The Pine Plains Town Board on Thursday, April 16, signaled support for a zoning change that could clear a path for the purchase and redevelopment of the former Lia’s Mountaview Restaurant property, while declining to publicly take up a recommendation from the town’s Ethics Board.
At an April 8 Planning Board meeting, Angela Somma said she is considering buying the 3.1-acre site at 7685 Route 82 and redeveloping it as a multiuse venue. Her concept includes a bar and limited food service during the week, along with weekend events. She also raised the possibility of adding several tiny homes for overnight guests.
Town officials said that proposal is complicated by the property’s split zoning. The parcel lies in both the Hamlet Main Street and Hamlet Residential districts, and officials said the more restrictive zoning would apply to the site. Town Attorney Warren Replansky said the issue could be addressed through a zoning change, a process that would require Planning Board review, environmental review, a public hearing and adoption of a local law.
Board members appeared receptive. Town Attorney Warren Replansky said the issue could be fixed either by requiring the property owner to apply or by having the town act on its own, which he suggested would be simpler for the applicant. He said the town would likely need a recommendation from the Planning Board, followed by a local law, public hearing, and environmental review.
“I’ll contact the Planning Board and see if we can expedite the process,” Replansky said.
Later in the meeting, Town Board member Kevin Walsh said the board needed to vote on a proposal by the Ethics Board. When Supervisor Brian Walsh replied that Replansky wanted to discuss that matter in executive session, Kevin Walsh at first pushed back, then demurred: “All right, we’ll go in there and discuss it. We’ll have to vote on it after.”
The board later went into executive session, but did not discuss or vote on the Ethics Board’s recommendation when it resumed open session. The details of the recommendation remain unclear and have not been disclosed to the public.
The meeting also featured a detailed presentation from Nelson Zayas, second lieutenant of the Pine Plains Rescue Squad, who argued that Dutchess County EMS response statistics do not fully capture how emergency care is delivered in a rural volunteer system. According to county data from the fourth quarter of 2025, the Pine Plains Rescue Squad was unable to respond 23% of the time, compared with 24% in 2024, while its average response time was 12 minutes, 52 seconds, down from 15 minutes, 31 seconds in 2024.
Zayas said he began tracking calls himself, after recent coverage of response times “didn’t sit right” with him. Based on 73 EMS calls in the first quarter of 2026, he said 13 would likely be recorded as calls Pine Plains did not respond to, or 17.8%, then argued the more accurate number was eight calls, or 12.3 %, because in several cases Pine Plains EMTs were already on scene, had treated the patient before the ambulance arrived, or the ambulance was canceled before it was officially logged. The county has not yet released its first quarter data for 2026.
Zayas told the board his own calculations put Pine Plains’ average Priority 1 response time at 9 minutes, 27 seconds, and urged officials to compare his records with county first-quarter data when it is released. Board members discussed whether the county EMS commissioner should be asked to consider a way of capturing cases in which an EMT reaches the patient before the ambulance is formally recorded on scene.
Town Engineer Ray Jurkowski said Pine Plains is still dealing with the strain of an aging water system after a cold winter. He said two additional leaks were recently found on Poplar Avenue, bringing the total discovered this season to five. All involved galvanized lines, many more than 50 years old, and were found beneath pavement or in areas typically plowed, where frost had penetrated more deeply than usual.
Jurkowski also said new development could require significant water-infrastructure investment. In discussing the Hudson Company project to install a lumber mill and showroom at 2436 Route 83, he said the property’s required fire-flow capacity is 1,200 gallons per minute and could require a new 12-inch main from Lake Road to the site. He said applicants for a proposed grocery store at 7723 South Main St., who currently are seeking Planning Board and Zoning Board approvals, might also need fire-suppression capacity and suggested the projects could potentially share infrastructure costs. He added that a summer construction start discussed by the Hudson Company appeared unlikely unless the necessary water-improvement plans had already been submitted for approval.
The board also heard a request for approval from the Pine Plains Police Department on a pending Axon proposal involving the purchase of police technology, including translation and report-writing tools, though board members said they still did not have enough cost information to make a decision. The department did not provide a cost estimate during the meeting but said it would email one to the board.
In other business, the board approved a $3,183 contract for geese control at the Stissing Lake beach; hired a highway laborer at $22 an hour and authorized related training; accepted the retirement of highway secretary Karen Pineda, effective June 26, and authorized advertising the vacancy; approved the June 28 triathlon; accepted Gail Mellow’s resignation as chair of the Conservation Advisory Council and appointed Lauren Kaplan to succeed her; appointed Jay Osofsky to the Board of Assessment Review; appointed Jen Blackburn recreation director at a salary of $11,000; appointed Megan Brenner camp director at a salary of $8,000; and approved up to $2,000 for beautification plantings in town barrels and planters expected to be installed before Memorial Day.
The next Town Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 21.
Re: Zoning at Lia’s. I happen to remember watching the zoning meeting where the decision to make Lia’s property 2 zones was made. My thought at the time was that it was done with almost no discussion, no apparent forethought and without any input from the land owner. It was almost a throw away comment. I was not impressed with the process at the time and hope that decisions are made more thoughtfully with the wishes of the land owner being a high priority.
The town lawyer is recommending the town just changing the zoning for them instead of having the actual owner apply for a zoning change? thats a little unfair don’t you think? This person came to the planning board just to talk about buying it, and it seems like the red carpet? Meanwhile we have someone wanting to bring a grocery store and the town lawyer wants to throw them through the ringer? Two sides here….
As regards the zoning issues, there are 2 different zoning considerations being asked for here, which is why it’s different, Janet. We have zoning that prevents big box stores by restricting the size of as new building. That zoning saved us when Dollar Store was trying to come here because the developer across the street wanted to make $$ on his land. The Lia’s property is owned by a savvy businessman who wants to sell the property. So now that everyone knows what’s required, they can negotiate that. Pine Plains is a business desert right now because we have no infrastructure to welcome new business easily.
As regards the executive session on the ethics recommendation, we can only surmise that this has to do with the Flock camera contract and the town supervisor’s actions around it. To be generous, being a fire chief requires a different skill set than being a town supervisor. As fire chief, a person has to make snap decisions and expect immediate cooperation from a crew. No negotiating. As town supervisor, one serves everyone, regardless of their political or religious beliefs. Negotiation is 95% of the job. A town supervisor only has one vote, and if he wants something to happen, he has to negotiate with his Board and his townspeople. He has no power. This was an error our town supervisor made because this is not his skill set. The other error he made was in lying about what he did.
He shouldn’t be town supervisor, if it’s not his skill set, Darrah. Are you out defending the new grocery store coming to town? I don’t see them rolling the red carpet for zoning ? Savy business man bought Lia’s a few years ago and could have done this? But is selling it because he couldn’t do anything with it? Where’s the wedding venue event space he was turning it into? Looks like he’s making a buck…