Lawmakers consider merging two city commissions
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Merging Kingston’s landmarks and heritage commissions into a single entity would help streamline the review process for projects needing city approval, a city attorney says.
“We currently have what can only be categorized as an extremely uncoordinated review process, whereby applicants have to appear in front of numerous committees that do not necessarily review their application in a logical sequence,” Assistant Corporation Counsel Daniel Gartenstein told members of the Common Council’s Laws and Rules Committee on Wednesday. He said project applicants often go to the city Planning Board for an environmental review and site plan approval, then to the city’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission or Heritage Area Commission.
Oftentimes, significant changes are made as a result of reviews by the landmarks and heritage commissions, Gartenstein said. He said that leads to applicants essentially “chasing their tails” in front of the various boards, which costs the applicant more money for legal and expert fees.
Legislation calls for merging the Heritage Area Commission and Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission into one entity that would share most of the powers each group currently has, Gartenstein said. He said the new entity would be the Historic Landmarks and Heritage Area Commission and would have seven members and three alternates.
The landmarks commission currently has seven members, while the Heritage Area Commission has 11. Neither board uses alternates, who step in when a regular member is absent or has a conflict of interest.
Gartenstein said the legislation also provides a way to remove members from the new commission. He said there currently is no provision to remove a member from either commission.
“We’ve had situations in the recent past where seated members have just stopped coming to meetings,” Gartenstein said. “Where seated members, despite the fact they haven’t come to meetings, have basically refused to resign.”
The Laws and Rules Committee took no action on the proposed legislation Wednesday. Gartenstein asked committee members to review the proposal and come to next month’s meeting with questions and concerns. He said the intent is to hold a public hearing on the proposal, as well as to refer it to other agencies, such as the city and Ulster County planning boards, for review.
Some residents in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting suggested the legislation also should be reviewed by the chairs of the landmarks and heritage commissions.
In response to other questions, Gartenstein said he does not believe anything in the legislation reduces checks and balances on the way the commissions conduct their reviews. He also said the legislation would ensure none of the reviewing bodies contradicts a decision already made by another, which, in turn, would reduce the amount of costly litigation from applicants arguing a decision was made in an “arbitrary or capricious” manner.
Additionally, Gartenstein said, any projects requiring both city Planning Board and Historic Landmarks and Heritage Area commission reviews should be done simultaneously. He said the two boards could hold a joint meeting on such applications.