This just in

| 24 Dec 2015 | 01:37

— The Monroe Town Board will meet Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Monroe Senior Center on Mine Road "for discussion and possible acceptance of FGEIS for The Proposed Amendments to the Chapter 57 Zoning Code and the attached Zoning Table as well as any other matters that come before the board."

The announcement is contained in a public notice emailed to The Photo News by Deputy Town Clerk Alexandria Trovato on Thursday, Dec. 24.

The announcement ends: "By order of the Acting Supervisor, Gerard McQuade."

At a public information meeting on Friday, Dec. 18, McQuade said he no longer had the support of the board and that he expected the new town board would consider the issue in 2016. A story about that meeting appears in this week's Photo News.

What has change since that meeting is unknown at the moment.

ConsiderWhat is known is that the Monroe Town Board will need a super majority (four out of five votes) to approved the proposed zoning amendments because the Orange County Planning Department found the town's draft environmental impact statement wanting.

The Monroe Conservation Commission also urged the town board to postpone the vote. Both the commission and the county planning department criticized the town for its lack of pubic input.

At a public hearing on Nov. 20, Councilmen Dennis McWatters and Rick Colon sought to postpone vote.

Although he voted that night not to postpone that vote, Supervisor Harley E. Doles III said in an interview that he could no longer support the changes until two new councilmen take their seats in January. He restated that position two weeks later.

Tony Cardone and Mike McGinn will be sworn in as town board members Jan. 1, replacing McWatters and Daniel Burke.

- Bob Quinn