Study Finalized for Storage Proposal

Project near Beacon border faces opposition 

A Beacon developer proposing to build a self-storage facility on land between Interstate 84 and Van Ness Road has finalized its responses to concerns from city and Fishkill residents about aesthetics, traffic and safety.  

In an environmental-impact statement submitted on April 10 to the Fishkill Planning Board, 1292 Route 9D LLC said its two story, 26,000-square-foot facility would be a low-visibility, low-traffic project and not “change or diminish” the character of the area or quality of life for people living south of the property, which sits across 9D from the Southern Dutchess Country Club.  

The 30-foot-high structure would be set back 200 feet, or twice the required distance, from the highway and contain 333 self-storage units (ranging from 24 to 240 square feet), 26 parking spaces and a loading area.  

The developer, based at 268 Main St. in Beacon, estimates that 37 vehicles (including two trucks) will enter the facility on weekdays and 42 (three trucks) on Saturdays. The vehicles must use a driveway just north of Van Ness Road and can only enter from northbound 9D and turn right when exiting.  

That “right in/right out” requirement by the state Department of Transportation means southbound drivers visiting the facility will have to go past it and use one of Beacon’s residential streets to turn around.  

In comments submitted in October, Mayor Lee Kyriacou said the use of residential streets for through traffic is “inconsistent with best practice” and would harm the community character of Dutchess Terrace, Rock Hill Road and Verplanck Avenue. To avoid having to continue south to turn around, some drivers may attempt illegal left turns or dangerous U-turns, he said.  

Fishkill residents living on streets north of Interstate 84, such as Dogwood Lane and Chiappardi Place, expressed concern that drivers exiting onto northbound 9D will use their streets as a turnaround to go south.  

To prevent visitors from using those streets, 1292 Route 9D LLC said it would require the facility’s operator to post online directions for entering and exiting, specifying routes that do not require use of the local streets. The developer also said it would petition GPS providers to dictate routes that avoid residential streets. 

Because the property is in Fishkill’s restricted-business zone, where self-storage facilities are not allowed, the developer needs a special permit from the Planning Board in addition to site-plan approval.  

Granting a special permit requires a finding from the board, with input from the building inspector, that a project “is substantially similar” to other uses in the district and “consistent with the stated purposes of the district.” 

According to 1292 Route 9D LLC, its project “is consistent with the surrounding land uses and the built environment” because it will generate “minimal traffic, noise and air emissions” and be screened from the view of neighbors.  

 At the board’s urging, 1292 Route 9D LLC assessed two alternative projects — a residence and a hotel. It concluded that a hotel would generate more traffic than the storage facility and require more tree clearing and parking spaces. A single-family home would not be “economically viable,” according to the developer.  

Liz Axelson, a senior planner with Clark Patterson Lee and the Planning Board’s consultant, said in October that a restaurant, small hotel or bed-and-breakfast would be more appropriate. “The assertion that the proposed self-storage would complement any of the nearby uses is not well supported, in my opinion,” she said. 

According to Clark Patterson Lee, 11 self-storage facilities exist within 5 miles of the proposed site. The Fishkill Town Board in August 2023 approved a one-year moratorium on approvals for self-storage, citing concerns from residents about a flood of applications.