Livingston Manor site plan given conditional approval after revisions

The Town of Rockland Planning Board gave conditional site-plan approval to the Livingston Manor project at Main and Pleasant streets after the developer agreed to several revisions and the board authorized the chair to sign the approval document.

Presenter John Furst outlined changes made after the prior public hearing and a County 239 review, including pedestrian access to amenities, a 'parking banking' area to accommodate future needs, a lighting plan and placement of bike racks at the rail-trail entrance. The submission also addressed entrance/exit lane sight-distance and signage by the laundry, added landscape screening along a vacant lot, relocation and screening of a dumpster between the brewery and restaurant, and a catch-basin repair and cleaning plan on Main Street. The applicant reduced impervious surface area and proposed pervious pavers; the draft removed an earlier bio-retention element because of that reduction.

Consultant Helen Budrock supplied a draft conditional-approval document and reviewed edits the board requested. The Code Enforcement office characterized the project as a major-impact use; after Helen agreed to correct a few minor items in the draft, Ryan Edwards moved and Elizabeth Williams seconded a motion authorizing Chairperson Jennifer Grossman to sign the conditional site-plan review document presented by Delaware Engineering. The motion carried and the board recorded final approval for the project, subject to the corrected conditional document being executed and filed with the Town Clerk.

Chairperson Grossman suggested the applicant meet with Trout Unlimited to discuss stream-bank stabilization; the board noted that Trout Unlimited and other programs (Environmental Facilities Corp; Friends of the Upper Delaware) can offer funding or volunteer assistance. Helen Budrock will file the final corrected document for the chair's signature.