The Peekskill Planning Commission convened at 7:30 p.m. on May 12, 2026, in the Common Council Chamber to hold a public hearing on a proposed floating solar array, continue public hearings on two site plan applications, refer two variance requests to the Zoning Board of Appeals, and elect officers. The meeting included extensive public testimony and board deliberation.
We have um the first item on our agenda tonight is a public hearing um regarding uh final site plan approval for uh a proposed floating solar array on the Campbell Reservoir on property located within the R1A one family zoning district. It's technically 1,000 Lindbergh place. Uh the applicant is working power ECP LLC uh 2400 Market Street. The owner of the property is the city of Peakskill. Um before we start, I just want to say that I know there's a lot of information out there. I know there's something been on CBS News. Um there's been a petition going around. Uh even though the this is a public hearing for final site plan approval, it does not mean we're not voting on final site plan tonight. So this is the beginning of the process, not the end of the process. Okay. Final site plan would be if we go if we go forward of the project would be the final step in the process, but we need to do environmental review. And so the main effort on our part tonight is to declare ourselves lead agency under the New York State seeker rules, so that we can then take in information, listen to public comment, and there'll be a series of meetings um before most likely before any vote is taken. So um there's information that's been posted on the website. We hope going we're gonna try going forward to put um something on the city's web page website so that the boy can post additional information. Um we've received letters from uh 15 people so far that I have here. Um, but I will read those names in a couple of minutes. But first we need to open officially open the public hearing so we can start the process. But just be assured where there's no vote tonight to say yes or no on the project. Okay, it's just to listen, listen to public comments, and then to move forward. So could I have a motion to open a public hearing? So moved. Can I have a second? Second. All in favor. Okay. So the public hearing is open. The process that we're gonna do is we will have the applicant give a presentation, hopefully answer some of the questions that are already out there, then we will open it to public discussion. We just ask the public to try to keep your comments brief. And um, you know, if somebody said something that you agree with, you if you want to come up, you can come up, state your name and just say I agree with everything. But hopefully, just not to repeat the same thing over and over again. Um call up the applicant to start their presentation. Um and just for clarification, the nonprofit organization, they can uh identify themselves. They're technically they're the applicant, even though it says here working power ECP LLC as the consultants who are won't be the ownership of it, but it is a local group, so do I need to let's say screen share here. Is that coming up for everybody? It'll be in a second, I think. There we go. Yeah, it's up. Okay. Okay. So I'll just uh begin to introduce the. Thank you, um, planning commission uh members for having us here tonight. Uh we are uh one of the applicants. We are the ecological citizens project. My name is Jason Angel. I am a co-director of the local nonprofit organization, the ecological citizens project. I'm joined here with uh my partner Johnson Apicello, who's also a co-director of the Ecological Citizens Project. Uh we have worked as a local nonprofit organization in the city of Peakskill for over a decade on initiatives like the Peakskill Community Congress, which uh launched Peakskill Walks. Uh most recently launching Peak Skill Regeneration Farm in partnership with the City of Peakskill, which is a public food garden located at Lapore Park on City Parkland that provides uh free food from that's locally grown and fresh for city residents whenever they need it. Uh in addition, over our last 15 years, um we are an environmentally focused organization. Uh we helped launch the community choice aggregation that moved 40,000 residents in the Hudson Valley over to renewable energy.