Hillsdale planning board’s letter urged more community input, and the board agreed to resubmit while seeking additional review from advisory boards.
A council member leading the grant effort urged the Hillsdale Town Board to resubmit an Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) smart‑growth planning and zoning grant the town applied for last year, saying the application is largely complete and would pay for a professional planner.
"I spent probably 1000 hours on this application," the council member said, arguing the town should seize the roughly $100,000 opportunity and that the local match (about 10%) can be reserved and pushed to later years. The board then discussed a letter from the Hillsdale planning board, read into the record, that said it had not had adequate notice to review the amended resolution and raised concerns about whether community input had been gathered.
The letter, read aloud by another board member, quoted Planning Board Chair Barbara Olsen as saying the planning board "is quite concerned" that accepting grant money could tie the hands of a future comprehensive plan committee and that the town should review grant principles before applying. The council member responded that the EPF grant is intended to help hire consultants who would design and run a public engagement process, not to impose immediate policy changes.
Board members debated whether to delay submission to allow planning and zoning boards additional review or to submit now and decline any award later if necessary. One member suggested a special meeting in the days before the July 31 deadline; the council member said the application is nearly finished and asked for limited additional help to finalize it. The board agreed to move forward with resubmission while the applicant will circulate a near‑final draft to advisory boards and provide a short review window before filing.
