After months of public outcry, on Thursday the Montgomery Town Board approved Local Law No. 2 of 2020 establishing a six-month moratorium on the review and approval of warehouses and distribution centers.

The Board ruled 5-0 in favor of the moratorium. This law will become effective upon filing with the secretary of state, which is expected to be sometime this week.

“This is something that I felt at least has come from the community,” said Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian Maher. “Not one section of the community but through the community as a whole.”

The Town Board approved the moratorium after recognizing the impact that warehouse or distribution center development in the Town may have on the health, safety and general welfare of the Town, its inhabitants and visitors and upon existing uses, public services, traffic and the environment. These circumstances require that the Town Board review and update the Town’s Comprehensive Plan in order to ensure that existing and future warehouses and distribution centers are located in the appropriate zoning districts within the Town.

In response, the Town Board has hired Nelson, Pope & Voorhis LLC, a planning and consulting firm, and has established a Comprehensive Plan Committee to provide guidance and recommendations regarding updating the Comprehensive Plan.

During the effective period of this Local Law no permits shall be issued for the permitting, construction and/or installation of warehouses or distribution centers in any districts within the Town without the approval of the Town Board of the Town of Montgomery, which approval will not be considered except in the event of proven hardship. The Town Planning Board shall not accept any application, grant any approval to, or continue the review of a subdivision plat, site plan, special use permit or other permit that includes the permitting, construction and/or development of a warehouse or distribution center in any districts within the Town or would have as a result of the enlargement, relocation or modification of an existing warehouse or distribution center.

The Town Zoning Board of Appeals shall not accept any application or grant any approval for a variance or other permit that would have as a result the permitting, construction and development of a warehouse or distribution center in any districts within the Town. Meanwhile the Town Building Department shall not accept any building permit application or grant any Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Compliance for any warehouse or distribution center.

However, projects can be exempt from the moratorium and may proceed with the usual permitting and licensing procedures that are currently provided by the Town Code. One exemption includes any warehouse or distribution center that has received a Negative Declaration from the lead agency charged with reviewing the proposed project pursuant to Title 6, Chapter VI, Part 617 of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Regulations (SEQR) or if the lead agency has accepted a fully completed Draft Environmental Impact Statement for review in the event that a Positive Declaration pursuant to the SEQR regulations has been issued.

Any proposed warehouse or distribution center having a maximum cumulative gross area of 40,000 square feet and no more than three truck docks per parcel is also exempt from the moratorium. In addition, any proposed warehouse or distribution center that has received final project approval from the Town Planning Board prior to the effective date of this Local Law is exempt from the moratorium as well.

Any property owner affected by this Local Law who suffers an unnecessary and extraordinary hardship due to the enactment and application of this Local Law may apply to the Montgomery Town Board in writing for a variance from strict compliance with this Local Law upon submission of proof of such unnecessary hardship.

Any person, firm or entity who violates any of the provisions of this Local Law shall be subject to such penalties as may otherwise be provided by applicable local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations of the Town for violations. Those not in compliance with the Local Law will also receive a fine not to exceed $2,500 per day from the date that any action is taken in contravention of this Local Law or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, together with any other civil remedies available at law. Violators will also be ordered to cease any and all such actions which conflict with the Local Law and remove any construction that may have taken place in violation of the Local Law.
Some residents were upset about the approval of the moratorium, claiming it would eliminate jobs during this harsh economic time.

“Unemployment at 10 percent, every construction company sitting and we in Montgomery will halt 90 percent of projects that want to come here for the next year,” said Nick Fitzpatrick. “Sounds like a good plan huh?”

Gerald Jacobowitz, the founder and of counsel at Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLP, went as far as to write a six-page letter to the Town Board explaining why adopting a moratorium is a poor idea for the Town.

“The economic tsunami caused by the pandemic of coronavirus clearly supports encouragement of economic activity, not obstructing as will be the effect of a moratorium,” he said.

Others commended the Town Board for their decision.

“Great job Town Board and Brian,” Todd Page said.

Unlike the naysayers, Supervisor Maher does not believe that the moratorium will be hard on the Town’s economy.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a job killer. I don’t think it’s going to keep people out of work,” he said. “The reason why is because it was very specific that in this moratorium law we had an ability as a board to take a hard look at each warehouse over 40,000 square feet and then make a determination as a board of whether or not to grant a specific hardship. This is a pause. That waiver process as part of the moratorium allows us to pause, take a much deeper look at each of these developments and to see if they are in fact good fits for our community and worth receiving a waiver.”