Cobleskill Explosive Over Church Delay

COBLESKILL - The meeting room was packed with a public audience as the Zoning Board of Appeals met last Thursday to mull over the Zion Lutheran Church’s use variance. 

The high-profile proposed project for the church, which involves transforming the place of worship into a restaurant with live performances that may serve alcoholic drinks, has drawn many eyes and the overwhelming approval from the public.

However, it fell upon the ZBA to discuss the legality of the situation, a necessary step in the project’s process. The Board was quick to explain that they are analyzing whether or not the business proposal fits in line with the local zoning laws, and not the project itself.

The Zion Lutheran Church is currently zoned for residential use, allowing no more than four units. While the business could feasibly achieve a use variance for a commercial property, it would have to show reasonable returns that outweigh the possibility of building an apartment complex there instead.

The Board was eager to hear from everyone in the room, and gave a generous public comment period to allow audience input. 

There was a vast majority that was in full support of the project. People from all walks of life, including prior congregation members, people within the performing arts, tourism advocates, and citizens that wanted a new restaurant rallied together to hope for its success.

Nathan Davis, a prominent member of both the nearby library and Masonic lodge, came forward to vouch for the business owner’s willingness to work with the community, stating that they would offer overflow parking for other events free of charge.

“We need someone like that in the community,” Mr. Davis said. “I think it says a lot.”

There was one outlying voice, a family now living within the old parsonage, that was concerned about their parking and sidewalk access, but they are looking forward to working with the business owner as well.

However, even though the Board was emboldened by the public, they determined that the application does not show the reasonable return that they were looking for. They carried a motion to table the matter until next month to give the owner time to make the necessary changes.

The community was furious after the ruling, with many confused on why the matter is taking so long.

“Cobleskill needs more vitality,” said one anonymous citizen before expressing their disappointment. “They’ll just keep putting it off until it dies.”

Mr. Davis offered insight of his own, saying “This is very frustrating. It’s placing a lot of undue burden on the owner.”

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26th, where the community hopes more progress will be made.