THE TENT WILL STAY
Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News
03-02-10 - 2:45 p.m. - The Chatham Zoning Board of Appeals approved the indefinite use of a tent at the PS/21 during a meeting on Thursday that took place on February 25. ZBA Chairman Dave Everett said the approval clears the way for the not-for-profit Performance Spaces for the 21st Century to continue using the tent for events and performances. The ZBA’s decision eliminates a five-year sunset clause on its first special use permit, which was granted in April 2005 and allowed the use of a tent at the facility.
“We initially limited its use to five years, and now they have applied to make it permanent. We granted that approval,” said Everett.
The 80-foot by 60-foot tent, described as a Saddle Span Concert Tent, had been the center of a contentious debate among residents in the Town of Chatham. Some some neighbors of PS/21, which is located on Route 66 north of the Village of Chatham, voiced opposition to its use. Other residents favored it. At the January public hearing on the application, officials said they had received more than 120 letters in support of the continued use of the tent and 8 opposing it.
In a letter to Chatham business owners, the opponents to the tent complained that performances under the tent “have been a problem for the neighbors for years. We hear them as noise, because the sound becomes distorted as it travels. We are forced to shut our windows and doors in order to not be disturbed by the summer-long performances.” The letter was signed by PS/21 neighbors Tricia and Terry Lasky, Colleen Safford, John Manning, Amy and Marc Jackson, as well as Leslie and Gary Katz, Abby and Michael Behrens, Jamie and Aaron Lieberman, and Kim Costigan.
|
|
|
|
Initial plans for the PS/21 site called for the creation of a permanent venue to house the performances, but PS/21 representatives said the depressed economy has led to a dramatic drop in funding for projects centered on the arts.
Everett said that no further approval for the continued usage of the tent is necessary since the only change in the initial approval was the elimination of the sunset clause.
PS/21 provides an outdoor venue for live performances of music, dance, theater, and fine arts.
|
