DEC PROPOSES WIND ENERGY BIRD, BAT PROTECTION GUIDELINES:

State environmental officials want wind energy developers to pay closer attention to how their projects will affect birds and bats.

The Department of Environmental Conservation proposed a set of guidelines to promote wind power and minimize the danger to birds and bats.

Developers have been required to analyze how wind projects would affect wildlife before they are allowed to build and the new guidelines will standardize that review.

The guidelines released Thursday would determine how wind energy developers estimate bird and bat populations and how many would be killed by colliding with the giant towers and rotating blades

New York has six operating wind farms, five under construction and at least 30 more planned.

UPDATE: The guidance is available in .pdf here:

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:09 PM | Permalink

No donuts for you!

TOWN TO SET BRAKES ON DRIVE-THRU CODE:

The "battle of doughnuts" may be curbed next month. A rash of franchise requests from competing doughnut chains and fears of traffic tie-ups related to the locations has prompted the town board to consider a moratorium on drive-through businesses.

Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons are aggressively expanding in the Buffalo area, and Cheektowaga appears to be a prime target for both chains.

Last November, then-supervisor James J. Jankowiak said franchise location requests from Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons was "a battle of doughnuts for control of William Street." Both franchises seek drive through service for their selected sites.

However, fears of traffic backing up at both William Street locations- at Union Road for Tim Hortons, and at Raymond Avenue for Dunkin Donuts- has the board taking a closer look at its zoning code.

The board may impose a 90-day moratorium on permits and approvals for drive-through windows while it reviews the zoning code.

Supervisor Mary F. Holtz explained that the portion of the zoning code that regulates drive-through businesses was established in the 1970s and may require an update.

"It was geared toward drivethrough banks, not coffee shops, not this situation," Holtz said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:07 PM | Permalink

Village, Town at Intersection:

When Hudson Falls resident Brenda Ross said it was a pleasure to pay taxes on her property in South Carolina, her community's collective jaw dropped.

"Things are different there," Ross said during a public hearing discussing a merger of the Kingsbury and Hudson Falls court systems. "Taxes on six acres of land is $253 annually. I pay $6,000 in Hudson Falls. The reason is, South Carolina has one layer of government -- the county."

And while village residents largely rejected merging court services, all agreed taxes are too high and something must be done about it.

Some are proposing Hudson Falls dissolve into Kingsbury; some are suggesting Kingsbury dissolve into Hudson Falls to make a city; and some are taking a middle ground, proposing an increase in shared services.

The state Comptroller's Office has reported that, among the state's 932 towns, 554 villages, 62 cities and 57 counties, growth in outstanding debt is exceeding growth in revenue.

Between 1995 and 2005, outstanding debt increased 94 percent for local governments, while revenues grew 54 percent. Village debt statewide rose $800 million, to almost $1.7 million, from 1995 to 2005.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 03:22 PM | Permalink

The community I live in has a new website, created by the local development corporation. The site is a bit different from the usual municipal or Chamber of Commerce-style site. Please check it out.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 02:23 PM | Permalink

The trials of drafting a law to stop only a controversial project . .

DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM TO BE REWORKED:

At Tuesday night's Springfield town board meeting, the board did not decide to adopt the moratorium the planning board has been working on, in hopes of slowing down town development before a comprehensive plan is created.

However, after a long, heated discussion between board members and the public, the board agreed to form a committee in order to continue working out glitches in the proposed moratorium.

Town Supervisor Tom Armstrong said the board would leave it in the hands of the committee, which will be made up of two town board members and two planning board members, to come up with something new for the board to hear in a few months.

"As it (the proposed moratorium) stands, it looks like a blank check and I cannot vote for it," said Councilman Richard Rathbun, who said he had difficulty understanding some of the language in the proposed moratorium.

For example, the proposed moratorium said the town would not approve any "unprecedented" projects.

Rathbun said he believed the word unprecedented could be interpreted to mean just about anything and needs clarification..

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:46 PM | Permalink

TOWN HOPES COMPUTER PROGRAM PUTS COMPLAINTS ON FAST TRACK:

The system could be connected to Cheektowaga's online assessment system as well. From there, the system's possible uses could be endless.

Holtz explained that complaints would be logged by an "SBL" number used by the assessor's office to identify land parcels.

"That SBL numbers (system) would be (used as) the primary code for all complaints in the town," Holtz said.

A particularly deep pothole? The highway department could add it to their list and, using electronic maps, create an efficient route that would allow a repair crew to patch several potholes.

A vacant home or frequent sanitation violations? The housing department can follow up on it.

Sewer problems could be easily referred to the engineer's office.

"Every department in town could use this system," Holtz said, "and all of us would have a complete record of every complaint that comes in."

Councilmember Stan Kaznowski, who has seen the system, said he likes the idea of tracking complaints and the added accountability of the program.

"We can get back to residents and say, 'yes, this has been addressed,'" Kaznowski said. "That's been my biggest frustration" as a homeowner group president.

The largest task after purchasing the system, estimated to cost between $40,000-$50,000, would be training town employees to use it.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:41 PM | Permalink

After an extended hiatus, I'm back, though in a different form. There will be fewer article-related posts but hopefully with more pith, and the occasional comment about legal developments thrown in for seasoning. That means no more snark about the Town of Peru. Maybe.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:09 PM | Permalink