Auto shop looking for a lift

AMENIA — Among those issues discussed at a pared-down Aug. 26 Planning Board meeting, an affordable housing project was put on hold, while a minor renovation project was given the go ahead.

Auto shop seeks site plan

Mike DeLango, owner of DeLango Automotive, submitted a site plan to the Planning Board proposing to install a new lift at his business on Route 343 near the center of the Amenia hamlet.

Under the town’s new zoning laws, DeLango is required to fill out a site plan to present to the board. The board accepted the plan and it has been forwarded to the county for its approval.

Powder House Road affordable

housing rescheduled

Progress on the proposed affordable housing project near the corner of Powder House Road and Old Route 22 was delayed, at least until the next Planning Board meeting, set for Thursday, Sept. 23. It was expected that project engineer, Dan Wheeler of D.F. Wheeler Associates, would be submitting a site plan to the board, but he called before the meeting to say the plans weren’t ready, according to Chairman Bill Flood.

The large blue building’s original owners received a variance on the property in 1979, but built the structure, which was originally an apartment building, without a site plan or various required health approvals. In 1997, the state’s health department closed the building due to building code violations.

At a Planning Board meeting last year, Mike Segelken, the town’s building inspector, said that he had visited the site and that major repairs would be needed to bring the building up to code. Flood said that the current owners have been digging on the property recently, inspecting the existing septic system.

The new owners are looking into converting the building into six units of affordable housing, with two units on each floor. Flood said the plans are still in the conceptual stage and no architectural plans have been submitted to the board.

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